CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 C. H. Hull 
 
V.1-11 
 
 "iSSHm™.?.!?." sermons 
 
 ol>n,anx 
 
 3 1924 031 787 
 
 090 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031787090 
 
A CHARGE 
 
 DELIVERED TO THE 
 
 CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 RUPERT'S LAIfD, 
 
 PRIMARY VISITATION. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP or RUPERl's LAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 T. HATCHARD, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1851. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 piaMVI'.i' BY H. J. PAL3IEH, SAVOV SIKKUT, bTIIAKl,. 
 
CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 OP 
 
 RUPERT'S LAND, 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST, 
 
 IS DEDICATED, 
 
 WITH SINCERE RESPECT AND ESTEEM, 
 
 BY THEIR 
 
 AFFECTIONATE FRIEND AND BROTHER, 
 
 DAVID RUPERT'S LAND. 
 
A CHARGE, 
 
 Sfc. 
 
 My Reverend Brethren, 
 
 You are well aware that it was my original 
 purpose to have assembled you for my Primary 
 Visitation towards the close of the last winter, 
 very soon after my arrival among you. But 
 upon more mature consideration, I determined to 
 defer it until I had obtained some acquaintance 
 with your spheres of ministerial duty, and had 
 also gained some insight into the Indian charac- 
 ter, and formed some idea of the prospects of the 
 Church throughout this land. 
 
 Nor do I repent of the delay. Even at home, 
 where the circumstances of the dioceses so much 
 resemble each other, — where parochial labour in 
 each presents few peculiarities,: — an interval of 
 time between consecration and a Primary Visita- 
 tion, has been found desirable and profitable.* 
 How much more then in the case of a colonial 
 
 * See the Primary Charge of the Bishop of Ripon, 183S. 
 
diocese, where the position of a minister differs 
 in very many points from that at home, — where 
 the parochial system cannot always be entirely 
 carried out, — where the subject of Ecclesiastical 
 legislation still presents many anomalies, so as to 
 require much patient thought and study to adapt 
 it to the wants of the Church in any case, more 
 especially when that Church is composed partly of 
 those of European habits, partly of those brought 
 in from heathenism ! In this way, although I have 
 to acknowledge with gratitude the paternal ad- 
 vice and counsel received from many prelates be- 
 fore leaving England, particularly from that re- 
 vered prelate, whom the Providence of God has 
 elevated to the highest position in our Church, 
 and from him, on whom has devolved the charge 
 of ordaining for colonial dioceses, yet I found it 
 impossible to gain from any the exact information 
 which I desired, on those peculiar features which 
 give to a colonial diocese a character altogether its 
 own. From one alone 1 gained before starting much 
 valuable instruction, many full and satisfactory 
 answers to the questions, which naturally arose in 
 my mind; and the obligation T am' the more 
 anxious to acknowledge on this occasion, because 
 I little knew when enjoying his hospitality and 
 kindness, — when favoured by him with access to 
 all his papers and documents bearing on the first 
 
 formation of the diocese of Barbados, that the 
 
 hand of God was about to remove him so soon 
 from that sphere at once of retirement and 
 labour, in which, after eighteen years of active 
 
employment abroad, lie had been so honourably 
 fixed.* 
 
 But neither the early history of the diocese of 
 Barbados, nor the annals of the Church in Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand, present any exact coun- 
 terpart of the work, to which God, my reverend 
 brethren, has called us here. The tenure by 
 which this territory is held by the charter of the 
 Hon. Company, — the fact that when we gaze on 
 the lakes and rivers and mighty interlying plains 
 of Rupert's Land, not a single city or town meets 
 the eye; — the manner in which a small body of 
 settlers planted in it by a benevolent nobleman, 
 forms now the centre of light, the little oasis in 
 the wilderness; — the way in which over the rest 
 of the country, the forts are thinly scattered, with 
 but a handful in each professing the Christian 
 faith, and all darkness around ;-— the method in 
 which the native population seek their subsistence, 
 wandering about from spot to spot, according as 
 the necessity of the chase, the want of fish or of 
 wood may compel them ; — all this, joined to many 
 other things which readily suggest themselves to 
 your own minds, stamp upon this diocese a dis- 
 tinctiveness of feature, to which, I am bold enough 
 to affirm, no parallel exists at the present hour on 
 the surface of the globe. They give a character 
 to the work of the gospel here, which belongs not 
 
 * The Right Rev. W. Hart Coleridge, D.D., late Bishop of 
 Barbados, and Warden of St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, 
 who received at the College those consecrated at Canterbury, 
 May 29, 1849, and died in the December following. 
 
8 
 
 to it elsewhere; the full idea of which exists 
 vividly impressed in your minds, yet an idea 
 which it is difficult, if not impossible, to transfer 
 to another, in the exact shape in which it occupies 
 and fills the minds of those, before whom the pic- 
 ture is daily spread. It is well for us however, 
 my brethren, often to recur to this, to examine 
 well those circumstances which make our lot pe- 
 culiar, — to dwell on them carefully and patiently, 
 until we feel that the gospel, as a remedial 
 message, is to be adapted to what we see around 
 us. Easy were it to imagine a changed scene, 
 and to allow the mind to roam in forming vision- 
 ary plans of what under different circumstances 
 might be realized. Our duty is with the present 
 moment ; so to study the condition and character 
 of the land wherein we dwell, — so to imbibe the 
 idea of it as a whole, as to be prepared for the 
 profitable consideration of the great subject. 
 How shall I best imprint upon it the mark and 
 stamp of heaven ? How shall a living Christianity 
 be best diffused among those so different in race 
 and condition, so scattered and destitute, yet in 
 equal need with ourselves of the Saviour, in equal 
 want of the word of life to guide their feet into 
 the way of peace ? 
 
 For these purposes we ought to study well our 
 position, in order to see clearly where we stand 
 among the churches of God, when and where we 
 are called to work in the Lord's vineyard. Now 
 this is, brethren, the remotest diocese in the west. 
 If we are all travelling westward, as the poet 
 
9 
 
 lately taken hence has sung, — if the gospel's 
 course has been westward, and if it is to be 
 preached as a witness among all nations before the 
 ■end come, then it has well nigh run its course in 
 this part of this mighty continent. America is 
 nearly embraced. This, the remotest diocese, 
 stretches as far as the rocky mountains, almost 
 within sight of the waters of the Pacific. I 
 should have called it the youngest, the last-formed 
 diocese a week ago ; but intelligence has just 
 reached us, that another bishop has been conse- 
 crated since, — that the diocese of Montreal is se- 
 parately constituted, so that now the dioceses of 
 British North America are seven.* Of these we 
 are the most distant ; beyond us there is but one 
 clergyman on the other side of the mountains at 
 Vancouver. Should necessity require, and no 
 means of Episcopal ministration be supplied, I 
 might hereafter have to visit that spot for the pur- 
 pose of confirmation ; or, should the population of 
 Vancouver Island increase, and any number of 
 clergymen be planted in the Columbia, Vancou- 
 ver might then be suitably selected as a spot for 
 a bishop of its own. Then from China to the 
 Pacific the chain of sees would be complete; 
 from Victoria the eye would pass to Calcutta with 
 her three suffragan bishoprics, from Bombay to 
 Jerusalem, thence along the Mediterranean to 
 Gibraltar, and, crossing the Atlantic to Newfound- 
 land, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, Quebec, 
 
 * Another may ere this have been formed by the division 
 of the Diocese of Toronto. 
 
10 
 
 Montreal, Toronto, Rupert's Land, and, if it miglit 
 be so at a future day, Vancouver. A glowing 
 thought, that the Church of the British Isles 
 should span the world ! * 
 
 Although however so far removed, we cannot 
 forget that the life and influence and energy of 
 our Church, must be derived in great measure from 
 Britain. England must still be regarded by us as 
 the heart and centre of life, from which the blood 
 circulates to the most distant parts of the body. 
 Our wisdom would be to keep up a lively inter- 
 course with the Church, whence we are sent 
 forth ; not to labour independently of her, — not 
 to frame a code of laws for our regulation differ- 
 ing from those which are in force at home, but 
 rather to adapt, as much as may be, our own in- 
 ternal government to that, which the wisdom of 
 our forefathers has devised, and the experience of 
 ages sanctioned."!" And yet whenever we cast 
 our eyes towards the Church of our affections, — 
 
 * Those who are accustomed to give to their classical recol- 
 lections a Christian application, will excuse me for referring to 
 the passage which always suggests itself to my mind, when I 
 reflect on my position, and look eastward to those who, from 
 the rising to the setting sun, are to be as " lights, holding 
 forth the word of life." 
 
 (^pvKTOs Se <j)pvKTOV Sevp (xtt' ayyapov Trwpos 
 hrtpjirev, .... ovK aTTomrov 'iSatou Trupos. 
 Tototoe TOt jLtot \ap,'7raBrj<f>6p<j3v vofxoi, 
 aXXos Trap aXXoi) SiaSo^ats ir\qpauix,€voi. 
 
 Aeschyl. Agam. 
 t The danger of an opposite course is clearly and forciblv 
 stated in a Letter to Sir Robert II. Iiiglis on Colonial Church 
 Legislation, by the Rev. Henry Venn, 18.50. 
 
11 
 
 the Church in which we were reared and train- 
 ed, — the Church whose ministrations we are en- 
 deavouring to carry out, feebly it may be and im- 
 perfectly, in this country, — we cannot conceal from 
 ourselves, I cannot conceal from you, my reverend 
 brethren, that much of trouble and trial seem to 
 encompass her. Internal divisions have arisen 
 which cannot be viewed without alarm ; and 
 although our Articles and Formularies were framed 
 in so wide and comprehensive a spirit, as to in- 
 clude under them that diversity of opinion, which 
 will ever mark independent minds, yet efforts are 
 now making, which would interrupt the peace 
 which has long reigned within her bosom, and 
 which would settle and mark out definitively, 
 what had been left in some measure to individual 
 judgment. Of this we cannot be unconcerned 
 spectators, as we value the peace of our Church, 
 the doctrinal purity and the unfettered liberty of 
 her children. We must watch anxiously and 
 eagerly the directions which error takes, the 
 sides on which error lurks ; and, if God so bless 
 us, seek to discover the means, by which error 
 may be most successfully met, and truth main- 
 tained. 
 
 Looking then at the tone and spirit of theolo- 
 gical writing during the few last years, with the 
 view of discovering the dangers to which we are 
 most exposed, I cannot but apprehend the ap- 
 proach of evil, evil of a different shade and com - 
 plexion, from a growing indistinctness on three 
 subjects of deep and vital importance. 
 
12 
 
 I, The first is very closely connected with the 
 Word of God, and the nature of the impressions 
 which we receive from it. It refers to the 
 subject of Inspiration, the nature and extent of 
 that superintendence, that divine illumination, 
 communicated to the penmen of Holy Scripture. 
 And here I should depart from what I previously 
 stated to be the liberty allowed by our Church, if 
 I were to lay down a theory of my own as bind- 
 ing upon you, or as if it were the only possible 
 one, which an earnest and religious mind could 
 adopt. I know that many, whom I respect and 
 venerate, hold on this point views differing from 
 my own, and so long as the Supremacy of God's 
 word is allowed, the authority of every part of it 
 on the conscience granted, I should not be dis- 
 posed to quarrel. But is there not in some quar- 
 ters a disposition to undervalue the letter of the 
 word ? Is there not a spirit of bold criticism afloat, 
 which scruples not to discover imperfections in 
 Scripture, which speaks of a part of Scripture as 
 not necessarily inspired, or attributes varying de- 
 grees of inspiration to that which God has em- 
 braced under one simple and comprehensive 
 term ? * It is customary often to speak of the 
 historical and prophetical inspiration as different, 
 and yet I can never understand, how more of in- 
 spiration was necessary for Isaiah to prophesy of 
 events seven hundred years distant in the future, 
 than for Moses to write the history of an unfallen 
 world, the history of Paradise and God's com- 
 
 * iraa-a ypa.<\>r) OtoTTvevcno'S. 2 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
13 
 
 munion with man there, which happened more 
 than two thousand years before his birth. Or 
 even, as this perhaps is more readily granted, 
 looking at the historical books of Samuel, the 
 Kings, or Nehemiah, how is it that so short a 
 record is given us, so concise an outline, and yet 
 through Divine Providence, one so sufficient to 
 give a perfect history of the world, which but for 
 this existed only in fragments, and never could 
 have been cemented into one whole. In this se- 
 lection of material, in this Divine arrangement, 
 I can recognize nothing short of the highest in- 
 spiration ; the same inspiration which guided the 
 seer and prophet in his noblest flights. For I 
 cannot separate, I cannot unravel that so curiously 
 woven by the Spirit ; if any distinguish between 
 history and prophecy, I confess my inability. In 
 Genesis, prophecy marks the opening and closing 
 chapters, — in Exodus and Leviticus, we have the 
 prophecy of word, and that of type and symbol, — 
 in Numbers, we have Balaam unfolding the future 
 character of Israel, when their tents were pitched 
 beyond Jordan, — stamping them with the seal of 
 prophecy before one foot had yet crossed the sa- 
 cred river, — and in Deuteronomy, we have Moses 
 closing his books (shall we call them of history 
 or prophecy?) when rapt in the Spirit, describing 
 the Jews such as our eyes behold them at the 
 present hour. And so, throughout the books of 
 Scripture, the golden thread of prophecy is so 
 beautifully interwoven with the tissue of the vo- 
 lume, that I should ever fear to draw it out. On 
 
14 
 
 this ground, I tremble to hear men speak of higher 
 and lower inspiration marking parts of God s vo- 
 lume. For all I would claim the highest inspi- 
 ration ; let us look to it as written within and 
 without with the finger of God.* 
 
 This is, I am aware, a danger into which few 
 of our Church have as yet fallen ; it lurks how- 
 ever almost unconsciously in many minds. It is 
 an error, the effects of which we see in the un- 
 sparing hand of the Socinian mutilating the volume 
 of God, or in the rash speculations of the Neolo- 
 gian of Germany. A little of the leaven hag 
 latterly been introduced into our own theology, 
 and it surely is incumbent upon all to analyze well 
 their own conceptions on this subject, to see 
 well what are their real ideas of the agency of 
 God, and the instrumentality of man, as jointly 
 concerned in the inspiration of the Bible. 
 
 II. The next subject on which I would notice 
 a growing indistinctness of view, and from which 
 much painful error has already arisen, is the doc- 
 trine of JvLstification. As the very end and pur- 
 pose of the gospel is to reveal how man can be 
 just with God, so whatever tends to obscure and 
 darken the method of the sinner's acceptance 
 
 * Is there no such danger, when we hear Bibliolatry dis- 
 claimed and derided ? Was not a late estimable divine led on- 
 wards to question the authority of the Book of Daniel, and 
 did not another eminent writer (not of ouf own Communion) 
 (jice up altoffether the inspiration o.f the Song of Solomon ? 
 For some of the thoughts on this subject I confess myself 
 indebted to Gaussen's Theopneustia. 
 
15 
 
 must weaken its very foundations. And was it 
 not on this point that he, whose was the leading 
 mind in the late movement, which has drawn off 
 from the service and allegiance of our Church so 
 many of her erring sons, — was it not on this that 
 he first unsettled the minds of many, sapping and 
 undermining, unconsciously perhaps at that time, 
 the superstructure of the faith ? * Has it not 
 been once more verified that this is " the Article 
 of a standing or falling Church ? " And although 
 many of those, who spoke of this as an odious 
 and unpalatable doctrine, have fallea from our 
 ranks and gone out from among us, yet the un- 
 settling effect remains in the minds of many 
 others ; the trumpet gives from their lips an un- 
 certain sound, and there is not the same simple 
 and bold proclamation of the method, in which 
 being "justified by faith we have peace with 
 God." 
 
 Now the true path of safety in any such case, 
 where the substance of the " faith once delivered 
 to the saints " is endangered, is to recur " to the 
 law and to the testimony," to the lively oracles of 
 God, and the authoritative explanation of them as 
 contained in our own Articles. We must, especially 
 in the present day, " examine well the founda- 
 tions." t If our object as ministers is to lead 
 man to joy and peace in believing here, and to 
 present him perfect, without spot, and blameless 
 before the presence of God hereafter, we must 
 often ask. How shall these things be ? We must 
 
 * Newman's Lectures on Justification. 
 
 f Wilbeiforce's Practical View. 
 
16 
 
 analyze the medicine provided for us, the balm of 
 Gilead which the good Physician has consigned to 
 our care. And the scriptural answer seems to 
 be furnished by the apostle, when he prays to 
 be " found in Christ, not having his own righte- 
 ousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness 
 which is of God by faith." In that he prayed to 
 be found on earth ; in that he hoped to stand in 
 heaven. And the Articles agree therewith when 
 declaring, " We are accounted righteous before 
 God, only for the merits of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ by faith, and not for our own works or 
 deservings." In the merits of Christ we can 
 rejoice as pardoned sinners now ; in those merits 
 we can hope to stand accepted and justified 
 before the bar of God hereafter ; because " He 
 was made sin for us who knew no sin, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 Him." Yet in the doctrinal statement of these 
 great truths, is there not sometimes an indistinct- 
 ness, — a confusion between sanctification and jus- 
 tification, akin to the doctrines of the corrupt 
 Church of Rome on the subject, — a confusion be- 
 tween inherent righteousness and that which is 
 imputed, — a confusion between our own best and 
 holiest works, our own righteousness which is but 
 as filthy rags, and that everlasting righteousness, 
 which the obedience of the Saviour to God's per- 
 fect law has introduced, and which shall be a gar- 
 ment of glory and beauty to all that believe.* 
 
 * For a full discussion of this subject, see the Lectures of 
 Dr. O'Brien, Bishop of Ossory, on Justification ; and for a clear 
 and simple statement, see a short Treatise by the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and another by Bishop Wilson of Calcutta. 
 
17 
 
 III. But there remains one other subject, on 
 which error seems now to take its stand, and 
 threaten danger to the simplicity of the faith, and 
 that is, — Extreme views of sacramental efficacy. As 
 of the two former errors, the one referred to the 
 word of God, the other to the primary doctrine 
 of the Gospel, so this relates to the channels 
 through which grace is conveyed. Now of the 
 two holy sacraments of our Church, as ordained 
 by the Saviour for our great and endless comfort, 
 we can never speak too highly, nor think too re- 
 verently ; and yet the eye may dwell so exclu- 
 sively on these or any other points as to derange 
 " the analogy of the faith," * — the proportion in 
 which scripture reveals these things. Coincident 
 with the extreme views, to which I refer, is often 
 a depreciation of preaching, regarding which, as 
 the mighty engine by which it has " pleased God 
 to save them that believe," the apostle has said so 
 much. There is also often a depreciation of faith, 
 by which the sinner is at once brought nigh unto 
 God, on which the apostolical epistles enlarge so 
 fiiUy. Is there, then, no distorting of the scrip- 
 tural analogy, when the two sacraments are dwelt 
 on so exclusively ? Is there no danger when 
 something of a sacramental efficacy is claimed for 
 other ordinances, — when it is said that they are in 
 some sense sacraments of the Church ? Have 
 not the extreme views in question led, as a con- 
 sequence, to the melancholy position, that for sin 
 after baptism there is no direct pledge or promise 
 
 * TTjV avaXoyiav rqs TnariuK. — Rom. xii. 6. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 of pardon ; and in the case of the other sacrament, 
 to views scarcely to be distinguished from the 
 transubstantiation of the Church of Rome ? Now 
 here too recourse to the Articles and Formu- 
 laries would appear at once the safe path ; and if 
 it be alleged that difficulty exists, if there be any 
 necessity of reconciling apparent diversity of ex- 
 pression, is it not the fairer course to take the 
 general definition of the sacraments as found in 
 Article XXV., and then contemplate its applica- 
 tion to the two sacraments ? If of the sacraments 
 generally it is stated, in Article XXV., that " in 
 such only as worthily receive them they have a 
 wholesome effect or operation," if an express 
 Article limits the effects of the Lord's Supper to , 
 the worthy recipient, (Article XXIX.,) why may 
 not something of a like limitation be admissible 
 in the construction of Article XXVII. ? Are 
 we derogating from the sanctity of a sacrament, 
 if we say a limitation is possible in the one, which 
 all allow in the case of the other sacrament ? 
 
 But it is said, the case of baptism prevents the 
 admission of any such hypothesis, as there cannot 
 be, in the case of infants, worthiness or unworthi- 
 ness. Yet here again is it not just to pass from 
 the higher case of the adult to the particular case 
 of infant baptism ? In the case of the adult, the 
 benefit and grace are acknowledged to be contin- 
 gent, not always arid universally bestowed ; and 
 shall we still say that all children necessarily 
 obtain the fullest gift of God's grace ? Are we 
 derogating from the sacredness of the sacrament 
 
19 
 
 in saying that there may perchance be a limitation 
 in their case ? 
 
 And here, my reverend brethren, as you may 
 have perceived from these remarks, I cannot but 
 feel grateful to God for the late decision, which 
 has filled the minds of many with terror and 
 alarm. On such an occasion as this I am bound 
 to put you in possession of my own opinion, and 
 something of the grounds on which I have formed 
 it. Far from foreseeing the evil consequences 
 which some anticipate as likely to arise from it, I 
 would regard it as only continuing to us a liberty 
 and latitude which seem to have existed ever since 
 the Reformation. I think the case has been satis- 
 factorily and fully argued from the views of the 
 compilers of our Articles, and proved to be in 
 perfect consonance with the language of charity, 
 on which the whole of our liturgy proceeds. On 
 these grounds, therefore, I do not dwell. One 
 point occurs to me as a strong one and not suflfi- 
 ciently brought forward, which is, that on this 
 question the same writers of our own Church, and 
 the same early fathers, are continually quoted on 
 either side. And what solution, then, can be 
 given of this, that the same vrriter is cited in 
 favour of views apparently so opposed? Surely 
 it is because there lurjis beneath some ambiguity 
 of terms; because there is a sense in which all 
 the baptized are in covenant with God and 
 adopted into his family, while there is also a 
 sense, a higher and peculiar sense, in which those 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 alone who are led by the Spirit are in living cove- 
 nant with Him, possessing " the spirit of adop- 
 tion, whereby they cry Abba, Father :" that there 
 is a sense in which all the baptized are his chil- 
 dren, while there is a higher sense in which they 
 alone are his children who have " the Spirit bear- 
 ing witness with their spirit that they are the 
 children of God ; and if children then heirs, 
 heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." 
 From the fact, then, that writers are quoted as 
 holding the opposed views, I would argue that 
 the higher and fuller blessing is not universally 
 bestowed, — that even to those baptized the call is 
 not unnecessary, to examine themselves whether 
 they be born again of the Spirit, whether they be 
 indeed in the faith, to prove their own selves. 
 
 The danger, reverend brethren, of such extreme 
 views of sacramental efficacy is twofold, according 
 to the complexion of the mind on which they are 
 brought to bear. Addressed to those without 
 depth of religious feeling, and listened to eagerly 
 by those who wish to rest on something external 
 to themselves, and so to satisfv the alarms of 
 conscience, they lead to Formalism — a depend- 
 ence on those outward signs as necessarily con- 
 necting them with God, and ensuring vital union 
 with the Saviour. T(j minds of a different tem- 
 perament, to those of a highly meditative and 
 contemplative cast, their tendency is to lead 
 to Mysticism — to something of a transcend- 
 ental theology. They are thus either as opiates, 
 which lull the soul into a false sense of security ; 
 
21 
 
 or they throw a mysteriousness and dread around 
 it, resulting more from the feelings and imagina- 
 tion than the sober realities of the faith.* 
 
 Such, my reverend Brethren, are the directions 
 from which I chiefly apprehend danger at the 
 present hour, — the tendencies which we have to 
 dread, as likely to lead to the rash speculations of the 
 Continent and the doctrinal erroi-s of the Church 
 of Rome, — the evils of Formalism or a refined 
 Mysticism. Far however be it from me to damp 
 the ardour of hope, or check the sanguine expec- 
 tation which would look for better things. There 
 are many earnest and eager minds raised up, 
 which are endeavouring to stem the tide of evil ; 
 much advance and jjrogress are made in theology, 
 even if some opposing forces are at work. Es- 
 pecially would I notice, as the branch in which 
 most has been done in the last few years, the 
 amount of labour bestowed on the framework of 
 scripture, developing the beauty of its constituent 
 parts, and its symmetry as a whole. Much, very 
 much, has been done in bringing out the traces of 
 the manifold wisdom of God as seen in His own 
 vqlume— its manifoldness and yet its unity — its di- 
 versity of style, all converging to one simple end 
 and purpose. The structure and gradual forma- 
 
 * All, I think, must allow that there was much of mys- 
 ticism in the sermons of Dr. Pusey on Baptism and the 
 Eucharist. Is there not something of the kind also in such 
 expressions as these,—" The sacraments are the extension of 
 the Incarnation :" "Through the sacraments we are united to 
 the man's nature of Christ ?" 
 
22 
 
 tion of scripture are thus better understood ; and 
 if only such researches are conducted by minds 
 deeply impressed with the inspiration of the 
 volume on which they are engaged, how much of 
 light may yet arise ! " Out of the eater shall come 
 forth meat, out of the strong shall come forth 
 sweetness !"* 
 
 But such errors trouble us not in the more im- 
 mediate practical duties to which we are called. 
 Indeed I have not much fear of their appearing 
 among ourselves. Called as I have been to the 
 office which I now hold at a very early age, and 
 soliciting on that ground a double interest in your 
 prayers, my confidence would be in the character 
 of my clergy, in their faith ripened in trial and 
 adversity, and strengthened by many a shock. 
 Our practical work removes us from the atmo- 
 sphere of theological controversy ; our distance 
 from home keeps us in some degree of ignorance 
 of it ; and yet, as dutiful sons of the Church of 
 England, we cannot be idle spectators of what 
 threatens her interests or affects her peace. 
 
 Turning, however, from the painful subject of 
 the errors of others, and looking inwards and 
 around us here, have we no short-comings to de- 
 plore — no necessity for a spirit of increased ac- 
 
 * Much was done in Townson's Discourses on the Gospels, 
 and Davison's Discourses on Prophecy. Of more recent works 
 I would refer especially to Stanley's Essays on the Apostolic 
 Age, Dr. Tait's Suggestions to a Theological Student, and 
 Trench's Hulsean Lectures. The last is full of glowing 
 thought on "the manifold wisdom of God" as seen in His 
 word. 
 
23 
 
 tivity and diligence ? Are there no subjects 
 which press themselves upon our notice on such 
 a solemn occasion as this, when met together to 
 stir each other up, to give and to receive words of 
 counsel and exhortation ? Are we estimating 
 aright our duties, doing all that we ought — all 
 that we might do ? A year is almost closing upon 
 us ; but a few more days remain of it, — a remark- 
 able year surely, as introducing us to the latter 
 half of the century. If in it events follow each 
 other with as great rapidity as in the former half, 
 how mighty will be the march of events — how 
 great the changes which may be witnessed and 
 recorded by those who may see its closing year ! 
 Ought we not then, brethren, to endeavour to 
 ascertain our true standing ? Could we have a 
 more suitable season for meeting together than 
 the close of this memorable year, a more fitting 
 prayer than the collect for the day, " Merciful 
 God, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of 
 light upon thy Church ?" Be it ours to copy the 
 pattern of the apostle whom we this day comme- 
 morate. His was said to be the martyrdom in 
 will, not in deed ; be it ours, if called upon to 
 suffer, to bear it patiently as followers of the Lord 
 Jesus. The spirit of St. John has been said to 
 be the true spirit of controversy. If called upon 
 to contend for the faith, may we do so in the 
 spirit of love, iinbibing the spirit which he de- 
 rived from his Saviour's breast.* Some have 
 
 * See Suggestions to the Theological Student under Present 
 Difficulties, hy A. C. Tait, D.C.L., Dean of Carlisle. 
 
24 
 
 thought that, as the world waxes old, the disciples 
 of Christ in the latter day will most resemble the 
 beloved apostle.* If the shadows of evening are 
 around us— if anything betoken the approach of 
 the evil of the last times,— let us seek to be found 
 as he was, tarrying until Jesus come. For all 
 these purposes the best preparation will be an eye 
 directed often heavenward, soaring aloft in faith 
 and prayer, and a heart and affections dwelling much 
 amid those eternal realities to which the apostle 
 was caught up by the Si)irit in that vision, the 
 first chapter of which is the appointed lesson for 
 the morning, the last that for the evening service 
 of the day. 
 
 Looking back, then, with the experience of the 
 past, (and yours a much longer and fuller expe- 
 rience than my own,) what are the leading charac- 
 teristics of your work on which I ought to dwell, — 
 what the hindrances which check a greater activity 
 and devotedness to God, — what the encourage- 
 ments which His gracious hand spreads before us ? 
 
 Now I am inclined to give prominence to the 
 necessary secularity connected with your minis- 
 terial work, as distinguishing it from the more 
 exclusively spiritual character of labour at home. 
 This is lessened gradually as a station advances, 
 — as it passes from being purely missionary to 
 something of a settled parish. But in the earlier 
 history of all the churches in this diocese, has 
 there not been a great amount of secular labour 
 
 * See Sermons and Essays on the Apostolical Age, by the 
 Rev, A. P. Stanley, page 262. 
 
25 
 
 laid upon those engaged in the ministry of the 
 word ? And necessarily so. The minister is not 
 only the pastor but the friend, — the promoter, not 
 only of the spiritual, but the temporal welfare of 
 his people. His mental energies are anxiously 
 devoted to the rearing of the spiritual temple, but 
 his hands assist at the same time in rearing the 
 fabric of the material temple, if it is to proceed 
 at all ; yea, beyond this, his counsel is looked to 
 in the erection of the private dwelling, and iu the 
 cultivation of the field. And I do not mention 
 this to wish it otherwise ; rather would I feel 
 with joy that it brings us nearer to primitive and 
 apostolic Christianity ; that those who have thus 
 laboured with the hand, while labouring also in 
 the word and doctrine, are thereby the closer to 
 him who could say, "These hands have ministered 
 to my necessities, and to them that were with 
 me," and who wrought as a tent-maker, when 
 sojourning at Corinth, that he might not be bur- 
 densome to any. You may look then to him as 
 a pattern, my reverend brethren, when yourselves 
 compelled to assist in the sowing of the seed, or 
 in getting from the lakes the winter store, or 
 aiding in erecting for the wandering Indian a 
 comfortable and substantial dwelling. A debt is 
 owing to you for your work and labour of love in 
 these respects ; and if this settlement look back 
 with gratitude to the philanthropic exertions of 
 the Nobleman who founded it,* surely, for the 
 amount of social comfort which we now enjoy, and 
 * The late Eavl of Selkirk. 
 
26 
 
 the rich abundance of produce around us, we are 
 not a little indebted to the labours of the clergy, 
 and not least to one still among us, whose name is 
 connected with every church, and whose exertions 
 are closely linked with almost every domestic im- 
 provement in the settlement.* 
 
 But, while I notice with praise and approba- 
 tion what the untiring activity of the clergy has 
 achieved at Red River, and what others are still 
 doing at this hour in their spheres of severer 
 labour in the country, I cannot but feel that this 
 is a snare and a temptation against which it is 
 necessary to struggle. Does it not require an in- 
 creased spirituality of mind to counteract the 
 tendency of such employment ? Does it not re- 
 quire more of prayer, more of watchfulness, — a 
 double amount of secret and private communion 
 with God, to repair what is lost by this necessary 
 contact with worldly things? I feel it myself, 
 brethren, and would impress it upon you. More of 
 my own time here has been devoted to the work of 
 education, and intellectual training of the young, 
 than under other circumstances would have been 
 justifiable ; but in this I feel that I am preparing 
 some who may be hereafter employed in the 
 ministry of the word ; and to others I am impart- 
 ing a tone of mind which may be of use in im- 
 proving the general character and aspect of the 
 country. Let us not then, on this account, labour 
 the less, brethren, but let us pray the more that 
 our daily employments, not exclusively spiritual 
 * The Rev. W. Cochran. 
 
27 
 
 may even minister to our growth in grace, " being 
 sanctified by the word of God and by prayer." 
 
 Nor ought the effect of climate to be omitted, 
 as something against which you have to combat. 
 Now, healthy I believe it to be, although the 
 extremes of heat and cold are so great ; yet it is 
 trying, and has an influence of its own. It stands 
 in the way of many social improvements, the 
 period of possible labour being so short ; and when 
 the country is bound up for so many months, there 
 is little disposition to indulge in much labour for 
 the sake of mere appearance. Add to this the 
 anticipation, which cannot be banished from the 
 mind, of periodical floods, creating a wide-spread 
 desolation and destruction of property, — the uncer- 
 tainty that any spot, however favourably chosen, 
 may long escape, when the bed and channel of 
 the river or lake are much changed by the melt- 
 ing of the winter snows. All this, as I need not 
 tell you, creates in the native mind an indiffer- 
 ence, a quietude, which arrests the attention on 
 first arrival. Am I wrong in saying that some- 
 thing, of this effect creeps over European minds 
 after a long sojourn here? Ought we not to 
 struggle against the inroads of such a feeling? 
 We certainly have not the enervating torpor 
 which the heat of India often produces ; and in 
 the clear, dry cold of winter there is felt an elas- 
 ticity of spirits which counteracts, in some mea- 
 sure, the effect of the summer. Yet still the 
 tendency of the climate is to lead to a degree of 
 apathy uncongenial with spiritual growth. So 
 
28 
 
 many causes may arise to destroy the effects of 
 labour, that the spirit to labour decays. 
 
 Climate too hinders in other ways. Are there 
 not many spots in which labourers might be 
 planted, yet where ministerial work would in- 
 volve much hardship? Why should York, the 
 first spot on which most of us set foot, be still 
 without a Clergyman ; why should the shores of 
 the bay towards Churchill, and along the East 
 Main, be still unknown to us ? A winter in such 
 spots might certainly be attended with privation 
 and discomfort ; but surely climate ought not to 
 discourage, if we consider the self-denying exer- 
 tions of the Moravians for many years on the 
 coasts of Labrador and Greenland. When one 
 thinks of what that little apostolic band has been 
 enabled to effect in those ice-bound countries, as 
 well as at Gnadendal in Africa, or the Leper 
 Hospital at Hemel-en-Aarde,* — when we find, 
 too, that now clergymen of our Church, under a 
 bishop of our own, are undertaking the work on 
 the coast of Labrador, shall we not be eager to 
 meet them along the Straits, by passing upwards 
 on the East Main?| But all these difficulties 
 ought to lead us to feel our greater dependence 
 on God, and that is ever a blessed condition. 
 
 * See Krantz's History of Greenland, and Holmes's History 
 of the United Brethren, and a Sermon on Behalf of the Mora- 
 vian Missions, full of interesting detail, by the Rev. J. Steven- 
 son, Vicar of Patrixbourne. 
 
 f See the Two Journals of Visits to the Coast of Labrador, 
 by the Bishop of Newfoundland. 
 
29 
 
 The fear of famine, of flood, and of cold, leads us 
 to feel that all we have we derive from God ; 
 that it is His to give, His to withhold. On this 
 account I appointed, in spring, special prayers to 
 be used in every church as the waters rose upon 
 us, and when they were withdrawn, and the un- 
 expected plenty of autumn once more greeted 
 our eyes, we joiued together in the offering of 
 praise and thanksgiving. Many felt then their 
 dependence on the hand which alone upholds, 
 and your united testimony must be that the 
 threatened visitation has indeed left a blessing 
 behind it. For the measure of health which God 
 has given you for years of labour in this climate, 
 I feel deeply grateful. For one alone would I 
 feel anxious, — one who is among us at some risk 
 and sacrifice. In his case, however, it is not only 
 the body weakened through climate ; there is also 
 the effect of mental anxiety, the watching for 
 souls, without as yet much of a stirring among 
 the dry bones.* 
 
 But the greatest and most formidable check is 
 still unnoticed, and that is the difficulty which you 
 have to encounter as regards language. Here, of 
 course, I speak especially to those engaged in 
 native work ; and yet to which of us is it not a 
 hindrance ? We all behold the Indian continu- 
 ally, we gaze upon him as a fellow-creature, 
 possessing the same immortality with ourselves, 
 we notice him as he passes, and he gives and re- 
 ceives the usual salutation of his countrymen. 
 * The Rev. A. Cowley. 
 
30 
 
 He proceeds onwards, and thinks that God has 
 created different races for different ends, and that 
 an insuperable barrier divides the White from 
 the Red man. We know that God has created 
 all of one blood, yet we cannot tell him this ; 
 our tongue cannot speak to him of a Saviour, and 
 warn him of the terrors of a world to come. Now 
 it appears a small thing to master the difficulties 
 of a language. And so it might be if it were one; 
 but the number of dialects meets us, and creates 
 a fresh difficulty. Blessed be God, much has 
 been already done among the natives, and the 
 prayers of our own beautiful liturgy ascend up in 
 their tongue every Sabbath day in four congrega- 
 tions at least in this land. But then, in visiting 
 these, I find varieties in each. There are the 
 two races of different tongues, though evidently 
 sprung from one common origin, the Saulteaux and 
 the Crees ; and of the latter there is the Cree of the 
 Plains and the Cree of York, of Churchill, and of 
 the Low Countries. I have but little hesitation 
 in adopting the Cree of the Saskatchewan, or that 
 of the Plains, as the purest, or, to use the term, 
 the most classical ; but of those around me there 
 are few who speak it in purity of pronunciation 
 and accent. Of those with whom I am myself 
 brought into immediate contact, almost all speak 
 the other, the Chippeway or Saulteaux dialect, and 
 that only in a degenerate form. 
 
 Regarding the language itself, however, I have 
 no fears. I have done far less than I anticipated 
 in the time since my arrival in the country, but 
 
31 
 
 my ear is now pretty well accustomed to its 
 sound, and the vocabulary becomes daily more 
 familiar to me. When the words fill the mind, 
 and suggest themselves to the memory, — when, 
 if that day should ever arrive, I can think in the 
 language, I should be much more in a position to 
 write it and reduce it to system ; for whatever be 
 its origin, it is, brethren, a noble language, or the 
 remains of a noble tongue. It is very philoso- 
 phical and systematic, as a reference to that 
 grammar which still stands a solitary one, and 
 to the author of which I bear a willing testimony 
 of gratitude to-day,* will prove to any one. It is 
 very complex and artificial, as the structure of the 
 verbs alone would be sufficient to show. I do not 
 imagine that it possesses many roots, and that 
 would make the formation of a dictionary (in 
 which one of yourselves has made great pro- 
 gress)f comparatively easy. Therein it would 
 resemble Hebrew, as it does also in its system 
 of prefixes and affixes, and in its number of con- 
 jugational varieties of a single verb. Amoug the 
 classes into which philologists have divided lan- 
 guages, it has obtained the name of Polysynthetic, 
 from the facility with which it can group together 
 a number of ideas in one word4 In this flexi- 
 
 ■ * See Grammar of the Cree Language, by J. Howse, Esq. 
 
 f Rev. J. Smithurst. 
 
 X This name was first given by M. du Ponceau, and since 
 adopted by Humboldt. For interesting examples and re- 
 marks on the general features of the American languages, see 
 Prichard's Researches, vol. v. pp. 302 — 320. See also School- 
 craft's History of the Iroquois, chap. xi. 
 
 7 
 
32 
 
 bility, and the ease with which compound words 
 are formed, it seems to resemble the Greek lan- 
 guage ; and if, on this very account, the provi- 
 dence of God was seen in making Greek the 
 language of the New Testament and the early 
 Church, in which all the nicer shades of technical 
 theology were readily given, so the possession of 
 a similar feature in the language of this laud 
 would give one favourable omen for the transla- 
 tion of God's word and our own invaluable 
 liturgy. To my own ear (it may be from par- 
 tiality) it sounds now with softness and sweetness, 
 whether in the full Indian service, which I heard 
 at Cumberland, and in which I sought to take a 
 feeble part, or in the sermons of him who is the 
 first native minister, of my own ordination, in the 
 land. 
 
 The question of orthography remains still in 
 some measure unsettled. To a symbolical alpha- 
 bet or the syllabic system I feel opposed, as it 
 seems to present a double labour to the Indian, — 
 to learn the symbols in order to acquire his own 
 tongue, and afterwards our alphabet for the 
 study of the English language. Nor do I see 
 myself the gain of adopting an alphabet differing 
 much from our own, artificial and unnatural al- 
 though ours may be. Our object is to teach the 
 Indian through our language, and to introduce 
 him to our habits of thought. Our object is not 
 to lose the amount of labour bestowed on the 
 Cree and Chippeway language in the grammars 
 already compiled, but rather to abridge and in- 
 
33 
 
 troduce more of system. A slioi't grammar of 
 the two languages, a few elementary lesson- 
 books and primers might first be prepared ; and 
 then we should be the better fitted for the solemn 
 and responsible task of translating the volume of 
 inspiration. All this, my reverend brethren, we 
 must do ourselves, for the fact is, that none of 
 those who speak the language, and interpret for 
 us, understand it grammatically ; they can speak, 
 but they cannot analyze, they can give us a sen- 
 tence, but they cannot parse its words. 
 
 For the very use of language as an instrument 
 has to be taught to the Indian. He knows not 
 the Bible, the book of God, and we wish to give 
 him the word of life ; but we must take a lower 
 level, and remember at the same time that he 
 knows not any book, nor the value of those mys- 
 terious signs which give us the thoughts and feel- 
 ings of others, who lived and breathed many 
 thousand years ago. And this you must have felt 
 yourselves as a metaphysical difficulty, one may 
 say, impeding your free intercourse with the In- 
 dian. You talk to him of the life of the Saviour, 
 His miracles, His crucifixion, and ascension ; and 
 the Indian, when you tell him of the blind re- 
 stored to sight, or the dead brought to life, an- 
 swers by producing some tale or legend, which 
 has passed from mouth to mouth, and been re- 
 ceived as traditionary truth, of some similar case 
 among themselves. He cannot discover the 
 difference he thinks as much credit may be 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 attached to his legend as to our Gospel. He has 
 to learn the value of a book ; how its contents 
 travel from age to age, — how it can come with 
 the seal of antiquity upon it, and claim the reve- 
 rence and homage of mankind. He has to learn 
 this of any book, and then he will come to look as 
 he ought upon the book of God, the voice of the 
 Most High speaking to us from heaven. 
 
 Let me not be understood as speaking with 
 anything of despondency of the language and its 
 difficulties. Far from it : a mighty step has been 
 taken in the ordination of one native of the soil 
 to plead with his fellow-countrymen in their own 
 tongue. And now that his preparation for orders 
 is over, I hope to have much more time to devote 
 to such studies. In this work I would solicit 
 your freest suggestions : the more immediate con- 
 sideration of it I would fix for summer. As 
 last winter we held something of a diocesan 
 meeting for mutual conference and arrangement 
 of matters connected with parochial and minis- 
 terial duty ; so, next summer, when, if it please 
 God, one now absent may be among us,* I hope 
 we may meet as a kind of translation- committee, 
 for the purpose of furthering God's word, and, as 
 its handmaid, our own Prayer-book. 
 
 If such, so various and complicated, are our 
 discouragements, what, it may be asked, has yet 
 been effected in the land ? has any real progress 
 been made ? 
 
 * Rev. J. Hunter. 
 
35 
 
 My answer is, Look around, and compare the 
 circumstances of the Red River now with what 
 they were thirty years ago. We can scarcely 
 imagine the country without a minister to com- 
 fort and encourage the inquirer, to cheer and 
 gladden the sick by his visit, and raise the eye of 
 the dying to a better land. We can scarcely 
 imagine the condition of the family, when no ma- 
 trimonial bond had been solemnly entered into, 
 no blessing of God invoked on the union : we 
 cannot imagine children growing up without any 
 dedication to the Saviour in infancy, no educa- 
 tion to prepare them for their duties in life, none 
 to fit them for an endless eternity. We cannot 
 imagine the dead consigned to the grave without 
 any religious service, — no minister to comfort the 
 bereaved and to solemnize the occasion to those 
 left behind. Yet such things must have been : 
 weeks without their sabbath, — sick beds without 
 comfort, — death beds without hope. And is there 
 no change now ? Let the condition of the settle- 
 ment convince the blindest. There is a very 
 exemplary observance of God's holy day; a 
 good attendance in the house of God ; a very 
 large number of communicants, and I hope, at 
 home, much patient and careful study of God's 
 word. We may still be far removed from what 
 we ought to be, as a people living in the fear 
 and worship of God, but, in the retrospect of the 
 past, we must be guilty of the deepest unthank- 
 fulness, were we not to say, " What hath God 
 wrought !" 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 And, passing from the settlement, what is the 
 effect elsewhere as regards the scattered Indians ? 
 To judge of this, you must see (as T have seen) 
 the houses around Christ Church, Cumberland, 
 and the canoes conveying the worshippers to it 
 each Sunday morning ; or must pass beyond, and 
 see the little band enjoying this winter, for the 
 first time, the ministrations of a clergyman at Lac 
 La Ronge.* Great already is the influence of the 
 Gospel in those quarters, and very hopeful the 
 prospect as regards the Indian mind. Our posi- 
 tion at present I sometimes contemplate in the 
 following way : I compare it with what existed in 
 apostolic times, between the Day of Pentecost 
 and the publication of the first gospel or epistle. 
 Was there not an interval of time when those 
 enlightened by the Spirit at Jerusalem went forth 
 and spread the tidings to others, who in their 
 turn took up the news, and became publishers of 
 the word themselves ? Thus, doubtless, many 
 were gathered in, and added to the Church ; and 
 yet this was the interval, as was well shown by a 
 late lamented divine,! when error crept in, and 
 those heresies, the mention of which at first star- 
 tles one in the apostolical epistles. And so too 
 very many are they, who brought into the Red 
 River have heard the word of life, and converted 
 by the Spirit have embraced Christianity; very 
 
 * The Rev. Robt. Hunt. 
 
 t The Rev. Ed. Burton, D.D., Reg. Prof, of Div., Oxford, 
 in his Bampton Lectures. I have not access to the book, and 
 quote only from memory. 
 
37 
 
 many those, who at Cumberland have accepted 
 the glad tidings. When they return to their 
 tents, " out of the abundance of the heart, 
 the mouth speaketh:" of one I have personal 
 knowledge, who thus continued speaking for a 
 week together without allowing himself his usual 
 repose, so great was the anxiety to hear him. And 
 yet, we must fear, that some error would be 
 mingled with the truth, and that the amount of 
 error would increase with each successive channel. 
 The word of God then is passing from lip to 
 lip, whether we will or no, and let us not stay the 
 voices of those who would tell it abroad, but let 
 us at the same time endeavour to obtain addi- 
 tional agency, so that none who desire the know- 
 ledge may lack it in its purity. The Indians 
 already recognize a power and life in the treasure 
 we possess ; they acknowledge that a greater 
 than human arm is with the white man; they 
 feel that on him their arts of conjuring are inef- 
 fectual ; that " there is no enchantment against 
 Jacob, neither any divination against Israel." 
 
 On the subject of discipline and order, I have 
 but little to remark. In the former there is more 
 of strictness than at home, — long may it remain 
 so ! It depends much on the respect with which 
 the individual clergyman is regarded, and the 
 authority which he is thus enabled to exert over 
 his people. Such hitherto has been your control 
 quietly exercised over your flocks, that as regards 
 the approach to the Lord's table, you have been 
 able to observe a most wholesome vigilance. You 
 
38 
 
 have been able to keep back those, of whom you 
 stood in doubt ; and allowed none to draw near 
 for the first time, without previous application to 
 yourselves. I have only to request you to perse- 
 vere in the same spirit, acting in this painful part 
 of your duty with the utmost tenderness and cir- 
 cumspection. 
 
 As regards external order and ritual con- 
 formity, there is as little necessity to say much. 
 In the services conducted in St. Andrew's church, 
 in the Middle and Indian churches, there is 
 scarcely an improvement which I could desire, 
 and to them I may add Christ Church, Cumber- 
 land. All is done, which can recommend the 
 simplicity of our beautiful services to the hearts 
 of the humble worshipper ; and surely, the prayer 
 and adoration of our last Sunday within these 
 walls * lead us, who have come from afar, to feel 
 that worship is of no time and place. All 
 seemed then of one heart and mind in the sanc- 
 tuary, and while we enjoyed communion together 
 before God, we felt the blessedness of that com- 
 munion of saints, which is the best earnest and 
 foretaste of heaven. 
 
 Of the services in other places I cannot speak, 
 Where the congregation is an infant church, 
 gathered from heathenism, some latitude must be 
 allowed the clergyman in abridging the service, as 
 is the case in India.f He must avail himself of 
 
 * The Ordination Sunday, when the congregation exceeded 
 1000, and the number of communicants was about 300. 
 f This is done I find at Manitoba. 
 
39 
 
 the assistance of the best interpreter, until a 
 translation of the Prayer-book is completed and 
 sanctioned by authority. If at the Upper Church 
 some things still remain, which may require 
 change, it is because I am unwilling to make any 
 alteration, until the tenure of that church is finally 
 settled, and the question of the Church-lands de- 
 cided.* Of the favourable arrangement of this 
 long agitated point during the next summer I 
 have every assurance. 
 
 Shall however our exertions be limited to these 
 spots already occupied, shall nothing be done to 
 gain fresh stations? These may call for some 
 remark. Of new stations under contemplation, I 
 would mention five. The district of the Assini- 
 boine, in which I hope hereafter to place the 
 Church of St. James, I may regard as already 
 commenced, service being held in a licensed 
 school-room, and I trust it may prove a blessing 
 to the growing population of that river. Moose 
 Lake too I may consider as commenced, as to it 
 Mr. Hunter has already paid periodical visits. 
 There, during the present winter, a catechist is 
 labouring.! It will form Mr. Budd's more im- 
 mediate charge when he can leave Cumberland, 
 and there, I hope, a goodly number will, in a 
 month or two, be baptized by him. As his first 
 ministerial sphere, let it have an especial place in 
 
 * This question is, in some measure, similar to that of the 
 Clergy Reserves in Canada. 
 
 f He is supported by a part of the Grant, made to me for 
 diocesan purposes by the Christian Knowledge Society. 
 
40 
 
 our prayers. Two others, Moose Fort, James's 
 Bay, and Swan River, were offered to me by the 
 Hon. Company. From the former the Wesleyans 
 have latterly withdrawn, and I hope it may be 
 occupied in summer by a clergyman from the 
 Church Missionary Society, who will gradually 
 open communication and intercourse with the 
 Indians at Albany, Rupert's House, and the East 
 Main. In Swan River I have no immediate 
 prospect of a clergyman, and am therefore obliged 
 to forego a sphere, where, I believe, the Indians 
 are promising and anxious for instruction. Of 
 York I have already spoken, and would only fur- 
 ther say, that I feel it a reproach that, when the 
 vessels annually arrive from England, there should 
 be no clergyman and representative of our Church 
 to meet and welcome them. 
 
 To sum up then my own labours, and our pre- 
 sent numbers and condition. Two churches have 
 been consecrated, that of St. Andrew's, Red 
 River, and Christ Church, Cumberland, with the 
 burial-ground of the latter. Two Ordinations have 
 been held ; at the first one deacon, at the second 
 one deacon and two priests were ordained. Be- 
 sides this, there have been five Confirmations, 
 four at the Red River and one at Cumberland. 
 The number of clergy at the present moment, 
 with myself, is ten. Of the nine, four have, I 
 may say, parochial charges, including that of the 
 Assiniboine. The other four have native charo-es. 
 and more purely missionary work. Indeed, that 
 of the Indian settlement I may surely call a 
 
41 
 
 parish, as also that of Cumberland : when I 
 think of the two churches, the worshippers and 
 the communicants, they are like " fields which 
 the Lord hath blessed." May the other two soon 
 possess living worshippers and a material temple ! 
 To these we have only to join Mr. Budd, as as- 
 sisting at Cumberland and labouring between that 
 and Moose Lake. Nor ought I to forget the one 
 laborious and earnest-minded catechist, who has 
 prepared the way for Mr. Hunt, and is now his 
 fellow-helper in the work.* 
 
 On education, you may expect me to say some- 
 thing, but time forbids me to enter upon the 
 subject at length. To the schools of the settle- 
 ment I can bear willing and conscientious testi- 
 mony. They are very numerous, more so than 
 the population would require, were it not that the 
 houses are built only on the bank of the river, 
 and chiefly on one side. A solid, substantial, and 
 scriptural education is thus afforded. There is 
 no excuse for any child growing up without in- 
 struction, as in each school there is a proportion 
 of free scholars, through the liberality of the 
 Church Missionary Society. There is, as the re- 
 sult of these schools, together with the respective 
 Sunday-schools, an amount of intelligence among 
 the young which agreeably surprised me on first 
 coming hither, and from which I augur the hap- 
 piest consequences as regards the rising genera- 
 tion. 
 
 Besides these, there is the higher school, almost 
 * Mr. James Settee. 
 
42 
 
 I may say consigned to my care, by him who 
 lived not to see me in the flesh : conducted with 
 great zeal and activity for many years by that 
 lamented clergyman, whose name and memory I 
 would ever hold in reverence.* Dying the day of 
 my entrance into the Red River, his wish was 
 that the first offer of it should be made to me by 
 those whom he left behind. And God seemed to 
 direct me not to refuse. It has laid upon me 
 more of labour, but that labour has been its own 
 reward. To it, in anticipation of the future, I 
 have given the name of " St. John's Collegiate 
 School." Should I be permitted to rebuild the 
 church there, it would be St. John's, my own 
 cathedral church, called so after the apostle of 
 whom we think to-day. Near it would be re- 
 built then, if circumstances permit, with more of 
 architectural plan, the collegiate school. As a 
 part of it, at present and hereafter, it may be a 
 separate building, would be the institution for the 
 training of a native ministry, St. John's College. 
 And over all, whether the youth training in wis- 
 dom's ways and growing daily in earthly know- 
 ledge, or those to be prepared in theological 
 study for the service of the sanctuary, I would 
 inscribe as the motto of duty and of hope, " In 
 thy light shall we see light." 
 
 These are among the subjects which crowd 
 
 upon nay mind, when called on to address you. 
 
 These, as you will readily believe me, are the 
 
 subjects which occupy my daily thoughts. These 
 
 * The Rev. J. Macallum. 
 
43 
 
 subjects — "the care of all the churches," few 
 though they be — and beyond this, there is the 
 longing for fresh openings, when I look upon the 
 land in its length and breadth. It is this longing 
 which wears the spirit at times, as you can your- 
 selves testify, and which is the peculiar portion of 
 a missionary Bishop. The population appears small; 
 but how are they to be approached and gathered to- 
 gether ? Conferences with Indians I have held from 
 time to time, — messages of inquiry I have sent. 
 Three of these are not without hope, though at the 
 time unsuccessful : the one with the Indians of 
 Beaver Creek, in consequence of Mr. Cochran'^ 
 self-denying visit there ; another with those of 
 Lac la Pluie ; the third, in which there was no 
 drawback, with those of Swan River.* 
 
 Ungrateful however should I be, and ill-fitted 
 to discharge my duty as your representative on 
 this occasion, were I not to acknowledge the 
 munificence and liberality received by the Church 
 in Rupert's Land. 
 
 To the Church Missionary Society I know not 
 how the debt of gratitude can be discharged. It 
 is her happy satisfaction to feel, that she has been 
 the founder and cherisher of the Church in this 
 land. Munificently has she contributed towards 
 this object from year to year, not alone support- 
 ing the clergyman, that was but a small thing, 
 but constantly clothing, feeding, and supporting 
 
 * I have since arranged to send the present catechist at 
 Manitoba to commence the work there in spring, and, I trust, 
 prepare the way for a clergyman hereafter. 
 
44 
 
 the poor Indian and his family. The outlay has 
 been great, but the return has been far greater, 
 — many rescued souls, many bright crowns of 
 glory. We thank them for the past, in the 
 name of the poor Indian, as well as of the Eu- 
 ropean settler ; we pray them not to withdraw 
 tlieir outstretched hand of mercy. A little we 
 have this year endeavoured to do in return ; far 
 more would be done had the people ability, had 
 they the power to convert in a British market 
 their corn into money; what they could give, 
 that, I bear witness, they have given cheerfully 
 and liberally. 
 
 To the Society for Promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge I have to acknowledge our obligations for 
 the liberality of their votes to the Church in 
 Rupert's Land at their meeting the day before I 
 quitted England. Of the £300 assigned to me 
 for diocesan purposes, most of the churches have 
 reaped some benefit. £50 were given by me 
 towards the completion of the church in which 
 we are now assembled ; £50 towards the erection 
 of the school, which will, I hope, soon meet the 
 eye between the parsonage and church. 
 
 To the Bible Society you were all of you much 
 indebted before my arrival for their unvarying 
 kindness from year to year. In my own name I 
 have to thank them for two large grants, by 
 which I hope a depot of Bibles in English, 
 French, and Gaelic, may be kept at York, Cum- 
 berland, and the Red River. 
 
 From the Society for the Propagation of the 
 
45 
 
 Gospel I have not yet derived aid ; but I am not 
 without hope, that a memorial which I have sent 
 home may lead them to make a grant for the 
 support of one clergyman at least. As they are 
 connected already with all the other dioceses of 
 British North America, so I trust they will not 
 refuse to take some interest in this, the remotest 
 and not the least needy. 
 
 To these noble and venerable Societies, in 
 praise of which I need not speak before you, my 
 reverend brethren, I have ventured to add one 
 among ourselves for the benefit of the diocese 
 exclusively ; a Diocesan Church Society for 
 grants to Schools or Churches, or the salaries of 
 Clergymen. It will be to aid those spots where 
 parishes are gradually formed, and from which 
 missionary assistance is consequently withdrawn. 
 It exists as yet only in name ;* my chief wish is 
 to make it a centre for legacies, should any from 
 a distance wish to benefit the country permanently, 
 or should any, who have acquired wealth in it, 
 desire, after the example of him whose munificent 
 bequest founded the bishopric,f to leave behind 
 some token of their anxiety for the welfare of 
 those, through whose labour they have amassed 
 their riches. 
 
 And are there not those besides, whom we are 
 
 * This fund, as yet, only amounts to afilSO. It is not my 
 intention to draw from it until a considerable sum shall have 
 
 been raised. 
 
 t The late Alex. Leith, Esq., Chief Factor in the H. H. B. 
 Company's service, Cumberlaud. 
 
46 
 
 bound to thank to-day? Although our eager 
 wishes for the spiritual welfare of the Indian may 
 at times go beyond the views of the Hon. Com- 
 pany, to whom God has committed the govern- 
 ment of this land, yet surely we ought to make 
 some acknowledgment for the courtesy and kind- 
 ness, which have marked an intercourse of many 
 years. From their representatives I have myself 
 experienced great attention, and have ever found 
 my suggestions met in a friendly and cordial 
 spirit. To the Hudson's Bay Company, along 
 with the bequest referred to, we are solely in- 
 debted for this bishopric. I have a satisfaction 
 in feeling that I am supported, not by distant 
 liberality, but from this very soil, and to this soil 
 it is my wish to dedicate all I derive thence, and 
 whatever of strength and energy I possess. One 
 thing, I am aware, is still wanting, that we should 
 in our public services unite in prayer to God fot 
 those bearing rule in the land, that they might 
 ever use the power, of which they are stewards, 
 with a view to the glory of God, and the best and 
 highest interests of those committed to them. 
 Such a form of prayer I hope shortly to sanction, 
 as used in other colonies and dependencies of the 
 British Empire. 
 
 And now, my reverend brethren, I dismiss you 
 to your work ; and may the Lord strengthen and 
 bless you in it. It is a work of difficulty, as has 
 been sufficiently shown ; it is a work in which I 
 would be engaged with you heartily and fervently. 
 My own is no easy task, so to lay the foundation, 
 
47 
 
 so to consolidate the Church of Christ, as its 
 first Bishop here, that damage may not be re- 
 ceived in anything. Great the responsibility of 
 commencing episcopal ministrations here : yet 
 this T feel that I scarcely do, as the visit of 
 the Bishop of Montreal, by his winning and 
 conciliatory manners, smoothed the way, and pre? 
 sented our church in the most favourable aspect, 
 and disarmed many a prejudice even before my 
 arrival. We are now, I trust, stronger, although 
 still a little band ; already we double the number 
 of those engaged in the ministry the winter before 
 I came. What may be the future destiny of the 
 land we know not ; whether the gradual diminu- 
 tion of the means of subsistence, the failure of 
 the chase and fishery, the increasing want and 
 distress of the Indian population, may bring in a 
 brighter day of Gospel light, is know only to God. 
 Our concern with them is as immortal beings, 
 whose souls we must endeavour to save. And 
 with our flocks already gathered in, our concern 
 is for eternity, — to labour as those to whom will 
 soon be addressed the solemn words, " Where is 
 the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful 
 flock?" 
 
 Return then, brethren, to preach and minister 
 to your flocks, and may it be in the fulness of the 
 blessing of the Gospel of Christ. Preach to them 
 affectionately, so that they may feel, that they 
 live in your hearts, and that you long for their 
 souls. Preach to them fully " the whole council 
 of God ;" dwell not on favourite and isolated 
 
48 
 
 texts ; but keep to the proportions and " analogy 
 of faith," as it stands before you in the volume of 
 Scripture. On this ground adopt often expository 
 preaching, passing through books and larger por- 
 tions of the word ; thereby you will relieve your 
 own consciences, and best consult the everlasting 
 welfare of your people. They have to learn God's 
 word ; let them have more than detached texts 
 explained to them. Be diligent students, that 
 you may be faithful preachers. Deal also in ex- 
 planation of the services of the Church, for then, 
 they will not only love what they hear from the 
 pulpit, but they will love and reverence those 
 prayers, in which they first commune with God 
 and His word, before they listen to the words 
 of man. And, what you preach, live ; be a pat- 
 tern and example to the flock ; lead them in their 
 journey heavenward, and then, " when the Great 
 Shepherd," who is at once their Shepherd and 
 ours, " shall appear, you shall receive a crown of 
 glory that fadeth not away." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PPJMTED BY li. I. P.iI.MER, SAVMV STUBKT, STRANB. 
 
A CHARGE 
 
 DELIVEKBB TO 
 
 THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 RUPERT'S LAND, 
 
 TRIENNIAL VISITATION, 
 
 JULY AND DECEMBEE, 1853. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D., 
 
 LOKD BISHOP OP EUPERT's LAND. 
 
 LONDON : 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1854. 
 
 sr 
 
LONDON : 
 G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 OF 
 
 RUPERT'S LAND, 
 
 THIS 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST, 
 
 IS 
 
 AFFECTIONATELY AND GKATEFTJLLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY THEIE 
 
 FAITHFUL FRIEND AND BROTHER, 
 
 DAVID RUPERT'S LAND. 
 
A CHARGE, 
 
 c§c. 
 
 My Reverend Brethren, 
 It is not, I trust, as to an idle ceremony, sanc- 
 tioned by usage and long custom, that we have 
 come together this morning. Rather let me hope 
 that it is in the very spirit of that beautiful Col- 
 lect vchich meets us again to-day,* with a deeper 
 and more earnest longing, as years roll over our 
 head, that it would please " our merciful God to 
 cast His bright beams of light upon His Church, 
 that it might so walk in the light of His truth, 
 that it might at length attain to the light of ever- 
 lasting life." We assemble in a dark land, in 
 which it is our blessed privilege to diffuse the 
 light ; we meet on this occasion to trace its pro- 
 gress, and to pledge ourselves in the presence of 
 God to renewed and yet more strenuous efforts. 
 Our aim would be not to " cease our labour, our 
 care and diligence, until we have done all that 
 
 * St. John the Evangelist's Day. 
 
lieth in us," to present the light to every human 
 being within this wide spread land, feeling our 
 utter inability to quicken a single soul, yet pray- 
 ing that the same " God who commanded the light 
 to shine out of darkness, might shine] upon the 
 heart to give the light of the knowledge of the 
 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." So 
 holy and spiritual then is the object of our solemn 
 assembly, for counsel and encouragement on the 
 very end of our ministry— the enlargement and 
 extension of the Redeemer's kingdom by ourselves, 
 as especially, in the providence of God, a missionary 
 Church. 
 
 But while I would desire that the recollection 
 of this our great purpose might remain uppermost 
 on our minds, and exercise a hallowing effect upon 
 all of us, there are surely some subordinate advan- 
 tages which such seasons possess, to which, in 
 passing, it may not be unprofitable to allude. 
 There is, it appears to me, an amount even of his- 
 torical value connected with a Charge, as bearing 
 on the interests of the Church, and the advance- 
 ment of Christianity. In looking at remarkable 
 periods, and taking a longer interval of time, this 
 is, of course, the more easily discerned. If thus 
 we should take a Charge of the present day, and 
 should compare it with the well-known Charge of 
 Bishop Horsley at the opening of the century, and 
 then should pass from these to one of Archbishop 
 Seeker, when holding the see of Oxford, in the mid- 
 dle of the last one, three very distinct eras would ap- 
 pear to view ; the marked difference in the moral 
 
and spiritual aspect of the people, and in the condi- 
 tion of the clergy, could not fail to strike the mind. 
 And it may, perhaps, be pronounced to be an ex- 
 cellence, thus to grasp the prominent features of 
 a period, and successfully to delineate them.* If 
 that is, by general admission, an imperfect ser- 
 mon which can be accommodated to more than a 
 single text, so might we almost say that, other 
 things being equal, that would be the best Charge, 
 which contains within itself the internal evidence 
 and proof of the very period at which it was de- 
 livered. Now, if the remark apply at home, if 
 even there an individual Charge give a picture of 
 a period, and a series, if complete, a history, more 
 or less perfect, of the vicissitudes of the Church, 
 it is more obviously applicable in the case of an 
 infant and newly-formed diocese. May not a 
 deep historical interest attach at some future day 
 to the primary Charges delivered in Australia and 
 New Zealand, in India, Africa, or British North 
 America?* May not the ecclesiastical historian 
 turn to them with eager curiosity, and as the 
 Church swells and increases, may he not delight 
 
 * We might notice, as furnishing examples of this, the re- 
 markahle Charges of Bishop O'Brien, of Ossory, of 1842 and 
 1851, and the striking Charge of one, whose name varies hut 
 little. Bishop O'Beirne, also of Ossory, and afterwards of 
 Meath, of 1796and 1797. 
 
 f Much is thus neglected and passed over by those in the 
 very centre of the events, which to another generation would 
 be clothed with interest. The first Ordination on Mount 
 Zion, the first Ordination of a native in each heathen land, 
 would thus be events marking eras in the providence of God. 
 
 B 2 
 
to cast his eye backwards, and trace the " day of 
 small things ?" And thus, brethren, among our- 
 selves, if God enable us carefully to watch the 
 growth of the Redeemer's kingdom, and faithfully, 
 from time to time, to report it to you, such docu- 
 ments ought to furnish matter for a connected 
 history of the progress of Christianity in the land. 
 Add, moreover, brethren, to this their historical 
 value, that they are the judgment and testimony 
 of an eye-witness. It is " what we have seen and 
 heard that we testify ;" it is after " we have gone 
 and visited our brethren, where we have preached 
 the word of the Lord, and seen how they do," 
 that we make our report unto you. Apart from 
 such a periodical assembly, or such a recurring 
 charge, you would labour in your isolated spheres, 
 and carry on, it might be, as successfully as at 
 present, your ministerial work, but you would 
 remain ignorant of the exact position of your bre- 
 thren. You might even, beyond this, receive 
 from them some occasional tidings, but you would 
 be liable to an error, of which we have ourselves 
 had experience in hearing from China and New 
 Zealand — you might imagine from the letter of 
 your friend that his success was greater than your 
 own, and his trials fewer, while he was drawing the 
 very same inference regarding yourself, and esteem- 
 ing your position and prospects more favourable. 
 And this too very naturally, because you have not 
 one and the same standard by which to measure 
 your work ; of the difficulties which press home 
 you have the heart-felt experience, while imagina 
 
tion gives a brighter colouring to that which is 
 seen at a distance. But have we not, in the con- 
 stitution and order of our Church, a provision 
 exactly adapted to meet this want? One who 
 has himself beheld, the various fields of labour, 
 who has compared their difficulties, who has him- 
 self come into contact with the mind of the na- 
 tives, and endeavoured to form some idea of their 
 intellectual and spiritual state, comes among you, 
 and as he addresses you, he has vividly impressed 
 upon his mind, the faces, wants, and trials of your 
 brethren, who are necessarily absent from us to- 
 day. He can compare the Indian of the East 
 Main with the Indian of the English River; he 
 can balance the difficulties of the Saskatchewan 
 with those of Moose or Islington ; the trials of a 
 sphere purely missionary with those incidental to 
 one possessing more of a parochial character. He 
 has all in his eye, he bears all in his heart, and he 
 seeks to bring the information to a focus, and set 
 it in order before you. The judgment, it is 
 admitted, is fallible ; the inferences at. best are 
 liable to the imperfection of the creature, but still 
 it is the testimony of an eye-witness, the judgment 
 of a single mind on an extended and extending 
 work. 
 
 Now, if such testimony be submitted to you, 
 very faulty surely must be the picture, if it fail to 
 awaken your sympathy. If those various spots 
 are depicted indelibly on our hearts, and " out of 
 the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," 
 the simplest recital must stir up within you 
 
6 
 
 emotions of the liveliest interest. You almost 
 feel your own burdens to be lighter, or at all 
 events, you feel that others are as sorely tried ; 
 you find much additional matter for prayer and 
 daily intercession, ought I not to add, matter of 
 thankfulness for some peculiar mercies, which God 
 gives to each one of us ? We meet as parts of one 
 body ; you bear how the other members suffer, and 
 you suffer with them ; you hear how the other 
 members rejoice, and you become partakers in 
 their joy. If it be asked, for whom are we to feel 
 the most deeply? our ready answer is, for the most 
 distant, the weakest, and the most exposed, for 
 those who are the farthest from such opportunities 
 as the present of clerical intercourse and commu- 
 nion with their brethren. Feel most for those 
 who are the nearest to the confines of Satan's 
 kingdom, who are in the forefront of the battle 
 against him who is mightier than the giant of 
 Gath, who meet him almost as it were, face to 
 face, for our remotest labourer in the North, and 
 our most distant one on the shores of James's Bay. 
 The effect, be assured, is good, to have the sphere 
 of vision and of feeling enlarged. If it was a re- 
 freshment to ourselves to change for a time the 
 current of our thoughts, and to have them directed 
 to a wider and more extended area ; if it brought 
 us home more thankful and more prayerful; a 
 measure of the same refreshment we would seek 
 to impart to you, by asking you for a few moments 
 to drop the recollection of your own spheres, and 
 think of that of others. For to-day we address 
 
you, not alone as ministers of your several flocks, 
 but ministers also of that Church which God has 
 in mercy planted in this land, — yea, more than 
 this, of our Church, whether existing at home, 
 or now extending her ministrations to the remotest 
 corners of the earth. 
 
 In carrying out then, brethren, as far as may be, 
 these various purposes, our survey must necessarily 
 be both general, — of our Church in her largest ex- 
 tent — and local, in reference more immediately to 
 our own country and diocese. In the former 
 case, though very distant, we rejoice to feel that 
 we are not cut off from the Church of Christ at 
 home, but very closely bound to her by affection, 
 interest, and common privileges. We turn, there- 
 fore, naturally to inquire what changes may have 
 passed upon her, — how she has been affected by 
 the events, which may have happened around 
 and within her. In the latter case, we contract 
 our view, and look around us to see how, as good 
 and faithful stewards, we are endeavouring to keep 
 unhurt and undefiled the trust which we have re- 
 ceived, — ^how we are tending and cherishing the 
 plant, the off-shoot of the parent and noble vine, 
 which is rooted among ourselves. 
 
 Now in the general, but necessarily very imper- 
 fect, view of our Church, as she exists at this mo- 
 ment, the feature, which most prominently arrests 
 the attention, is the activity which we everywhere 
 behold. The life and energy which pervade the 
 masses of the community seem surely to have 
 penetrated also into the Church. If commerce 
 
has opened for herself fresh channels of wealth, 
 and the providence of God carried man in mighty 
 numbers to new spots on this habitable globe, 
 Christian zeal has not been backward in following 
 up these openings. And, while the Gospel is sent 
 to the distant, the healing balm is applied also to 
 every description of sorrow or distress which Bri- 
 tain can exhibit. To increase the comforts of the 
 poor — to raise them socially — to lead them to the 
 consciousness that they are felt and cared for, — 
 this is the very glory of our age, and in effecting 
 this our Church holds a happy, I bad almost said, 
 a proud pre-eminence. The knowledge of the 
 future is in mercy veiled from man, but if He 
 who holds in His hands the hearts of all, before 
 whom " the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and 
 are counted as the small dust of the balance, who 
 taketh up the isles as a very little thing," — if He 
 should graciously grant to Britain, for yet a more 
 lengthened period, exemption from war, how 
 much of progress might the next generation wit- 
 ness ? The jubilees of the different societies have 
 taken place, and they have gone forth again in 
 their career of benevolence, as the recognized 
 auxiliaries and handmaids of the Church ; and 
 there has been, too, if we may say it, the jubilee 
 of the nations, rejoicing together in peaceful and 
 bloodless emulation, bringing the productions of 
 the earth as by a common acknowledgment to the 
 " crowning city, whose merchants are princes, and 
 whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth," 
 Hope might gather from these things matter of 
 
9 
 
 brighter augury, and indulge in the pleasing anti- 
 cipation that peaceful improvement might have 
 free course, while so many seek as their great 
 object the social and spiritual advancement of 
 man. The asperities of political strife seem, in 
 some measure, to have died away, the edge of 
 party feeling to be rubbed down ; and in religion, 
 too, although clouds still rest upon the horizon, 
 something of a similar effect may be seen in the 
 greater union of earnest-minded men,— the pros- 
 pect is on the whole brighter than when we last 
 met together. 
 
 The movement, of which I then felt it necessary 
 to make some mention, has not apparently ad- 
 vanced with any rapidity since. The open and 
 declared assumption of the Church of Rome has, 
 in the opinion even of many of her friends, been 
 antedated, and made at too early a period, before 
 Britain was yet ripe for the measure. It has 
 served to open the eyes of many to her true cha- 
 racter, and few comparatively have since joined 
 her ranks. The Bible has in consequence been 
 more prized, — the law and the testimony more 
 resorted to. It was certainly not a little signifi- 
 cant that the University of Oxford should have 
 been engaged in sending forth the Bible of Wy- 
 clifFe afresh almost at the very time of the arrival 
 of the Papal Brief ; and it has been happily ad- 
 duced as giving a cheering omen, that the " Book 
 of the Scriptures shall still prove the fortress of 
 Protestant England." * May the bulwark thus be 
 
 * See the Letters Apostolic of Pope Pius IX. By Travers 
 
10 
 
 raised, may the tide of error be rolled back, and 
 in the day of temptation may the Redeemer's 
 answer, "It is written," prove our unfailing 
 watchword ! 
 
 And yet Rome has her converts, and we are 
 challenged to account for them. We would en- 
 deavour to do so, and find in them only a confir- 
 mation of Scripture. It is not the bold declara- 
 tion of truth which has carried so many over ; it 
 is rather the fascination of music, the vision of a 
 fancied antiquity, the unfounded assumption that 
 she alone has the truth and the key of knowledge.* 
 
 Twiss, D.C.L. In this work will be found the fullest and 
 ablest discussion of the Papal Brief in its legal aspect. Of 
 the general bearing of the question on the Church, Bishop 
 O'Brien's Charge, 1851, would furnish the most complete 
 investigation. In it is an elaborate defence of the Ecclesias- 
 tical Titles' Bill, with a notice of some defects in its provisions. 
 
 Having mentioned above the re-issuing of Wycliffe's Bible, ' 
 I would refer also to the presentation, soon after, of a splendid 
 copy of Luther's Translation of the Bible to the University of 
 Oxford by his Majesty the King of Prussia. This edition 
 was printed at the sole cost of that monarch ; and the two 
 facts taken together, tend to show a growing interest in the 
 work of the Reformation and the "Word of God. 
 
 * This was written before I saw the following passage in 
 the latest Charge of the Archbishop of Dublin. It gives, in 
 strong and forcible language, what I have hinted at above. 
 " Those of the educated classes who have embraced Romanism, 
 have done so, for the most part, by their own admission, not 
 from investigation of evidence, and on grounds of rational 
 conviction, but by deliberately giving themselves up to the 
 guidance of feeling and imagination. Argumentative powers, 
 indeed, and learning, several of them possess in a high degree, 
 but these advantages they think themselves bound to lay aside 
 
11 
 
 It is by a fascination and spell that she still works, 
 even as the Apostle warned the Galatians of old 
 against the witchery of kindred errors,* even as 
 St. John, in prophetic vision, speaks of the system 
 once and again as a cup of sorcery. Now it is 
 singular that in Ireland, where there has been the 
 least approximation to such errors, — where few of 
 the clergy, if any, have been led to trifle with 
 such delusions — that there God should graciously 
 have given so mighty a band of converts from that 
 corrupt system. It would, indeed, appear as if 
 God had conferred this marked and signal token 
 of His blessing upon faithfulness in the proclama- 
 
 and to disparage in all that pertains to religion. Though well 
 capable, by nature and education, of weighing evidence, they 
 decry all appeal to evidence, either for the truth of Chris- 
 tianity generally, or of any particular doctrine ; and place the 
 virtue of faith in a ready reception of what a man is told, 
 without any more ' reason for the hope that is in him ' than 
 the Pagans have for their belief. They are led, and consider 
 it right to be led, by a craving for the beautiful, the splendid, 
 and the picturesque. They deliberately prefer what will 
 afford most scope for the exercise of their feelings, and the 
 gratification of their fancy." 
 
 * We have often thought that the Epistles to the Romans 
 and Galatians furnish the best antidote to the errors of 
 Romanism on the subject of justification. They contain the 
 answer to such misrepresentations of Scriptural truth, as the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews would contain the answer provided by 
 the Spirit to the case of the Jew. Is it not strange, too, that 
 in their titles they bear the very names of the two leading 
 nations in which the system most prevails? The striking 
 resemblance between the Galatians and the Gauls of modem 
 Europe, is well drawn out in Howson and Conybeare's St. 
 Paul, vol. i., page 262. 
 
12 
 
 tion of His truth. May it soon be the case also in 
 England, when, awakened to the full sense of 
 danger, she recoils from the debatable ground, 
 and determines no longer to hold parley with the 
 deceiver : may many then be rescued, and restored 
 to the truth as it is in Jesus ! 
 
 For this end let Romanism be studied as a sys- 
 tem, in her acknowledged documents, her books 
 of devotion, and in the records of the past. Surely 
 those who would tamper with it betray much 
 ignorance of — 
 
 (1.) History. Has not the prosperity and true 
 greatness of Britain been closely connected, in the 
 providence of God, with her adherence to Protes- 
 tant truth ? Is this not marked as with a sunbeam 
 in the successive reigns, ever since the period of 
 the Reformation ? * Is it not in the power of any 
 to compare her at this hour, with the leading 
 nations of the continent, where Romanism has the 
 firmest hold on the people — would any wish to 
 make the exchange ? Or, taking the darker 
 features of the historical picture, is it that any can 
 have forgotten the bloody massacres and persecu- 
 tions by which, when dominant, she has sought to 
 promote her cause, and which have been stigma- 
 tized even in some of her own chronicles? Is 
 there not a renewal of something of the kind, — a 
 hint of what might happen again, had she greater 
 power, in recent events in Italy and Austria ? 
 
 (2.) There is too, besides, an ignorance of 
 
 * See this powerfully and clearly stated in the preface to 
 Dr. Croly's work on the Apocalypse. 
 
13 
 
 doctrine. It is sometimes said that our Articles 
 are chiefly negative — negations of error rather 
 than positive declarations of truth. Granting 
 that they are such, of what is it that they are the 
 negation — is it not of the errors of Romanism in 
 every varied shape ? And naturally did they 
 assume this form, when the Reformers had just 
 escaped from their bondage, and had now planted 
 their feet on a firm rock. They were building up 
 a system of truth, which might be proof against 
 any coming assault, and we at this distance of 
 time feel that it was not uncalled for. And shall 
 we build again the things which they destroyed? 
 Less perhaps has been said through the whole of 
 the present controversy on doctrinal than on other 
 points, and yet I feel convinced that here is our 
 strength. An artificial halo is thus thrown around 
 their system — a mist and cloud raised by which 
 effectually to screen the Bible from the gaze, and 
 thus the eye is withdrawn from the contemplation 
 of revealed truth, and the vital doctrines of Scrip-, 
 ture, which are at stake. For the student of the 
 Bible we have little fear ; — let the doctrine of me- 
 diation and tile atonement be studied in its pages, 
 and the mind must shudder at the idea of other 
 mediators, and a divided trust; — let the nature 
 of prayer be contemplated, and from any one book of 
 her devotions it would instinctively turn away ; — 
 let the institution of the Lord's Supper be viewed 
 in the light of the Gospels, and then, in looking at 
 her administration, the people are robbed of their 
 birthright as regards the one element, while around 
 
14 
 
 the other error has done her worst, and, under the 
 idea of honouring Christ, she has derogated from the 
 completeness of the sacrifice once offered for sin. 
 (3.) 1 fear, too, that to this- we must add, that 
 they betray ignorance of prophecy. Awful indeed 
 are the warnings and denunciations which the 
 closing book of Scripture unfolds against some 
 corrupt system, — a system which, if there be con- 
 tinuous prophecy in that book or in Daniel, must 
 have existed now for a long season, and nearly 
 spent its power. If Babylon be not Rome, the 
 task of explaining such prophecies is hard indeed, 
 and the burden of proof would rest rather with 
 our opponents. The admission of their own 
 writers, such as Bellarmine and Bossuet, might 
 lead many to pause and reflect ; for if Babylon be 
 admitted to be Rome, few surely can imagine that 
 all that Scripture predicts is fulfilled in Pagan or 
 Imperial Rome. It stretches over too large a 
 compass, — it occupies too great a breadth in 
 Scripture, — it points too much to spiritual matters 
 to admit of any such evasive solution.* And if it 
 be so, then any approach to the system, any pal- 
 liation of her errors is sin. Oh that some who 
 have been led away by giving the reins to fancy, 
 or a morbid craving after antiquity, might yet see 
 in their true light the judgments which hang over 
 
 * The clearest view of the argument in a short compass, of 
 which 1 know, is in Dr. Wordsworth's Lectures on the 
 Bahylon of the Apocalypse. I refer to it the more readily 
 because it is written with great caution, and without any 
 tendency to extreme prophetical views, so that the testimony 
 is doubly valuable. 
 
15 
 
 the system, and escape ere too late to a purer and 
 a nobler faith ! 
 
 And to be convinced that Rome is still un- 
 changed, we need not look beyond her last and 
 crowning act. There are those who hold that the 
 points in question between the two Churches are 
 mysterious and difficult, and that to assert the 
 contrary is unwise and unguarded. We cannot 
 yet imagine it to be so ; we have not so learned 
 Christ ; we have not studied to so little purpose 
 the Articles and Homilies of our Church. Let 
 the issue be joined on the Papal Bull, or rather 
 Brief, and surely those must have their eyes 
 judicially blinded, who can look to the Virgin, to 
 St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Gregory the Great, and 
 the other heavenly patrons of England, as depre- 
 cators or intercessors with God.* How different 
 this from the majestic simplicity of Scriptural 
 declaration, " There is one God, and one Mediator 
 between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." 
 
 That Britain should ever have admitted such a 
 document seems indeed strange, and to trace the 
 steps by which it was brought about, yet stranger 
 still. In each step, we fear Britain has lent her 
 aid, and the verse always recurs to the mind — the 
 proverb, in this case, alas ! destined to pass with- 
 out fulfilment, " Surely in vain the net is spread 
 in the sight of any bird." I well remember to 
 
 * For these very expressions, see the original document as 
 given hy Dr. Twiss in the Appendix to the Letters Apostolic, 
 page XX. For the difference between a Bull and a Brief, see 
 the same work, page 2. 
 
16 
 
 have felt a chill when it was first proposed, that 
 Britain should enter into diplomatic relations with 
 Rome. Now this Rome at once admitted and 
 gladly welcomed ; but was it not then, that she 
 really advanced beyond, and in substance said, " I 
 grant tbe temporal favour which is desired, but I 
 make beyond a spiritual claim ?" Was not the 
 draft of the more obnoxious measure — a measure 
 by which she assumes a power in Britain, denied 
 to her in states of her own communion — was it 
 not placed on the table at the time, as has since 
 been maintained ? Was not this done so covertly, 
 as to remain unknown for a long season ? a strange 
 gift surely, of which the receiver was unconscious, 
 and the giver unwilling to proclaim it at the 
 moment ! a curious political action to be per- 
 formed £K trapipyov. But it is at the very time 
 that her power is waning abroad, that she makes 
 this effort. Is she not weakened in Italy, weakened 
 in France, and shall she then triumph on the 
 shores of Britain? Are we then to retrace the 
 work of the three last centuries, and read history 
 after a new fashion, and call the Reformation a 
 dark period ? Nay rather, let us arm ourselves 
 with the spirit of those reformers, who resisted 
 even unto blood, and let us take their weapon, 
 the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of 
 God. 
 
 Next in importance to the Papal Aggression, 
 would be the subject of synodical action, and the 
 revival of Convocation. Now this can scarcely 
 any longer be viewed as a question of mere spe- 
 
17 
 
 culation, as the experiment has in some degree 
 been made. In Australia and Canada, Episcopal 
 conferences have been held, and at Toronto, Exe- 
 ter, Melbourne, Adelaide, and the Cape, diocesan 
 synods have taken place. The result of each has 
 been pretty much what we anticipated : where 
 the deliberations were confined to matters of de- 
 tail and discipline, all has gone on well, but, where 
 any endeavour has been made to interfere with 
 points of doctrine, — to narrow the terms of com- 
 munion, — and to define more accurately what the 
 Church has left more open, difficulty has always 
 arisen. And this we cannot but feel will be the 
 general effect. The tendency will be to multiply 
 articles of faith, — to draw them out in a more 
 lengthened form, which we hold to be undesirable 
 and pregnant with fatal consequences. In mat- 
 ters of discipline, — for the settlement of some 
 points, which could not have been anticipated at 
 an earlier period, — for the arrangements of ques- 
 tions, which have arisen out of the formation of 
 colonial dioceses, and for the establishment of 
 uniformity of practice and operation among them, 
 — for these ends we can imagine such delibera- 
 tions to be not without profit. 
 
 Thus every colonial diocese has, I believe, felt 
 the necessity of some legislative enactments on 
 the subject of marriage, questions of difiiculty con- 
 tinually arising, of a different nature and com- 
 plexion from any presented in the mother country.* 
 
 * This is noticed by almost every colonial Bishop, and es- 
 pecially in the admirable Charge of the Bishop of Melbourne, 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 Again, others have felt besides ourselves the want 
 of some simpler form for the admission of converts, 
 into the Church of Christ. Beautiful as is our 
 own form for the baptism of adults, it is too diffi- 
 cult for the cases which come before us ; it pre- 
 supposes far more knowledge, and a higher degree 
 of civilization and intelligence than can be ex-, 
 pected in an entirely heathen land.* A latitude 
 has thus, I suppose, been assumed, as few could 
 feel justified in deferring baptism until the con- 
 vert could join in the service with heart and lip. 
 I could wish too (but it is only an individual, feel- 
 ing), that a distinct prayer were formed for infant 
 churches and young converts, — for those who have 
 only lately emerged from heathenism. It is not 
 vronderful that the Prayer-Book should not con- 
 tain anything of the kind, for the colonial Church 
 did not then exist, — our Church was not then in 
 contact with heathenism, and gathering in con- 
 verts from it. But now that she would travail in 
 birth over many such, rescued from the chain and 
 bondage of superstition, might she not suitably 
 use some supplication on their behalf? — might it 
 not draw down a blessing, if, from the many thou- 
 sand congregations at home, sitting under their 
 vine and fig tree, the prayer for the tender con- 
 verts ascended up before God ? Would not the 
 — a Charge so full of valuable matter on ministerial duty, that 
 I have circulated it among my clergy, as leaving little unsaid 
 on the details of pastoral vcork. 
 
 * This difficulty has been felt at the Cape, and is noticed 
 in one of the minutes of the diocesan synod held at Cape 
 Town. 
 
19 
 
 Saviour, who does not break the bruised reed nor 
 quench the smoking flax, hear and approve ; and 
 if God has made the Church of England a nursing 
 mother of many churches, would not the children, 
 the branches, be much blessed by more direct and 
 fervent supplication on the part of the parent 
 stock ? 
 
 In these respects, diocesan meetings in the 
 colonies might be of use in bringing forward felt 
 wants. These the vast increase of the colonial 
 Church would gradually accumulate, but perhaps 
 the time for legislation upon them is as yet 
 scarcely come. When the common wants of 
 many distant lands are more fiilly known, and 
 many minds have been brought to bear upon the 
 subject, then a mass of matter will be collected, 
 which may form a safe basis for ecclesiastical le- 
 gislation. As a medium of communication with 
 the Primate and the Church at home, I have long 
 felt that an Archbishop or Metropolitan were desir- 
 able for British North America.* I hope that 
 ere this one has been appointed to Australia, as 
 Archbishop of Sydney. Strength, and uniformity, 
 and a greater power of resistance to the encroach- 
 ments of Rome, would be secured by the appoint- 
 ment of an Archbishop in Australia, in America, 
 in Eastern and Western India, yet all still holding 
 
 * This subject was discussed at the conference of North 
 American Bishops at Quebec, and a resolution passed in favour 
 of the appointment of a Metropolitan. From extreme distance 
 I was necessarily absent on that occasion, but embrace this 
 opportunity of expressing my concurrence in their views on 
 this question. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 as suffi-agans under the see of Canterbury * To 
 have in each case a fixed metropolitan see would, 
 I feel convinced, be preferable to allowing the 
 power to devolve on the senior Bishop as primus, 
 irrespective of his see. Calcutta and Sydney are 
 thus already marked out, and to these, in the pre- 
 sent state of the colonial churches, might be 
 added Quebec and Jamaica. The passing of such 
 an act, creating these four archiepiscopal sees, 
 would indicate a spirit of self-con fidence,f and, 
 while it would confirm the hearts of many, it 
 would, T think, tend to weaken not a little the 
 aggressive movements of Rome. 
 
 Of the more extended operation of Convoca- 
 tion, I have always entertained some apprehen- 
 sions. That these are not wholly without foun- 
 dation, few reflecting minds can affirm. For, 
 however desirable in the abstract the revival of 
 Convocation may appear, the practical difficulty, 
 which none ought to cast out of sight, is the 
 framework. If power were given not only to de- 
 liberate, as at present, but, what is more eagerly 
 sought, to legislate and decide with authority, 
 
 * Opinions may of course differ mucli on this point ; my 
 own feeling is strong, that such an act would consolidate the 
 Church in her spheres of operation ahroad, and that while 
 there is a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec and Sydney, 
 it is simply a measure of precaution and safety. A Metro- 
 pohtan in Africa might follow in due time. 
 
 t This is after all, as the Bishop of St. David's has acutely 
 observed, the most significant and formidable aspect of the 
 Romish movement — that it manifested so much confidence in 
 their own resources. 
 
21 
 
 how could the question of election be settled, — 
 who are eligible to sit in Convocation, and with 
 whom does the right of election rest ? Very in- 
 tricate and perplexed is this preliminary subject, 
 from the vast difference between the Church of 
 the present day, and the period when Convoca- 
 tion last met with full power. And even if this 
 question were set at rest, and the elections were 
 duly made after a new and approved model, com- 
 prising as we trust representatives of the laity in 
 full communion with the Church, comprising re- 
 presentatives of the various branches of the colo- 
 nial Church, august and solemn as such an as- 
 sembly would be, such a iravnyvpi^ of our Reformed 
 Church, one cannot but doubt whether its ten- 
 dency would necessarily be to lessen the breaches 
 and divisions of our Zion, to draw hearts together, 
 and produce a deeper harmony and feeling of 
 brotherhood.* Oh! if one could for a moment 
 think that such a consummation would be effected, 
 any difl5culties in the way would be as nothing. 
 But surely the experience of large assemblies 
 would scarcely justify such an expectation. 
 
 It is indeed, brethren, a comfort to feel that 
 these objections rest upon the very vastness and 
 extent of the Church at the present time. It is 
 her very unwieldiness which makes it diflScult for 
 her to meet in deliberative assembly. Take the 
 number of churches consecrated by two living 
 prelates, the Primate and the Metropolitan 
 
 * As was beautifully set forth in an amendment proposed 
 in Convocation by Archdeacon Hare. 
 
22 
 
 Bishop, and what a change has a single generation 
 witnessed? The cases which are brought for- 
 ward in defence and represented as analogous, are 
 surely little to the point. They scarcely, any of 
 them, exceed the number of a single diocese in 
 England, at least they none of them equal two 
 dioceses,* nor have they the prescription of so 
 long a period, the perplexity of so many vested 
 rights. And this would itself furnish us with an 
 additional argument and objection. Has not the 
 Church existing as she is, in a state of thraldom 
 as is falsely alleged by some, exhibited for the 
 last forty years unparalleled life and activity ? Is 
 it not strange, that the very period should have 
 been selected to complain of want of freedom, 
 when she has stretched out her branches to the 
 sea, and her boughs to the river ?f In the larger 
 islands of the south, in Australia and New Zea- 
 land, she is in a manner securely rooted, while the 
 other islands are gradually coming into promi- 
 nence; Borneo is as a beacon in the Eastern Archi- 
 
 * The Church of the United States, to which reference is 
 most commonly made, does not exceed the number of Clergy 
 in the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln. 
 
 t See on this two noble pages in Archdeacon Garbett's 
 Charge, beginning with the words, " In what vital spiritual 
 function, measurable by Scripture rules, do we fail or lan- 
 guish ?" as far as " Where is the evidence of the syncope ?" 
 pp. 48—50 ! and the close parallel at the end of that of the 
 Bishop of Norwich, " Are our energies crippled, when we are 
 year by year strengthening and enlarging our Church's mini- 
 strations at home, and spreading its institutions to the ends 
 of the world ?" 
 
23 
 
 pelago, Loo Ghoo has now her settled ministra- 
 tions, and the little island of Pitcairn, colonized 
 by the sin of man, is now rejoicing under the 
 peaceful shadow of the Gospel ! Oh ! how could 
 the Church enjoy practically a greater liberty 
 than this,' — a greater liberty to carry abroad the 
 standard of the Saviour, aud plant His banner 
 wherever the flag of Britain waves ? Surely it is 
 only life infused into the framework that we want ; 
 the mechanism is complete and beautiful, we want 
 only more of the breath of the Spirit to animate 
 it in every part, — the oil through the golden pipes 
 to fill^every workman with the unction that com- 
 eth from above. 
 
 With but two short observations would I close 
 this portion of my subject, which has grown upon 
 me beyond my anticipation : the oue, that from 
 the peculiarity of this land in its relations to Bri- 
 tain, no Bill bearing on the colonial Church 
 would, without specific allusion, affect ourselves ; 
 the other, that, whatever may be our individual 
 opinion on this question, there is nothing to pre^ 
 vent the fullest and most cordial intercourse 
 between us as Bishop and Clergy — nothing to 
 prevent you from always tendering your free and 
 unfettered opinions on any matter, which may 
 concern your comfort and ministerial usefulness. 
 Indeed the healthiest direction, which the whole 
 matter can take, would be to give increased effi- 
 ciency to these periodical Visitations. For after 
 all, more will be effected by the wisdom of calm 
 deliberation than by the power of mere legislative 
 
24 
 
 enactment ; the fonner is open to all, and may 
 produce quiet and steady improvement, and, if 
 thus each individual diocese should advance, and, 
 endeavouring more and more to regulate and 
 purify itself,* should stand in good working order 
 for the accomplishment of its high destinies, the 
 Church at large would then shine forth from 
 under any temporary cloud, " fair as the moon, 
 clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with 
 banners." 
 
 And this, my reverend brethren, would bring 
 me naturally to the local survey of our own work 
 and diocese. 
 
 Now the transition is very great in directing 
 our thoughts from the stir, — the restless activity 
 which agitates the world, — to the scene which 
 meets the eye across this mighty wilderness. 
 Here, an almost unbroken sameness prevails, — 
 there is no tide of population pouring in, no rapid 
 advance in internal civilization. And yet I trust 
 that there is growth, — that the desert begins to 
 smile, and that some souls, who, a few short years 
 ago, deemed themselves almost of another race 
 from ourselves, born under a separate destiny, are 
 now rejoicing with us in the glorious liberty of 
 the children of God. The land has been long 
 desolate and waste. She is now beginning to 
 
 * There has been much confusion of thought on the whole 
 matter. Deliberation has always been open, perhaps too 
 little used ; had it been sooner resorted to, with a sincere 
 desire to remedy every grievance, it might have averted much 
 of subsequent State interference. 
 
25 
 
 enjoy her Sabbaths; prayer and praise echo 
 through her bounds, thanksgiving, and the voice 
 of melody. The Indian, vphose heart was long 
 cold and cheerless as his own long winter, is now 
 wanned by the promises of God, and rejoicing in 
 the light. That a great change will rapidly take 
 place, the condition of the land precludes us from 
 expecting. Yet to help it onwards may be our 
 humble part, and to prepare the way for a larger 
 work hereafter. They are still the tew sheep in 
 the wilderness that we have to tend, yet not the 
 less precious in the eyes of Him, who would leave 
 the ninety and nine, and go after the one that was 
 lost until He find it. 
 
 Our own numbers steadily increase, they have 
 quite fulfilled the most sanguine expectations 
 which I could have formed of the proportion in 
 which they would advance. Five was, as you 
 may remember, the number of God's ministering 
 servants, when I first came among you. Ten was, 
 if I mistake not, the number at my last Visitation: 
 and now we. are in all fifteen. Nor would I at 
 all rejoice in the mere addition to our little band, 
 unless I felt convinced that more was being accom- 
 plished thereby. But this I cannot doubt, the Eski- 
 mos are, I trust, some of them under instruction 
 ere now ;* at all events, the glad tidings are carried 
 
 * I since find by a letter from the Rev. E. A. Watkins, 
 that a young man belonging to that tribe is with him for that 
 purpose, at Fort George. A Chippewyan, whom I saw my- 
 self, is also, I trust, under training with the E*v. R. Hunt. 
 While these youths obtain some knowledge to spread among 
 
26 
 
 within their reach. With some of the Chippe"- 
 wyans I have myself held converse, asking for the 
 ministrations of God's blessed Word, vrhile the 
 Crees of the Plains are not forgotten in their wan- 
 derings, but theytoo are sought out and approached, 
 if, haply, some among them might be saved. 
 
 This growth is, brethren, with ourselves a matter 
 of personal observation, for we have to thank God 
 for His watchful and preserving care, for His mercy 
 in permitting us to travel in health and safety over 
 so large a portion of the diocese. On the journeys 
 of the two last summers we look back with deep 
 and cordial satisfaction. We feel it a great privi- 
 lege to have been able to confirm at spots more 
 than two thousand miles apart, within one short 
 year. All the infant stations have now been visited 
 by us, except Fort Pelly and the Nepowewin, and 
 we feel thus as familiar with the nature of the work 
 in each of them as with that around us in this set- 
 tlement. Inviting prospects still lie beyond the ut- 
 most limit as yet visited, but farther at present I can 
 scarcely venture to direct my eye. I have received 
 an earnest and pressing appeal from Vancouver's 
 Island to visit and confirm there. To stand on the 
 shores of the Pacific would in itself be a sufficient 
 reward for the journey, and the delight would be 
 great to strengthen the hands of him who labours 
 there,* and, I hope, to encourage some hearts be- 
 
 their countrymen, the Missionary in return gains some insight 
 into their language. 
 
 * The Rev. R. J. Staines, B. A., Hon. H. B. C. Chaplain, 
 Fort Victoria. 
 
27 
 
 sides. The uncertainty of life and strengtb how- 
 ever, the extreme distance and length of time con- 
 sumed by the way, and, above all, the pressure of 
 claims nearer home, prevent me from looking 
 forward to this with any definite expectation, 
 though unwilling wholly to dismiss it as a pleasing 
 vision, which hope sometimes presents to the 
 mind.* 
 
 The diocese has in a manner divided itself into 
 three portions, which are for practical purposes 
 sufficiently distinct. The separation has been 
 clearly marked this year by the delivery of this 
 Charge in substance and outline at Christ Church, 
 Cumberland, in the month of July, and its delivery 
 to-day in fuller form to those of the Red River. 
 This is a beginning, and has naturally led to that 
 organization of the two parts of the diocese (the 
 third being not yet ripe for it), which I announce 
 officially to-day, the creation of the two arch- 
 deaconries, the one of Assiniboia, the other of 
 Cumberland and York. To the one archdeaconry 
 I have appointed, and admitted in your presence, 
 the senior clergyman among us,t as a small token 
 of approval of the labours of more than a quarter 
 of a century in this settlement, which in no little 
 
 * This is really beyond the limits of the diocese, yet as 
 bebg connected with the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, 
 would look more naturally to myself than to any other colo- 
 nial Bishop. The newly appointed Bishops of California and 
 Oregon would approach very near to us in this direction, and 
 afford proof of the energy with which the American Church 
 extends her boundaries. 
 
 f The Rev. W. Cockran, of St. Andrew's Church. 
 
28 
 
 measure he has contributed to found. The 
 honour has been well earned, for all that we now 
 witness and for which we thank God and take 
 courage, is mainly, under God, the result of his 
 years of toil, when there was little comparatively 
 to cheer and animate. To the other archdeaconry 
 an absent brother would be appointed, and in his 
 case (for the gifts of all are different) it is energy 
 in carrying out translations into the native tongue, 
 as well as practical wisdom in planting and con- 
 ducting subordinate stations on the Saskatchewan, 
 that I would wish to distinguish and reward.* 
 The machinery is thus in some measure more 
 complete, for the establishment of which I came 
 out; and now, if anything in the providence of 
 God should happen to myself, I leave the work 
 in the hands of those who would not suffer harm 
 or injury to accrue to it ; or, if circumstances 
 should ever admit of my visiting England once 
 more, the ecclesiastical direction and superinten- 
 dence would at once devolve during my absence 
 on these, the recognized functionaries of our 
 Church. 
 
 Of our own labours there would not be much 
 to report, yet what there is would be matter of 
 encouragement. It seems a feature in the Charges 
 of our brethren of the American Church to offer 
 a recapitulation of duty performed, and the ex- 
 ample in our own case appears worthy of imita- 
 tion. Of consecrations we have had two, though 
 not of new Churches, St. Paul's and St. John's, 
 
 * The Rev. James Hunter, of Christ Church, Cumberland. 
 
29 
 
 with the churchyard of the former. The local 
 difficulties, which for a time prevented the conse- 
 cration of the latter Church, having at length been 
 obviated, the Church, in which we are met, now 
 bears the name of that apostle and evangelist, to 
 whom this day of our anniversary is more espe- 
 cially dedicated. St. John's would thus be in 
 effect, though not in name, our Cathedral Church, 
 set apart for purposes of more solemn assembly, 
 until at some future day a more suitable structure 
 can be raised. To that undertaking I must here- 
 after address myself, and yet you, my reverend 
 brethren, know too well the difficulties which lie 
 across the path to expect much to be accomplished 
 speedily. We have no Bezaleel and Aholiab, 
 artificers in cunning work, we have no Hiram of 
 Tyre to assist in hewing down the cedars; the 
 season of labour is very short, and after the tower 
 and the pillar are raised, the weather affects the 
 fabric whether of wood or stone, and produces an 
 inequality of pressure, against which no human 
 foresight can provide. 
 
 You know and feel these difficulties, because 
 two of yourselves are struggling with them, and I 
 bear testimony to the zeal with which by personal 
 and hourly superintendence, you have endeavoured 
 to meet them. Of the foundation of the two new 
 Churches* I had spoken at Cumberland, and I 
 scarcely then expected to be able to report them 
 
 * The new stone Church at the Indian settlement, and St. 
 James's Church on the Assuiiboine. 
 
30 
 
 roofed in to-day. The many difficulties by the 
 way will, I am sure, enhance a hundredfold the 
 pleasure with which you will regard their comple- 
 tion ; or, if anything is wanting to your joy,, you 
 will have your full reward when you see a throng 
 of worshippers answering the sabbath-bell, and 
 kneeling within those walls. In each of them I 
 notice some improvement in form and structure, 
 and more especially in the one I am glad to 
 perceive something of an approximatian to that 
 symmetry and graceful proportion which render 
 the parish church at home a pleasing object to the 
 eye, and serve to entwine around it our fondest 
 associations. 
 
 Of ordinations we have held eight, at which six 
 have been ordained priests and five deacons. The 
 service has been witnessed more widely — a prac- 
 tice, the benefit of which is now more generally 
 recognized at home, and which in some dioceses 
 is systematically carried out.* It has been trans- 
 ferred in the settlement from St. Andrew's, and 
 was on Christmas Day for the first time held in 
 this Church, in which, as a general rule, I hope to 
 continue it. Besides this, we have ordained at 
 Moose and Cumberland. Of the happy season 
 spent at Moose, the recollection cannot soon pass 
 away, and yet it was a picture of the joys and 
 trials of a missionary Bishopi for scarcely had I 
 made the friendship of the two. devoted servants of 
 
 * In tke dioceses of Oxford and Manchester the Bishops 
 have ordamed in most of the larger parish churches. 
 
31 
 
 God who labour on the Bay,* and begun to enjoy 
 something of communion and fellowship with them, 
 when I was obliged to bid them farewell, and 
 speedily to retrace my steps with the fear of 
 winter closing upon me. Having ordained Mr. 
 Budd deacon among yourselves at St. Andrews, it 
 was a pleasure to admit him to the higher order of 
 the ministry at Cumberland in the very presence 
 of his brethren, with all around us tending to 
 mark him out as the native evangelist and pastor 
 of the north. Yet of all the ordinations, if I may 
 venture to say it, the one so lately witnessed by 
 you would possess the deepest interest ; an ordi- 
 nation once more of three candidates, as in the 
 winter of 1850, an ordination comprising one 
 native reared ^nd trained among yourselves,t 
 an ordination too, held on that joyful day on 
 which angels were, for once, the heralds of 
 salvation to man. During the same intervals 
 of time, our confirmations have been ten, three 
 of them of our first Visitation at spots not pre- 
 viously overtaken; seven of the present Visita- 
 tion during the late summer. Of these the largest 
 number was at Moose, where 130 were confirmed,, 
 105 of these being Indians ; in other quarters the 
 numbers still continue large, yet, as the rite is ad- 
 ministered with regularity, they must gradually 
 in some measure decline. For the diligence and 
 care with which the candidates were prepared, I 
 would take this opportunity of thanking you. 
 
 * The Rev. E. A. Watkins and the Rev. J. Horden. 
 f The Rev. James Settee. 
 
32 
 
 In education, ray reverend brethren, we have 
 still almost unmingled satisfaction. The Schools 
 have certainly risen rapidly during the period of 
 three years, and are still continuing to rise. We 
 can contemplate with pleasure the present state of 
 St. John's Parochial School, and the Model or 
 Training School of St. Andrew's. In these the 
 instruction afforded is of a superior order, and the 
 improvement made is proportionate. The Col- 
 legiate School of St. John's was established in 
 some measure for a different purpose, but in the 
 open scholarships it would draw its supplies from 
 all, and so stimulate both masters and pupils to 
 exertion. It is now fully known and seen by the 
 last election, that talent and promise wherever dis- 
 covered will be rewarded, and the motive is appre- 
 ciated and felt. Parents begin to feel the import- 
 ance of the work, and in three pleasing instances 
 they have come forward during this summer, anx- 
 ious to build and raise new schoolrooms ; two of 
 these are just completed, which will, in addition, 
 afford opportunities of occasional worship. Bre- 
 thren, in these things I rejoice, and call upon you 
 to rejoice with me, for we can have " no greater 
 joy than to hear that our children walk in the 
 truth ;" it is a joy, of which none can deprive, to 
 feel that for more than thirty years our Church 
 has led the way, and carried on practically the 
 work of education in the land. The result of our 
 experience in this department would be, that in 
 teaching anything can be accomplished here : the 
 power of acquisition is great, and the memory 
 
33 
 
 unusually retentive, but the vOoq* the knowledge 
 and experience of life, on which the power of 
 reasoning so much depends, this we cannot give ; 
 the sphere is too limited and confined. It is this 
 which still induces us to hold back, and not as yet 
 found anything of a College on a larger scale, to- 
 wards which so noble a donation had been offered 
 on my leaving England. But meanwhile we have 
 done what we could, instead of waiting listlessly 
 for the time when we might do what we would ; 
 we have worked with the material afforded, and 
 something, perhaps I ought to say much, has been 
 done, although we often pant and long for more. 
 
 And if, from the Schools in the settlement, we 
 pass to notice those of the stations, an almost 
 greater advance is perceptible. To see a daily 
 school of eighty at Christ Church, a Sunday-school 
 with ninety-one children — to find higher up on 
 the English River a Sunday-school with nearly 
 fifty, where the senior class could repeat, almost 
 without error, the opening chapter of St. John in 
 our own language, and in the native tongue ; this 
 would surely prove that education is penetrating 
 the land, and producing some impression, and that 
 the darkness is gradually passing away. It is 
 
 * I had at first some scruples in using the term, but I felt 
 encouraged by finding it employed by Professor Merivale in 
 his evidence before the Oxford University Commissioners. It 
 expresses what no other single word will. Of two passages of 
 Aristotle I now feel the deep practical wisdom. Ethics, I. 
 chap. 3, sect. 5, and VI. chap. 8, sects. 5, 6 ; they form the 
 best commentary on what we find to be the practical diflSculty 
 in educating, and above all in forming character in this land. 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 surely an era in the history of our country, that 
 we have now the first Gospel in the Cree tongue, 
 printed in clear and bold type, so as to be capable 
 of use in our Schools. The two languages will 
 thus be taught simultaneously in them, and will 
 be brought into contact with each other; the 
 English will still be communicated, or we give up 
 all hope of permanent improvement and civiliza^ 
 tion, and to this will be added the Indian, for we 
 find the cases not uncommon in which the pupil 
 can read the chapter in our tongue, and yet re- 
 ceive from it but few ideas. By reading it also 
 clothed in their own language, the terms, even 
 when not strictly equivalent, force them to think, 
 to institute comparison, and to reflect, and then 
 something of the fuller meaning of Scripture 
 enters their mind. New ideas, of course exist, 
 and new terms in the translation, or new applica- 
 tions of older terms ; these are suggestive to them 
 of deeper thoughts, . and thus the saying of the 
 Indians themselves is no more than what we 
 might have expected beforehand, that their lan- 
 guage has become much enriched, since used for 
 the purposes of religion. The Bible is doing for 
 their dialects, if we may venture to say so of a 
 ruder tongue, what it did for the Greek language 
 in the days of the Apostles, and for the English 
 language at the period of the Reformation. That 
 the translation is as yet perfect, one cannot ima- 
 gine ; but that it is intelligible — that it conveys 
 the meaning of Scripture, and contains not any 
 serious mistakes, I feel convinced. It will be the 
 
35 
 
 basis of future work — it will attract remark and 
 commentary, and when to this the Gospel of St. 
 John and the Acts (now in progress) shall be 
 added, and the other two Gospels, matters then 
 of little labour, shall be completed, the whole 
 would be ready for a revision, which would leave 
 little more to be desired. . 
 
 While thus speaking on the subject of transla- 
 tions, I ought not to omit to mention the publica- 
 tion of a large portion of the Prayer-book in the 
 Syllabic character, as printed at home, but pre- 
 pared'at Moose, and since that the establishment 
 of a printing press for the same system, at that 
 station. I was sorry to find, that an impression 
 had been conveyed by my previous Charge, that I 
 had wholly ieondemned the use of these symbols, 
 and that I would not lend my sanction to any 
 translations made in them. Such was far from 
 being my intention, but even if 1 had felt more 
 decidedly at the time, I trust that I should always 
 have had sufficient candour to alter any such opi- 
 nion, if upon experience I ascertained it to be un- 
 founded. I have, I admit, since that time become 
 more familiar with the system, and seen it in active 
 operation at Moose and Albany, and on the Sas- 
 katchewan and English Rivers. As a matter of 
 taste and scholarship, I still prefer the other for 
 the eye, and would recommend it to any clergy- 
 man wishing to understand and speak the lan- 
 guage : I still feel that it will be that which will 
 carry us on towards the successful analysis of the 
 tongue, and to the comprehension of its gram- 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 matical structure. But the ease with which the 
 Indian can both read and write in the Syllabic 
 character, — the rapidity with which he can acquire 
 it, — the little compass into which he can throw a 
 few hymns and leading texts, these practical ad- 
 vantages recommend it to me for the Indian, who 
 comes to inquire about Jesus, who has only his 
 few hours to spare, or at most only a few days to 
 spend with the minister. He is at the Fort for 
 but a short time, and then leaves to pass his win- 
 ter at a distance, and we want to give him some- 
 thing which may rest on his mind, to which he 
 may recur, which he may use on his solitary Sab- 
 baths with his family, or with a tent or two around 
 him. Our problem is, to turn to best account the 
 little fragment of time during which we see him; 
 and I am sure, of this, that your hearts would 
 warm to see parents, some of them declining to- 
 wards the grave, learning the mysterious signs, 
 and finding delight in connecting syllables, or pro- 
 ducing in the boat by the way, the Hymn-book, 
 and reading over and singing from it some of the 
 songs of Zion. It was said by a great orator and 
 statesman of old, that the opportunities of war 
 admit not of delay,* and if we are to rescue souls 
 from Satan's grasp, if "the prey is to be taken 
 from the mighty and the lawful captive delivered,'', 
 then must we teach the symbols, and give the 
 Indian the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten 
 Commandments and a few texts, which a Christian 
 ought to know and believe for his soul's health, 
 
 * Pericles, iroXifiov ol Kaipol oi /neveroi. Thuc. I. 142. 
 
37 
 
 we ought to give him these on a single sheet, as 
 a precious breast-plate, better far than any charm 
 or amulet. It would thus have its especial use, 
 for the adult Indian, and for those far withdrawn 
 from the means of grace : for those living in a 
 more settled parish as at Christ Church, with con- 
 stant access to the minister of God, or for the 
 young, who have years before them in which to be 
 educated, the other would claim pre-eminence. 
 I would only add that in the cognate Sauteux dia- 
 lect we have more abundant helps ; in it, we have 
 the four Gospels and the Prayer-book of Dr. 
 O'Meara's translation, the Ogibwa New Testament, 
 as published in America, and several simpler ele- 
 mentary works, prepared for the American Board 
 of Missions. The task, which would next pre- 
 sent itself, would be to adapt the Syllabic system 
 to the Chippewyan tongue,* and beyond that, as 
 always ultimately desirable, to reduce that difficult 
 language, so as to admit of expression in the letters 
 of our own alphabet. 
 
 In these varied works, in carrying on what I 
 must call this great enterprise, in endeavouring to 
 teach and train for heaven, and to place the Bible 
 in contact with their hearts, and for this end to 
 
 * In thus commencing with Syllahic characters, and filling 
 up afterwards with more distinct vowel sounds, we might even 
 claim the analogy of the Hehrew tongue in its several stages. 
 The remarks of a leading authority in Bibilical criticism may 
 be quoted in illustration. " The most ancient mode of writing 
 consisted of consonants alone;" and again, "The oldest Hebrew 
 writing was a sort of Syllabic writing." Davidson's Biblical 
 Criticism, vol. i. pp. 37, 38. 
 
38 
 
 adapt it to every capacity, let us remember how 
 largely we are indebted to the generosity of others. 
 As the Apostle was ready to boast of the liberality 
 of Macedonia and Achaia, for their readiness to 
 help in the cause of the Lord, so may we often 
 think of those, who by the exercise of much self- 
 denial, are ministering to perishing souls through 
 our hands. Often ought we to pray, " Remember 
 them, O our God, concerning this, and wipe not 
 out their good deeds, that they have done for the 
 house of our God, and for the offices thereof;" 
 Noble and large hearted have been the gifts cast 
 into the treasury of the Lord by such benefactors,* 
 especially for our Eastern Missions. The Socie- 
 ties too are still nobly aiding us — the Church 
 Missionary Society furnishes, we may say, the en- 
 dowments of the vast majority of our Churches 
 and Schools ; to the Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel we are indebted for the support of 
 one clergyman, and the kind offer of a salary for 
 a second, which unforeseen circumstances have 
 prevented me from appropriating, while, since I 
 last addressed you, a third society has come to our 
 aid,f with one clergyman and promises of additional 
 assistance hereafter. But when the clergyman is 
 planted in a new sphere, the work is only then 
 
 * I cannot forbear to mention here the munificent donation 
 of a Christian lady, of ^1,000 and ^100 a year for Islington ; 
 and that of ^62,000 to the Church Missionary Society for 
 Rupert's Land, by which the Mission at Moose was esta- 
 bUshed. 
 
 t The Colonial Church and School Society. 
 
39 
 
 begun, and the demands increase and thicken ; 
 there is soon the appeal for Church and Schools, 
 then follows in rapid succession the demand for 
 Bibles, Prayer-books, and instructive volumes for 
 the lending library and general distribution. The 
 Christian Knowledge Society here extends her 
 aid in the erection of buildings and grants of 
 books; the Bible Society supplies the Word of 
 Life ; the Religious Tract Society the volumes of 
 interest for young and old. Oh ! surely we can 
 thus best tell, how the Church grows by that which 
 every joint supplieth. In tracing the work as we 
 can do here, my reverend Brethren, from the first 
 excavation of the stone in the quarry or the hew- 
 ing of the timber in the forest, to the completion 
 of the sacred edifices, the Church aijd School, and, 
 cementing these together, the parsonage, and the 
 settlement of a happy parish around, fully furnished 
 with God's Word, with the means of education 
 and facilities for social and spiritual improvement, 
 how many have aided and assisted ! Surely in 
 extending such blessings and comforts-— comforts 
 in time, which may be the foundation of unspeak- 
 able happiness throughout eternity,— is the high- 
 est exercise of philanthropy. 
 
 How godlike the lofty mission of Britain, when 
 viewed in this light ! Christianity there is no in- 
 operative system---it is faith working by love. 
 There are the hearts that bleed for others' woes, 
 and hands ready to relieve them. When speaking 
 of the danger arising from our liability to periodical 
 floods in my last Charge, I little anticipated that 
 
40 
 
 we should ourselves so soon suffer by such a heavy 
 visitation. But the recital of what then passed 
 before our eyes * was not addressed to those de- 
 void of sympathy, and I would here thank the 
 kind friends who were not forgetful of us in 
 our distress. 
 
 This, however, was only a transient affliction, 
 and after a time we saw the bright light beam 
 from behind the cloud, and the wind passed over 
 and healed us. May God grant, that the effect of 
 the chastisement may not be evanescent, but per- 
 manent and abiding. But there are enduring 
 forms of sorrow — classes of suffering and of suffer- 
 ers, of which examples are never wanting. Each 
 month as it rolls adds to the number of the 
 orphans and the fatherless, and in this desolate 
 land the lot of the unprotected must be cheerless 
 indeed. For these too Christian friends have felt, 
 and a voice familiar to you allf has not pleaded for 
 them in vain, and the sighing of the poor Indian 
 orphan has thus come up in memorial before God. 
 The subscriptions justify the commencement of 
 the building, but the completion of the Orphan 
 Asylum, — its ultimate prosperity will depend much 
 on the spirit in which it is taken up in the country, 
 and especially in this settlement. Commend it, 
 brethren, to your flocks, and ask them to aid by 
 their means and by their prayers. In the zeal of 
 those who undertake it I have the fullest confi- 
 
 * See " Notes of the Flood." Hatchard, 1852, 
 f The Rev. R. James, who, on his return to England> 
 suggested the idea and raised suhscriptions towards it. 
 
41 
 
 dence, and in the efficiency with which it will be 
 superintended. My hope is that it may combine 
 two objects, — that it may prove an asylum for 
 those, who know not the love and affectionate 
 care of an earthly parent, and also a home for the 
 children of inquiring Indians, who may be con- 
 signed to our care to be trained and in time bap- 
 tized. A fitter monument we cannot have of him 
 who has been taken from us, and who though ab- 
 sent would thus work for us, — let him not be dis- 
 appointed in looking for our hearty and earnest co- 
 operation — let me be permitted to assure him in 
 your name, that we join in wishing the endeavour 
 God speed. 
 
 Having thus rapidly glanced at the condition of 
 the diocese, some reflections on the nature of the 
 work force themselves upon me, when looking 
 upon it as a whole. 
 
 Its unity strikes my own mind in a manner 
 which you can scarcely realize. I can thus call 
 up before me Indians, with whom I conversed 
 familiarly, from Rupert's House and Fort George, 
 and place by their side others, with whom I have 
 travelled for days together, from the English 
 River, and they have the same essential features. 
 I see what others around them are, who are still 
 in darkness ; but, when they have cast away the 
 bonds of superstition, and are now clothed and in 
 their right mind, they exhibit a softness of heart, 
 they are not insensible to kindness, and manifest 
 an aflfectionate attachment to their benefactors. 
 In examining them for confirmation, and question- 
 
42 
 
 ing them one by one on their immortal interestSj 
 there is the same working of grace ; — the answers 
 at the one place might almost have been given at 
 the other. I find that ,the same translations of 
 the Bible and of the Prayer-book are understood 
 in both quarters. Now this gives me the lively 
 confidence, that, if we could advance, the same 
 effects would, through God's mercy, be witnessed. 
 The accounts we receive of the Chippewyans re- 
 present them as equally accessible to the Gospel, 
 and our own impression of them would confirm 
 this character : could we carry the Gospel to the 
 Arctic Sea, the Indians of the Mackenzie River 
 would, we think, present little obstacle but that of 
 language to be overcome, while, in penetrating as 
 far, as the Rocky Mountains on the Saskatchewan, 
 there would not even be this. And, brethren, to 
 this unity our own system gives great power ; to 
 think that the same prayers extend over more than 
 two thousand miles and may yet penetrate farther, 
 this would animate us in carrying forward the 
 work; to think that these become their compa- 
 nions in solitude, their manual for the worship of 
 the Sabbath, and their comfort when stretched on 
 the bed of death. 
 
 But there is also diversity apparent in the work. 
 No two spheres are exactly the same. The paro- 
 chial and European sphere differs of course very 
 widely from the purely Missionary sphere, where 
 the ground is broken up for the first time ; St. 
 Andrew's, Red River, from Fort George; the 
 more settled Missionary work at the Indian 
 
43 
 
 village, or at Christ Church, Cumberland, from 
 the earlier stages of the work as at the English 
 River. So too the labour among the Sauteux at 
 Islington vrould differ much from that among the 
 Crees. Later in giving in their adhesion to the 
 Gospel, more obstinately wedded to their own 
 ways, with more of the pride of soul, they yet 
 manifest some nobler traits of character when 
 brought under the yoke. Of most, if not all, of 
 those who have laboured among them, it is the 
 opinion, that they will in the end make greater 
 progress in the school of Christ. With this diver- 
 sity of work, few of you probably, could to ad- 
 vantage change your position at this hour : those 
 accustomed to the parish and the settlement 
 would not bear transplanting to the solitude of 
 the wilderness; while those habituated to inter- 
 course in the Indian tongue, would not as readily 
 fall into that larger amount of mental toil, neces- 
 sary in more constant preparation for the pulpit 
 or weekly lecture. And this makes it the more 
 important that the sphere of your labour should 
 be fixed from the first. If appointed to an out- 
 station, I would much rather that you should go 
 to it at once ; if to the North, I could wish that 
 henceforward the first winter were spent at Christ 
 Church, to gain facility in speaking the tongue 
 and to see practical work; if to the East, the 
 first winter might profitably be spent at Moose. 
 
 While however there is diversity, let us always 
 remember that it is the same doctrinal truth in 
 every case. In this respect we find the wants of 
 
44 
 
 the awakened Indian the same as those of our own 
 countrymen. The same Saviour becomes precious 
 alike to all when taught by the Spirit a sense of 
 sin. And, brethren, 1 have little fear of any of 
 you being led away from the simplicity of the 
 truth. Intercourse with the dying, continual con- 
 tact with those asking in nature's extremity after 
 the way of salvation, when nothing now conceals 
 their true feelings, — this generally keeps the mind 
 from wandering far into error. The speculations 
 of the closet may lead astray, but the realities of 
 death and eternity keep man to first principles, — 
 they keep us nearer to the Alpha and Omega, the 
 Author and Finisher of our faith. And to be often 
 addressing the spiritually dead, often speaking 
 to the earnest and inquiring heathen, or pressing 
 salvation on the attention of the callous and in- 
 different, — this would keep before us the leading 
 and fundamental truths of the Gospel, the lost and 
 ruined condition of man, his redemption through 
 a Saviour's blood, and his renewal by the work of 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 But in the application of the truth— in this, 
 my reverend brethren, lies the great difficulty, as 
 on it would depend the measure of ministerial 
 success. On it, as all-important, allow me to in- 
 terpose a very few remarks, the results of a grow- 
 ing experience and observation in our common 
 work. This application will differ much in the 
 missionary, and, as. we may call it, the parochial 
 sphere. 
 
 Taking then the former, I would earnestly press 
 
45 
 
 upon all so engaged the necessity of deep and 
 constant reflection. It is not enough to deliver 
 through an interpreter a passage with which we 
 are familiar. We ought often to ask ourselves, 
 "Are those whom I address familiar with the ideas 
 in which the exhortation is clothed ? are there no 
 parts which must fall powerless on the ear, and 
 therefore on the heart, because they can have no 
 corresponding idea in their minds ?" Reflection on 
 the processes of our own minds — the method in 
 which truth is acquired — is absolutely indispen- 
 sable in conveying to another a new body of truth. 
 The work of gathering in souls from Heathenism 
 is very different from anything the parochial 
 minister at home has to encounter ; and it is very 
 different from anything which met the Apostle at 
 Athens or Corinth, at Ephesus or at Rome. The 
 ideas existed there — the words were ready to 
 their hand, and they had only to transfer the ideas 
 to higher subjects, and to stamp the words for the 
 use of the sanctuary. But where the mind is a 
 blank intellectually, there is much labour neces- 
 sary before things spiritual can be entertained. 
 B.ead, brethren, any one chapter of the Bible, and, 
 closing the book, say how much of previous know- 
 ledge was necessary for its comprehension. It 
 dawns upon us from our childhood, and we imbibe 
 it with our mother's milk. God teaches us to walk 
 in this His paradise,* leading us by the hand, and 
 
 * This expression I owe to an early friend, the Rev. C. 
 Marriott, B.D. In his "Hints on Private Devotion" occurs 
 one from which all, though differing from the author in many 
 
46 
 
 we think not how difficult it is when presented to 
 an untaught and untutored mind. 
 
 It requires also much discretion. When there 
 is some stirring of the soul— when they manifest 
 some anxiety to hear, and a willingness to pray— 
 it becomes a matter of Christian prudence to weigh 
 cases. To be so far a good discerner of spirits, if 
 we may use the term,* would be high praise, or 
 rather, I would say, a great gift from God ; — nei- 
 ther to delay baptism too long, by requiring more 
 than was done in the earliest apostolic times ; nor 
 to administer it too readily, and so lower the idea 
 of this holy rite in the eyes of others. Can you 
 not quote cases in illustration of this, where you 
 have felt grief at one being taken to whom you 
 refused baptism, and yet of whom you hoped that 
 the Saviour noticed with approval the desire of 
 the soul, and accepted him ? Others again, on the 
 contrary, regarding whom you had made every 
 
 points, might profit: — "It is often a good thing to take a 
 book or large portion of Holy Scripture, and to make it a 
 kind of paradise to walk in. This way opens the most won- 
 derful prospects to the mind, and is likely to give to any one 
 who tries it a wholly new conception of the beauty and sym- 
 metry of the written Word." 
 
 * In the Greek language we have a single word for it, and 
 in the Greek poet a passage which portrays the excellence 
 described, if only applied in a spiritual manner, 
 
 OoTis 8' dya^os wpo/SaToyvcu/iwv 
 'OvK ecTTi XaOeiv ofifiara i^wtos. jEsch. Agam. 768. 
 
 Couple this with Prov. xxvii. 23, and we have the complete 
 picture of what we have referred to. 
 
47 
 
 inquiry and examination, and, as you thought, after 
 due caution, you baptized them, and yet, after all, 
 your fondest hopes have been disappointed ? It is 
 in such cases that a general rule is impossible, and 
 the trial of your very faithfulness and wisdom lies 
 in the treatment of the individual case. 
 
 Need I add, that the work requires much 
 patience ? Oh! how much of this is necessary, not 
 to lose the fervour of our first love, the burning 
 zeal with which we, perhaps, felt at the outset that 
 DagOn must fall, if the truth as it is in Jesus, 
 were but clearly and affectionately presented to 
 the mind ! But we find, that the strong man 
 armed keepeth the palace, and it requires much 
 faith atid prayer to renew the assault from day to 
 day, remembering that Jericho fell not until it 
 was often compassed, but that, if compassed in the 
 name of the Lord, at the blast of the trumpet, the 
 wall will at last give way. The examples, too, of 
 modern missions may be quoted to lead us to wait 
 God's own time : how long at Kishnagur did 
 the servants of God toil and labour, and see little 
 fruit ! — how long in the earlier history of Green- 
 land ! — and yet, when man was almost despairing, 
 the message was blessed, and a plenteous harvest 
 of souls gathered in. 
 
 If these are some of the peculiar requisites 
 forced upon us, from the necessity of the case, 
 where the labour is initial labour among the 
 heathen — if we are still only clearing the waste 
 land, and likely to find it true, that such as the 
 country is such will be the religious state of its 
 
48 
 
 inhabitants,''- there are also peculiar difficulties 
 which beset those whose sphere is more strictly 
 parochial. On such I would afFectionately press 
 what has given my own mind the greatest encou- 
 ragement, not only here, but throughout the 
 whole course of my ministerial life. 
 
 Consider more frequently the circumstances in 
 which you are placed. Our tendency is, I am sure, 
 to set up a standard drawn from that to which we 
 have been accustomed at home, instead of taking 
 a larger and juster view of the case. Our error 
 is the liability to judge of Christian character and 
 attainment here by what we have witnessed else- 
 where. We ought rather to reflect for how short 
 a time the Gospel has been proclaimed here, and 
 moderate our expectations thereby. We cannot 
 thus look for the same results of Christian expe- 
 rience, the same maturity of the divine life, as in 
 parishes favoured with every privilege, and that 
 for many a by-gone year. 
 
 Consider, too, how little there is to stimulate to 
 mental and spiritual activity. At home, and in 
 almost every other colonial diocese, there is a large 
 amount of energy around, and some bright Chris- 
 
 * Nowhere is man's power over nature more forcibly seen 
 than in a newly reclaimed country. The French proverb, 
 quoted by Trench, and his remarks upon it, are full of wisdom, 
 (" Lessons in Proverbs," p. 124.) Take the banks of the Red 
 River, with the forests unfelled, and view them now with pro- 
 ductive fields, and studded with the abodes of happiness and 
 comfort, and the two clauses of the verse are seen fulfilled, if 
 anywhere, " the earth yields her increase, and God, even our 
 own God, gives His blessing." 
 
49 
 
 tian patterns, there is a mighty cloud of witnesses, 
 of whose hope in death they have heard, all lead- 
 ing onward and upward. But where there is 
 more of monotony and stagnation, and the mind 
 is left to prey on itself, and there is no reaction 
 from without, the spiritual progress must be slower, 
 the change of thought and habits must be very 
 gradual. 
 
 And if, from your own experience, you admit 
 the truth of these remarks, then, as the best 
 antidote, labour to make a special adaptation to 
 the cases and character of those who are under 
 your care. Study them as a physician would a 
 patient presented to him, and bring forth out of 
 your treasures the most appropriate medicine. You 
 find in most books of experimental religion, which 
 you might place in their hands, a want of spe- 
 ciality, you find in them much which does not 
 apply to the state of things around, and much 
 omitted in self-examination and appeal to the con- 
 science, which you would wish thrown in and 
 added. Be it your part to supply this want, so 
 that the message proclaimed by you in public, and 
 pressed home in private by repeated pastoral visit- 
 ation, may be, through God's blessing, the very 
 lever for gradually raising the tone of feeling and 
 the standard of practice among your people. 
 
 Nor forget often to trace the actual results 
 which, notwithstanding all this, have been accom- 
 plished. Contemplate the general observance of 
 the Lord's-day, the attention to the word of God, 
 the attendance in your day and Sunday-schools, 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 and the number of your communicants, and draw 
 from all these sources matter of thankfulness. 
 Be persuaded that the grateful acknowledgment 
 of the past is the surest way to draw down fresh 
 mercies from the hand of our heavenly Father. 
 
 But, brethren, although there are, as we thus 
 see, difficulties and discouragements which may 
 meet us in duty, whether missionary or parochial, 
 still we do advance. There is a measure of esta- 
 blishment of the truth in the land. The Church 
 of Christ is as a living body among us, its pulses 
 beat, its vitality is felt. 
 
 We have had our losses. Since we met toge- 
 ther one clergyman has left us, and is now labour- 
 ing in an adjoining diocese.* We have lost, too, 
 the services of an earnest and affectionate fellow- 
 labourer,! one who was, to human eye, well fitted 
 for usefulness, and who had succeeded in gaining 
 the hearts of his people. From them and from us 
 he is taken in the mysterious providence of God ; 
 let us pray that, if life be spared, he may be a 
 blessing elsewhere to others. We have lost, too, 
 some from our communion. Natural it was that 
 they should long for the Church of their fathers,J 
 natural that, when opportunity offijred, they should 
 
 * The Rev. J^ Smithurst, formerly of the Indian settlement, 
 now of Ellora, Toron. 
 
 f The Rev. Robert James, late of St. Andrews, whose 
 health has prevented his return to missionary labour. 
 
 X Reference is here made to those who, thongh originally 
 Presbyterians, were for many years communicants with us, and 
 who have only lately formed themselves into a separate con- 
 gregation. 
 
51 
 
 seek to join it. One had sometimes hoped that 
 they would have held to the Church of their 
 children's baptism — ^the Church in which their 
 families had been trained and educated. One had 
 sometimes imagined that they would have con- 
 tinued with us, from seeing that our own Church 
 was, under God, the most likely to overspread and 
 evangelize the land. On these grounds, we had 
 at times cherished the expectation of their remain- 
 ing with us, but now that the separation has taken 
 place, we can only pray that the grace of God may 
 be with them, and that, though no longer wor- 
 shipping with us, they may be joined together 
 with us in one common hope, and partakers here- 
 after in one common inheritance. A temporal 
 loss, too, we have all, in some measure, sustained 
 by the flood. By it all connected with the settle- 
 ment suffered more or less, and yet it is not a little 
 cheering to see with what elasticity all have re- 
 covered from the shock. A more permanent loss 
 has been sustained at Fairford by the winter flood; 
 there it has in some measure blighted their fondest 
 hopes, and the work of forming a station has to 
 proceed afresh. The patience and perseverance 
 which can start anew in cheerful and uncomplain- 
 ing trust are beyond all praise. 
 
 Our gains, however, my reverend brethren, far 
 outweigh our losses. There is the Eastern Mission 
 added to us, almost an independent branch— a 
 youthful branch indeed, but very vigorous and 
 healthy. Between it and ourselves there is the 
 Mission at Islington, which soon may, I trust, 
 
 e2 
 
52 
 
 possess a church, as a light on a hill, mfeeting the 
 eye of the traveller, and filling him with a re- 
 freshment which he only knows, whether on his 
 way up from Albany and the Bay, or shooting 
 down the Winnipeg on his route from the Cana- 
 dian Lakes. And in this settlement we expand ; 
 a fresh station has been opened on the Assini- 
 boine, a clergyman placed there,* and the means of 
 grace brought to the very door of the new settlers 
 around. Nor is this all : each station would mul- 
 tiply and strike new roots. The Indian settle- 
 ment bas thus its branch school on the margin of 
 the lake at Broken Head River, while nearer to 
 itself the Sauteux school, unoccupied for some 
 years, has been revived. Christ Church has her 
 branches at Moose Lake and the Nepowewin ; 
 Rupert's House and Albany are visited periodi- 
 cally from Moose ; and Fort George will extend 
 its care to Little Whale River, and the Eskimos 
 who frequent it. Now this, brethren, if there be 
 meaning in language, would be the very interpre- 
 tation of the prophet's words, " the breaking forth 
 to the right hand and to the left," which is the 
 charge of the Spirit to the Gentile Church, and if 
 we are thus fulfilling a portion of the chapter, let 
 us take comfort to ourselves from the thought, 
 that some of its glorious promises may, perchance, 
 appertain to us. 
 
 The sight, indeed, of Rome — the thought of her 
 late invasion of the liberties and privileges of 
 Britain — the manner in which she sends forth her 
 * The Rev. G. O. Corbett, Colonial Church Society. 
 
53 
 
 emissaries to every land, may at times sadden the 
 spirit. But if, as we have seen, she is really 
 weakening at the heart, and these are but the con- 
 vulsive movements at the extremities to conceal 
 this, then may we feel that the coming struggle, 
 though it may be violent, will be short. Is there 
 not, too, discernible at the same time a growing 
 interest, a dawn of light in the East ? If Rome 
 seem to give token of decay, do not Babylon and 
 Nineveh appear to rise, and the children of Jeru- 
 salem stand forth more prominently? All seems 
 to carry us back to the land of Abraham, and to force 
 even upon the thoughtless the fulness of the pro- 
 mise made to him. The nations of the East seem 
 expectant, — a highway has been prepared, shall 
 we say by chance, or adventure, or not rather by 
 the signal providence of God, by which Egypt is 
 once more trodden by the feet of many, — the 
 Euphrates and the Red Sea, the very path of the 
 kings of the East. These things, brethren, are 
 now realities, and I would not link them more 
 closely with the prophetic Scriptures. I speak as 
 unto wise men, — to those conversant with the roll 
 of the Book. I only throw this out to stir up 
 your minds, and, if these things be so, to exhort 
 you to stand on your watch-tower, and give heed 
 to the " sure word of prophecy, as unto a light 
 shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and 
 the day star arise in your hearts." 
 
 Let this prospect, then, cheer and sustain you. 
 There may be coming trials. Scripture would 
 assure us, and, if I read aright the course of 
 
54 
 
 events, intellectual difficulties, a struggle and con- 
 flict of the mind may be that to which our 
 children may be exposed. A long period of un- 
 broken peace has trials peculiar to itself, for Satan 
 is never idle. The din of war may be hushed 
 over the earth, and its violence checked, but from 
 within evil may spring up as much to be dreaded 
 and feared. Are there no tokens of such a con- 
 flict, — are not the questions of the day questions 
 not so much of international disputes, as ques- 
 tions connected with the mind and its develop- 
 ment, with religion and its progress ? The mind 
 of man has thus challenged for itself a mighty 
 power, every subject is questioned, and foundations 
 are undermined.* Error has as bold a face as 
 truth, and what is advanced with self-confidence 
 is received by many as demonstration. I need 
 not carry out the sketch, nor show the downward 
 process from the starting of the doubt to the 
 arrival at open infidelity. Some have tried the 
 path, intellects high and noble, and they have only 
 lived to exhibit the phases of unbelief, the ques- 
 tionings of a troubled soul, " ever learning, but 
 never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 
 Now in this will be the patience and triumph of 
 the saints. It will be the sifting time for all that 
 dwell on the earth. The weak and the unsteady, 
 
 * The matter is well stated by Bishop Potter, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, to whom, on more than one occasion, I have been in- 
 debted already. In his Annual Address to his Clergy for 1853, 
 he traces the present danger to the fact that " intellectual 
 activity is in advance of moral earnestness." 
 
65 
 
 unable to bear the conflict, unable to test the 
 truth and weigh opposing testimony, they will 
 throw themselves into the arms of a Church which 
 may relieve them of every weight, and profess to 
 do all for them. Rather than investigate, they 
 will, according to the natural bias of man turn to 
 what is ready to their hand,* and, foregoing all 
 further search, give up their conscience into the 
 keeping of others; but they will not thereby gain 
 peace nor a pillow of down for their weary head. 
 " The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch 
 himself on it ; and the covering narrow than that 
 he can wrap himself in it." They have not the 
 Bible in its fulness, the length and breadth, and 
 depth and height, of that love of Christ which 
 passeth knowledge, on which the weary soul can 
 rest and lack nothing. They have not that robe 
 of spotless righteousness which shall be, on all 
 them that believe, a garment of glory and beauty 
 to cover every deficiency. 
 
 But, brethren, for the mind itself consecrated 
 and hallowed to God we have no fears. Only let 
 us arise and be doing, and let it not be found in 
 the day of combat that the Philistines have robbed 
 us of our weapons; that theirs are ready and 
 burnished, and ours unpolished and useless. Let 
 us endeavour to rise more and more to the intel- 
 lectual demands of the age. There is a growing 
 idolatry of talent, there is a fast increasing inter- 
 course with other portions of the earth. This 
 
 * The well known maxim in Thucyd., i-in. to erolfM fnaXkov 
 ToeTTOvrat. — Lib. l. 20. 
 
56 
 
 opens, in the providence of God, opportunities of 
 wide spread good, facilities for disseminating the 
 truth, but it brings with it also the knowledge of 
 much evil. Let us pray that God would raise up 
 many prepared and armed at all points to meet 
 the coming danger, the tide of an infidelity more 
 subtle, specious, and refined than that of the last 
 century, which may gradually spread over the 
 earth. For God's true servants there will be the 
 Pella still, for when " the enemy shall come in like 
 a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a stand- 
 ard against him." 
 
 And in our own sphere of lesser temptation, if 
 I may say it, what need we, brethren, in order 
 that we may withstand in the evil day? We 
 want more of that Spirit, for He alone can der 
 throne Satan, and make the soul His own temple. 
 We point to what He has already done around by 
 instruments weak and unworthy, and we draw the 
 inevitable inference, " No doubt the kingdom of 
 heaven is come among you."* But to extendthat 
 spiritual kingdom, how necessary is a larger mea- 
 sure of the Spirit,— how necessary a far greater 
 conformity to Christ. We want, to use the words 
 of that aged servant of God,f with whom this land 
 
 * St. Luke xi. 20. 'Apa e(l>9aar-ev €<^' i//ias. What other 
 language can thus express the silent introduction of the Gospel 
 into a country or an individual heart, almost before there is 
 the consciousness of its presence ? 
 
 -|- The Rev. Henry Budd, of White Roothing, Essex, in his 
 admirable sermon before the Church Missionary Society, 
 May, 1827. 
 
57 
 
 claims a peculiar connexion, " we want to be filled 
 with Christ, to have Christ in our office, Christ in 
 our voice, Christ in our heart, Christ in our act, 
 Christ conspicuous throughout the whole of our 
 intercourse with man — in a word the missionary 
 zeal that we may effect the missionary purpose." 
 If we so went forth, brethren, beseeching men in 
 Christ's stead, would not fewer turn a deaf ear to 
 the message ? 
 
 We want too more of earnest and fervent 
 prayer for each other and with one another; — for 
 those committed to our charge, and for those still 
 in darkness in the land in which we dwell. The 
 eye becomes too soon accustomed to the sight of 
 the perishing heathen, and the feelings of deep 
 and lively compassion cease to be awakened with- 
 in us with the same power as before. Well for 
 us, therefore, would it be to recur more frequently 
 to the view of the Redeemer's tears over Jeru- 
 salem, His compassion for those who were scat- 
 tered abroad as sheep without a shepherd. Well 
 to contemplate the Redeemer's intensity of suppli- 
 cation, when He continued whole nights in prayer. 
 Was it thus that, before sending forth His chosen 
 instruments, He spent the night alone on the 
 mount in secret communion with His Father, and 
 shall not we, who are weak and helpless, feel that 
 prayer is that holy violence, by which alone the 
 kingdom is to be taken and souls gained I 
 
 And we want to realize more vividly and con- 
 stantly the end of our ministry. To labour as if 
 we saw the separation taking place, and man 
 
58 
 
 going to his appointed portion for eternity of hap- 
 piness or misery. To stand on the confines of the 
 two worlds, and beseech men to flee from the 
 wrath to come ; — to stand as it were at the gate 
 of heaven, and pray men to enter into that glory 
 which shall be revealed. To feel the preciousness 
 of single souls by frequent reference to that blood 
 by which alone one could be ransomed. To 
 labour thus, in the light of eternity, would give 
 energy to our ministrations, a fulness to our pro- 
 clamations of pardon, and a subduing tenderness 
 to our words, even when compelled to declare the- 
 terrors of a coming judgment. 
 
 And, brethren, if I use such words of exhorta- 
 tion, I would seek to address them to myself 
 while speaking to you. If referring to ministerial 
 duties, 1 would include myself, for in the provi- 
 dence of God I am partaker of them together 
 with you; and, if at times a heavier weight of 
 care may be my portion from growing acquaint- 
 ance with the land and anxiety for so many 
 spheres, I would affectionately ask a continuance 
 of what you have never withheld, your interces- 
 sions at the throne of grace, that, for our woi'k's 
 sake, health and strength and energy might be 
 prolonged to me. Often has the sight of your 
 zeal encouraged and refreshed me; for what the 
 Apostle said to his converts we would say to you, 
 " We live, if ye stand fast in the- Lord." 
 
 Brethren, when we next meet our flocks, if 
 another Sabbath dawn upon us, it will be the 
 opening day of another year, — a year commencing 
 
59 
 
 and closing with God's holy day, — a year there- 
 fore of peculiar solemnity. May we enter upon 
 it with renewed earnestness, and may God grant 
 a double portion of His Spirit on our work, our 
 people, and our own souls ! 
 
LONDON : 
 G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
A CHAEGE 
 
 DELIVERED TO 
 
 THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 RUPERT'S LAND, 
 
 AT HIS 
 
 TRIENNIAL VISITATION, 
 
 May 29, 1856. 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 I.OKD BISHOP OF EUrEKT'S LANE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 1856. 
 SV 
 
LONDOH : 
 
 Printed by G. Barclay, Castlo St. Leicester E 
 
VENERABLE THE ARCHDEACONS 
 
 OF 
 
 ASSINIBOIA AND CUMBERLAND, 
 
 ]N WHOSE HANDS, 
 
 DUEING A TEMPORARY ABSENCE, 
 
 THE DIOCESE IS LEFT IN FULL COXFIDENCE, 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 
 
 A ^ 
 
A CHARGE, 
 
 My Reverend Brethren, 
 
 Necessity compels me on the present occasion 
 to anticipate the usual period of our assembling 
 together. From the nature of the climate, the 
 winter affords for the most part the more favour- 
 able opportunity for meeting in any number, as 
 the highways are then more accessible, and our 
 brethren from a distance can come in at less 
 personal inconvenience and sacrifice. As, how- 
 ever, I expect to be absent from the diocese 
 during the following winter, instead of awaiting 
 the return of St. John's Day, I have chosen for 
 our purpose the anniversary of my own conse- 
 cration. 
 
 Such a day was in the olden time styled the 
 Bishop's Birthday; and in some of the -ancient 
 liturgies special prayers and portions of Scripture 
 were appointed for its celebration.* On it we 
 
 * " The Gallican Offices direct that St. John, x. 1-16, 
 shall be read every year, on what they call the Bishop's 
 Birthday, the anniversary of his consecration." — Bishop 
 DoANE, in his sermon, The Shepherd of the Sheep, referring 
 to Dean Comber. 
 
have ourselves been accustomed from year to 
 year to hold some commemorative service; and 
 we have found it profitable to review the progress 
 of the work committed to us, as a motive to 
 deeper gratitude, and an incentive to more la- 
 borious exertion. It has been connected, too, 
 with our infant collegiate establishment and its 
 elections ; and for these reasons its adoption to- 
 day would commend itself to all who have at 
 heart the highest interests of religion in this 
 land.* May we feel something, as heretofore, of 
 the presence and Spirit of the Lord ; and as we 
 look up to him for fresh guidance and direc- 
 tion, may it be abundantly given unto us from 
 above. 
 
 On the objects of such a visitation it is now 
 unnecessary for me to dwell. Twice already 
 have we so met before ; and it is thus in some 
 measure a thing habitual, not alone a custom 
 authorised by the wisdom of centuries, but en- 
 deared to us from having experienced its bene- 
 ficial effects. It is, in its highest aspect, to 
 confer together regarding the cure of souls ; and, 
 viewed in this light, it possesses an interest 
 which links it very closely with the continuance 
 of the work of grace upon earth. This expres- 
 
 * It is not a little singular that the first Bishop of 
 Rupert's Land, a territory granted by royal charter by 
 Charles II. to his cousin Prince Eupert and others, should 
 have been consecrated on the anniversary of the restoration 
 of that monarch. The consecration, too, took place at Can- 
 terbury, where he rested on the eve of his entry into the 
 metropolis. 
 
sive phrase, familiar as it is to us, has in it a 
 depth, a force and beauty, which have called 
 forth the praises of writers not of our own com- 
 munion.* How much more ought it to be full of 
 pregnant meaning to ourselves from its occur- 
 rence in our own most solemn services and ad- 
 dresses to the throne of God ! To each of us, 
 then, it is well to be reminded, is committed a 
 cure of souls. Small, therefore, though our 
 numbers may be, the interests involved will 
 reach into the next generation as well as this ; 
 they will affect each successive generation in 
 the land : nay, the consequences will only be 
 fully developed through the countless ages of 
 eternity. 
 
 The historical feature of a Visitation, as 
 stated in our last Charge, has been noticed by 
 several since, who have all acknowledged that it 
 rests on a basis of truth. If an additional ex- 
 ample were required by way of confirmation, it 
 w^ould be afforded by that Charge, which has been 
 read, I think, by most of you, in which the past 
 and present state of China are vividly portrayed, 
 and which would lead us to watch with intense 
 eagerness the critical position of that land, and the 
 gradual development of a movement which would 
 affect the destinies of a third part of the family 
 
 * " The cure of souls, — a phrase which comprehends far 
 more than the preaching of sermons, and the duties of the 
 Sabbath and the sanctuary. There is a definiteness, an ex- 
 plicitness, in this beautiful expression, into which we hare 
 need more deeply to enter." — Eev. J. Angell James, 
 Earnest Ministry, p. 185. 
 
of mankind.* Of our own Charge the historical 
 stamp is sufficiently obvious, Hope was then 
 bright ; visions of peaceful progress were floating 
 before the mind ; the spell of an almost forty 
 years' peace was yet unbroken ; and we were 
 blindly looking forward to a period of prolonged 
 tranquillity. While we were uttering the words, 
 the note of preparation was being sounded — the 
 hosts were being marshalled for the battle. We 
 seem already to have been engaged in a war of 
 some length, from the suspense of deferred expect- 
 ation, and even from the sanguinary nature of 
 some of the conflicts. But while we are closing 
 this address, the tidings of peace have been 
 brought to our ears. Here, then, are sufficient 
 marks of time : — the profound rest and peace in 
 which Europe lay when we were last assembled, 
 the war which has since convulsed and agitated 
 all her leading powers, and the rebound of feeling 
 from the almost unlooked-for cessation of hos- 
 tilities, which, through the gracious interposition 
 of God, is now announced. Enough, surely, this 
 to show that our lot is cast in eventful times: 
 enough, surely, to prompt from every heart the 
 earnest prayer that the peace may not be a 
 transient one, but established on a solid and last- 
 ing foundation ; and such as to ensure the ulti- 
 mate spread and extension of the Redeemer's 
 kingdom. 
 
 But, if war thus mark the interval on which 
 
 * " China; her Future and her Past." A Charge by the 
 Bishop of Victoria. 
 
we look back, it can scarcelj' be out of place to 
 consider whether any special sins, any growing 
 evils, can be discerned, which may have assisted 
 in bringing down the judgment of God on a 
 nation so long favoured with peace. We may be 
 unable to fix on the very sin which may have 
 provoked the Most High ; but we cannot doubt 
 that forgetfulness of his hand, in some shape or 
 other, may have withdrawn his favour for a time ; 
 and that some disregard of his honour may have 
 prolonged the scourge. 
 
 Now ameng the things very highly displeasing, 
 we doubt not, to God, would be the undergrowth 
 of Infidelity — a tendency to doubt, and question, 
 and undermine the foundations of the faith. A 
 spirit of the kind was one of the melancholy 
 forerunners and attendants of the previous war ; 
 and such a spirit, though in a very changed form, 
 seems to be manifesting itself in many quarters. 
 It was then, in a coarse and gross shape, assailing 
 the volume of God with the rude jest, and sap- 
 ping without disguise the morals of the nation. 
 It has now a refinement, a subtlety and specious- 
 ness, which Satan deems more likely to win its 
 way in a more advanced age. It has, if we look 
 beneath, different forms.* It does not overthrow 
 God's word, but it makes the intuition of each 
 man the judge of what comes from God — the 
 
 * The varying phases of the infidelity of the day formed 
 the subject of a Series of Lectures delivered in Philadelphia 
 in 1853-54. I was most anxious to obtain a sight of them, 
 as now published in a volume, with an introductoi-y Preface, 
 
10 
 
 internal feeling the judge of revelation. It makes 
 man "a law unto himself," ahove and apart 
 from God's written word. There is, too, that 
 other phase of it which would form its own 
 notions of God and the Divine attributes; and 
 then mould the declarations of Scripture, however 
 plain and decisive, to suit these a priori con- 
 ceptions. It would discard the idea of the wrath 
 of God, and disown the necessity of a satisfaction 
 for sin : its object is, as one has expressed it, to 
 endeavour to frame '' a more indulgent Gospel." 
 The former is a kind of transcendentalism but 
 little congenial to the English mind ; the latter, 
 a revival, merely, of the exploded tenets of So- 
 cinianism : the two would unite in only receiving 
 as much as suits their purpose of the letter of 
 revelation. Fearful, indeed, would be the danger 
 if such views as these should gain ground. Many 
 of the grand motives of conduct would then be 
 removed, the specitic doctrines of the Bible would 
 gradually be eliminated, and a bare and naked 
 skeleton substituted for pure and vital Christi- 
 anity. 
 
 As, however, in the period referred to, God 
 raised up at the very moment many champions 
 of the truth, such as Watson, and Paley, and 
 Horsley, to stem the torrent of infidelity, so now 
 in his own good providence there appear to be 
 
 by Bishop Alonzo Potter. Through the kindness of the 
 Bishop, to whom on former occasions I have been much in- 
 debted, a copy was forwarded to me, but through the irre- 
 gularity of the post it unfortunately never reached me. 
 
11 
 
 some, whom he hath stirred up to do his work. 
 1 was struck in reading a Charge of the excellent 
 Bishop Porteus, in which he dwells very forcibly 
 on the flood of infidelity, which seemed likely to 
 deluge England in the year 179i. He exhorts 
 his clergy '' at that perilous crisis to contend 
 with peculiar earnestness for the faith once de- 
 livered to the saints," and points out to them the 
 large body of evidence furnished by the various 
 writers on the truth of Christianity. He enu- 
 merates in a note the names of many of those 
 standard authors, and referring to the " Horse 
 Paulinse" and " Evidences" of Paley, he calls them 
 " works of a very original character, and very 
 distinguished excellence, which have come very 
 seasonably to check the progress of modern phi- 
 losophy." Now this commendation was deli- 
 vered, I find, the very year in which the " Evi- 
 dences" of that author were first published. In 
 like manner, at the present hour we are told, in 
 a quarter which is entitled to much respect, that 
 " the literature of the Christian Evidences is re- 
 viving,"* and, in accepting this as an acknow- 
 ledged fact, may we not ask, " Is there not a 
 cause?" Is not the finger of God visible in 
 raising up the defenders, when the bulwarks of 
 the faith are threatened ? We have i-eason, then, 
 to bless God, that writers of power have ap- 
 peared at the very crisis when wanted ; yet much 
 occasion have we to pray that many more might 
 stand forth, endued with the needful gifts and 
 * " Christian Observer," Dec. 1854. 
 
12 
 
 valiant for the truth, furnished with the exact 
 weapons necessary for the conflict, so as not to 
 give an adversary any advantage over them.* 
 For let us remember, that evil of this kind is 
 aggravated a thousand-fold from the ready mul- 
 tiplication of books. The doubt may be thrown 
 out in a sentence, or a casual question, — in a 
 retired spot, in the cloisters of a university, — 
 but it is soon caught up and carried abroad. A 
 truth thus unsettled — a principle of action un- 
 dermined — a ground of hope clouded — and what 
 an irreparable injury is inflicted on mankind ! 
 How much easier to loosen and pull down than 
 to build up and re-establish ! Oh ! that some 
 might feel this, who have ventured to lower the 
 inspiration of Scripture — to call in question the 
 eternity of punishment — and to invent a theory 
 of the atonement, more plausible to man than 
 the solemn truth of God ! The influence of 
 books has been well likened by a living writer 
 
 * Among the more prominent works would be, " The 
 Restoration of Belief," "The Eclipse of Faith," Birks' 
 " Horse Evangelicae," Miall's " Bases of Belief," Whyte- 
 head's " Warrant of Faith," and the very masterly treatise 
 of M'Cosh, " On the Divine Government." There are also, 
 very opportunely, the Burnett Prize Essays, in which the 
 Churches of England and Scotland are seen once more in 
 graceful competition, contending together for the common 
 faith. Nor ought we to overlook the additions of the pre- 
 sent age to works of an earlier date ; what a large mass of 
 additional matter in the " Horse Paulinse,'' as edited by 
 Birks, — a wrangler of high standing contributing thus all 
 the light of modern criticism to illustrate the production of 
 a senior wrangler, his predecessor by seventy years. 
 
to a co-ordinate priesthood:* when arrayed on 
 the side of truth, they would act as a regene- 
 rating power in the world, penetrating where the 
 voice of the preacher has never reached; and, 
 where it has, still taking up a more permanent 
 dwelling in the family, and exercising even a 
 more constant sway. But, when the source and 
 fountain are poisoned, what more fatal scourge 
 can sweep over the face of the earth ! Let us 
 then take some encouragement from the fact, that 
 when the enemy has been coming in like a flood, 
 the Spirit of the Lord has ever in former times 
 been seen to lift up a standard against him: let 
 us recognise that God is doing this now among 
 ourselves, that defences are being published of 
 power and merit to meet the specious cavils of 
 every opponent. 
 
 And, in making this acknowledgment, I 
 cannot but add that, besides the direct answers 
 which have issued from places from which they 
 might have been expected, besides the elaborate 
 counter-statements of the truth, a very simple 
 and powerful reply has been furnished from a 
 very different and a very unexpected quarter. 
 While some were disputing about the limits of 
 inspiration, and others, with a fearful respon- 
 sibility, were questioning the eternity of punish- 
 ment, the evidence of the power of faith in the 
 grand fact of the atonement, and of genuine de- 
 pendence on the letter of the word, was being 
 gathered from the battle-field. Amid, the ago- 
 
 * Dean Milman. 
 
14 
 
 nies of death, or in cool preparation for the un- 
 certainties of coming warfare, was seen trium- 
 phantly the power of a simple faith to bear up 
 and sustain the soul. A solid evidence has thus 
 been furnished, which will penetrate to many a 
 fireside, and speak convincingly to many a heart, 
 and counteract with thousands the subtleties of a 
 spurious philosophy. 
 
 Together with this infidelity, how large an 
 amount of social discontent has been lately de- 
 veloped! In an age, upon which God has la- 
 vished so many mercies, in which the comforts 
 and conveniences of life have been so vastly in- 
 creased, and art and science done so much to 
 raise the average happiness, how little has there 
 been of adequate gratitude and patient depend- 
 ence on that hand, from which all these bless- 
 ings flow ! Was there not too much of pride 
 and self-trust at the commencement of the strug- 
 gle — too much of a spirit which might sa)^ " I 
 shall never be removed"? and when, perhaps 
 in righteous retribution, the partial reverse came, 
 or the day of victory seemed thrown into the 
 distance, how little was there of confidence in 
 the arm of the Most High ! With what unbe- 
 coming haste were immediate issues expected, 
 and how feverish and fretful was the anxiety dis- 
 played! The energies of those in command 
 were paralyzed through the reproaches of many, 
 who could not fully estimate their sufferings, or 
 sympathise with any plan which did not promise 
 some palpable and instant results. 
 
15 
 
 Now it is this spirit, as viewed in the light 
 of Scripture, as it must be regarded by God, that 
 we would notice. How offensive in the eyes of 
 Him, who seeth the end from the beginning, who 
 doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven 
 and among the inhabitants of the earth, that the 
 nation, to which he has pre-eminently committed 
 his word and truth, should glorify him so little in 
 the day of visitation ! May we not almost imagine 
 Him saying, as was said to the house of David of 
 old, '' Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but 
 will you weary God also ? " Does it not tend to 
 show, that a deeper foundation has yet to be laid ; 
 that art and science can do but little, if there is 
 a festering sore and a lack of inward happiness ; 
 that it is righteousness, in its broadest and most 
 comprehensive meaning, and that alone, which 
 exalteth a nation ? Blessed be God that a spirit 
 of prayer has been called forth in many places— 
 that many on bended knee have sustained the 
 hands of those who were wielding the sword in 
 battle. For their sakes God has been entreated ; 
 and, if only with the return of peace a calm 
 dependence on his arm, and a devout acknow- 
 ledgment of his power, shall take the place of 
 the spirit of angry discontent, we may then find 
 that " in quietness and confidence shall be our 
 strength, in returning and rest we shall be 
 
 saved." 
 
 There is yet one other tendency of the age, 
 to which i would invite your attention — one 
 which has long dwelt on my own mind, and 
 
16 
 
 which, if duly considered, is, I am convinced, 
 founded on facts. I mean, a morbid and restless 
 craving after an Ideal Optimism. Stated, per-- 
 haps, in this form, it may scarcely seem to you a 
 thing to be spoken of except in terms of com- 
 mendation. And yet, brethren, when we reflect 
 and look beneath the surface, how very little is 
 man able to carry out a theoretical optimism in 
 his plans and institutions ! In all there is a con- 
 tinual hindrance — something which stamps im- 
 perfection on the execution, however fair and 
 noble may have been the idea. It is unques- 
 tionably true, that in moral and spiritual excel- 
 lence we are to go on unto perfection, we are to 
 be ever pursuing ; but it is of another region of 
 subjects that I now speak. What is there, framed 
 by man, which does not betray some blemish, in 
 which we could not imagine some possible im- 
 provement? And the question is, Are we to be 
 always aiming at this ? Is not the necessary 
 efifect to produce an endless change — to rise up 
 against one of the very conditions of our being ? 
 How seldom is the straight line visible in nature ! 
 Is not the regularity of the heavenly orbs se- 
 cured amid the very perturbations, which at first 
 unsettle the beautifully adjusted formula? And 
 does not man work at present between limits, 
 with many apparent anomalies, which beset him 
 on the right hand and on the left, and between 
 which he is to run with patience his appointed 
 course ? The efifect of what has been thus im- 
 perfectly described is a frequent over-legislation, 
 
17 
 
 each generation thinking it can correct the work- 
 ing of the machine, but introducing the altera- 
 tion so rapidly, that its action has not time to 
 manifest itself. And there is this more obvious 
 effect, that if Optimism is to be the universal 
 standard, man must settle in what the excellence 
 is to consist. As intellectual excellence is the one 
 most palpable and capable of test, it is sure to 
 have the pre-eminence over other claims. In 
 this way intellectual merit bids fair to carry the 
 day over moral character, and an idolatry of 
 talent is likely to take place, of which some very 
 unequivocal symptoms are apparent. The few may 
 be highly educated and quickly promoteJ in life, 
 while the many may be comparatively overlooked 
 and neglected, and much unobtrusive merit may 
 sink entirely into the shade. Now this tendency 
 may be more latent, more difficult to trace in its 
 root and lay bare in its consequences, but we feel 
 confident that it exists. To grapple with it may 
 often expose to obloquy and misrepresentation, 
 because it rests on what is in itself good : but it 
 proceeds on a false and narrow view of the com- 
 plex nature of man ; it does not take into con- 
 sideration the actual state of the world, the ne- 
 cessary friction of the machine, and the many 
 disturbing causes which must affect every human 
 plan.* 
 
 * Examples of what is here alluded to may be found in 
 the Oxford University and East India Bills, which have in- 
 troduced great and beneficial changes : yet in each of these, 
 after the principle was broadly stated, the most ardent rfe- 
 
 B 
 
Here, then, are some tendencies of the age in 
 which we live, from which we anticipate evil. 
 Others noticed on former occasions still exist, 
 though in more or less modified forms. The 
 errors dwelt on in our Primary Charge do not, 
 we think, gain strength, though their effects can- 
 not yet have died away. Their shadows still 
 darken the full light of truth in many a breast, 
 and throw a cloud on the pure doctrines of the 
 Gospel. But the attention has been drawn off 
 from such topics by more absorbing subjects, and 
 they do not grow : according to general confes- 
 sion, there has been a lull in theological contro- 
 versy, which all, doubtless, would hail, as giving 
 hopes of more peaceful times for our beloved 
 Church. 
 
 The system dwelt on in our Second Charge, 
 that of the Church of Rome, has, we are con- 
 vinced, lost ground since we last met. In pub- 
 licly announcing from the seat of infallibility, as 
 an assured doctrine of the faith, a doctrine re- 
 pugnant to the plain letter of Scripture, and 
 opposed by many leading authorities within her 
 own pale, she has surely not a little damaged her 
 own cause. Our own position as regards Rome has 
 thus improved, and she stands convicted before 
 the world of an error of no little magnitude. It 
 
 formers came forward to propose limitations and introduce 
 exceptional cases. Illustration also might be afforded by 
 the debate on Promotion in the Army, in which the difficulty 
 of applying one universal test of merit was fairly acknow- 
 ledged by all sides. 
 
19 
 
 would require more than her wonted wisdom and 
 ingenuity to extricate herself from the dilemma 
 in which she has thus placed herself. It is as if 
 a spirit of blindness were upon her from the 
 Lord ; and if we take into account along with it 
 the crumbling of her power in Northern Italy, 
 and in the valleys of Piedmont, we might almost 
 be tempted to think that her time for deceiving 
 the nations of the earth was fast drawing to an 
 end. 
 
 So perplexed is the view, brethren, when we 
 look abroad, so many the sins which may cause 
 heavy displeasure on the part of God. Oh ! let 
 not Britain add to these a growing disregard of 
 the Sabbath, — a relaxation of the stringency of 
 those laws which now guard the sanctity of God's 
 day. If God has graciously vouchsafed to save 
 us from a Continental war, let there not be any 
 desire to approximate to a Continental Sabbath ; 
 or then, assuredly, the vials of Divine wrath will 
 soon be poured out again. Do you ask. What is 
 our own concern with these things ? It is, per- 
 haps, closer than we may at first sight imagine. 
 We are still a dependent Church ; our support 
 is, with a very few exceptions, derived from the 
 bounty of those at home. If the pressure conse- 
 quent on war should be prolonged, or the flame 
 of war be kindled afresh, we must expect that 
 these resources will be crippled, and that the 
 liberality which carries the bread of life through 
 this country will be checked. And, at the pre- 
 sent moment, no event that could happen to our 
 
 b2 
 
20 
 
 land would be more deplorable and disastrous 
 than this. Life enough, I trust, there might be ; 
 spirit and zeal sufficient to maintain the work, 
 notwithstanding the reduction of the means of 
 support ; yet when ground has been gained after 
 years of labour, it would have a discouraging and 
 blighting effect to have the sphere of operation 
 suddenly curtailed. 
 
 For what is our present position to-day ? If 
 I proceed to answer this question individually, it 
 is only in the hope, that I express your own 
 opinions, as gathered from frequent conference 
 and conversation, and with the entreaty, that, if 
 my sentiments do not agree with yours, you 
 would not scruple to inform me. 
 
 We are more established than we were seven 
 years ago. Now, by the word used, I do not 
 mean that we possess anything of power or ascen- 
 dancy — anything of that political pre-eminence 
 which is associated with the kindred word at 
 home. We have not any advantages, as an esta- 
 blishment, over the souls and consciences of men. 
 If we are more established, it is by the develop- 
 ment of our own intrinsic powers, by our own 
 personal energy, by carrying out as much as pos- 
 sible united and common system with mutual 
 and happy co-operation. We grow " by that 
 which every joint supplieth." We have, indeed, 
 advantages, which may assist and aid us in plant- 
 ing ourselves in any fresh territory, and erecting 
 there the standard of the cross. It is a mighty 
 advantage to be connected with that Church of 
 
21 
 
 the Reformation, which gave birth to Cranmer, 
 and Latimer, and Ridley, — to feel that we are 
 descended from those, who watered the Word 
 sown with their blood. It is a greater ground of 
 confidence to feel that we are in doctrine and 
 fellowship linked, as closely as may be, with the 
 Church of the Apostles — that we have a part, a 
 place and standing in that " House of God, which 
 is the Church of the living God, the pillar and 
 ground of the truth." That House and Church 
 may, and we rejoice to think, does include others ; 
 but, blessed be God, we cannot doubt that we are 
 within it ourselves. 
 
 Even this, however, stands us in little stead 
 in a new land, where every man is tried by his 
 own practical worth, by his effective power. Now, 
 employing such a test and criterion, we are more 
 established ; and the proofs of this are easily 
 produced. There is an expression which I much 
 like, which is a common one in our Church in 
 America, that of an " organised parish." Now 
 of such organised parishes, with their church 
 and parsonage, their churchwardens, school and 
 schoolmaster, we have five at least ; we might 
 almost say, seven. And I wish much that both 
 the churchwardens or vestry, and the school- 
 masters, should feel that they are indeed part 
 and portion of the fabric — that they are called 
 to be fellow-workers together with us, in carrying 
 out the Redeemer's kingdom, and in building up 
 and cementing the spiritual edifice. With their 
 hearty and zealous co-operation towards one ob- 
 
22 
 
 ject, the number of those labouring for the Lord 
 in each parish would be much augmented, and 
 the clergyman would not stand alone. On this 
 account we have summoned on the present occa- 
 sion those who are holding these offices in five 
 different churches ; and on our return, should 
 God permit, we would endeavour to meet them 
 in some way or other periodically, and develope 
 in a more systematic form the lay element of our 
 Church. This, however, is only external ma- 
 chinery and framework ; and, by the word " esta- 
 blished," I mean more than this — that there is 
 the minister attached to his people, and the flock 
 attached to their pastor. You are more bound to 
 your work than you were a few years ago. As far 
 as human eye reaches, I do not anticipate many 
 changes. A period of relaxation you may take, 
 and such a period I deem very desirable, that in 
 the Church there should be the furlough as in 
 the civil service : yet you all speak of this as 
 your sphere and work ; and even those who leave 
 us for a time seem only to return with renewed 
 zest- Am I wrong, then, in arguing from these 
 symptoms, that we are more established ? 
 
 We are, too, much more generally known. 
 How few could be found many years ago, who 
 knew anything of Eupert's Land or the Red 
 River ? Pass from county to county, and there 
 was an almost universal ignorance of their very 
 names. But now how different ! Our diocese 
 occupies a large portion of the sympathy and re- 
 gard of the Christian public, and the links are 
 
23 
 
 fast multiplying which connect us with the 
 Church of our forefathers. As the mysterious 
 electric fluid has opened communication with the 
 remotest parts, and made it as rapid as thought, 
 so, surely, there is a more extended Christian 
 sympathy diffused by God throughout his Church 
 than in former times. I feel this when I open 
 each year letters of deep affection from those 
 whom I have never seen in the flesh, and when I 
 gaze upon their kind gifts and presents for the 
 needy brethren of the body of Christ. I feel it a 
 delightful bond of union to my own College,* that 
 the Advent Offertory should each year be devoted 
 to this diocese. I feel it when I think of two be- 
 loved friends, appointed since we last met to the 
 Bishoprics of Sydney and Mauritius. I feel, as I 
 cast my eye from the distant West to those islands 
 of the South and China, that there is a union of 
 hearts which mocks at distance, and binds toge- 
 ther the widely separate. Now this sympathy 
 and intercommunion of spirit are from the Lord. 
 They increase with the increased facility of com- 
 munication, — ■ with the bringing together of the 
 ends of the earth, which we witness in this age, 
 — with the breaking up of the kingdoms of this 
 world, and the fusion of the spiritual kingdom 
 throughout the whole. Our own communication 
 with other lands has increased greatly in the last 
 three years. The visits of our brethren to Eng- 
 land, especially the late visit of one of our arch- 
 
 * Exeter College, Oxford. 
 
24 
 
 deacons, have brought us much before the public 
 eye. There is now scarcely a county, if there be 
 one where we are not known ; scarcely one in 
 which we have not some active, energetic, and 
 prayerful friends. All this, then, must neces- 
 sarily involve an increased responsibility ; as it 
 affords matter of gratitude and deep thankful- 
 ness, so it ought to lead us to look v?ell that we 
 turn it to good account, — it ought to pledge us 
 this day to redoubled exertion and diligence. 
 
 With these more favourable indications, the 
 work, however, may be as wearing, in some cases 
 more so than before. 
 
 In the Settlement, the generation of those 
 who came out in earlier times will soon have 
 passed away, and there will remain those born 
 in the land, and educated in its associations. 
 Now there are few who will affirm that such are 
 fully equal to their parents : there is found in 
 every colony a slight depreciation in the next 
 generation. An education they may obtain 
 equal, in some cases superior to that of their 
 parents ; but there is not the same steady in- 
 dustry, the same versatility and power of meeting 
 difficulties. They are thus a heavier burden to 
 the minister of God ; they require more assist- 
 ance, more counsel and direction. 
 
 And in the case of the Missionary Station, 
 whether purely or partially such, the addition 
 of fresh believers, or, even short of this, of fresh 
 inquirers, entails, as you know, a burden of no 
 little weight. It is not the individual alone; 
 
25 
 
 there is the family. If a profession of faith is 
 to be made, there must be the clothing — if the 
 means of grace are to be attended, there must 
 be the house — for the first year or two there 
 must be the food. Again and again have we 
 felt, as all have done, and more especially those 
 who, at an infant station, experience the burden 
 from morning to evening, from one day to another, 
 that the passage of Scripture most capable of 
 application would be the words of Jethro to 
 Moses, — "Thou wilt surely wear away, both 
 thou, and this people that is with thee : for this 
 thing is too heavy for thee." * Again and again 
 have we felt, in looking on the poor Indian 
 coming with expectations, which the wealth of 
 the richest mines could not meet, the natural- 
 ness of the words of Moses, sinful though the 
 spirit was in which they were spoken at the 
 moment, — " Have I conceived all this people? 
 have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say 
 unto me. Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing 
 father beareth the sucking child ? " + This, you 
 can bear testimony, is no ideal picture ; the 
 words of the Spirit, in reference to the Israelites, 
 have their very counterpart in the poor Indians : 
 our task with them is, indeed, to carry them as 
 in our bosom, to bear them as a nursing father 
 doth his children. They require to be taught 
 to think, to look beyond the present hour ; they 
 have to be guided by the hand in each step, as 
 
 * Exod. xviii. 18. t Num. xi. 12. 
 
26 
 
 they emerge from a state of nature and bar- 
 barism, into the very lowest rudiments of civiliz- 
 ation. 
 
 In this lengthened effort, after the Indian 
 has crossed the boundary line, and said in sub- 
 stance, I will be as you are, " Thy people shall 
 be my people, and thy God my God," we have 
 few to aid and assist us. It is this poverty which 
 wears us down. Those who have acquired an 
 independence in the land, for the most part, leave 
 it, and the minister of God is left to struggle 
 on with an augmented family, and yet with di- 
 minished resources. There is not the energy of 
 other colonies ; much of the life-blood is with- 
 drawn ; many of the young, the bone and sinew 
 of the land, leave it, and go to try their fortunes 
 abroad. Yet, for the sake of the souls of the 
 remnant, and the souls of the poor heathen, the 
 minister continues to labour on. How difficult 
 often, and how increasingly difficult may this 
 become, with prices raised, and the articles of 
 life more highly taxed ! 
 
 Difficulties must not, however, lead us to lose 
 sight of the work before us. There remaineth 
 yet very much land to be possessed. It is well 
 to endeavour to perform the work that is done 
 efficiently, and not, by enlarging the area, to do 
 all in a more slovenly and perfunctory spirit. 
 Yet the thought of those beyond— of those who 
 may be sighing as they think, " No man careth 
 for my soul," — must often suggest itself to our 
 mind. And it is more particularly forced upon 
 
27 
 
 our attention at the present time by the large 
 number of Plain Indians, who are encamped in 
 our immediate neighbourhood, and who (with 
 whatever other motive they may have come 
 hither) have expressed their desire to have a 
 minister of God sent among them, and the means 
 of civilization placed within their reach.* 
 
 Now, in connexion with this remoter field of 
 labour, it is obvious, that we can scarcely hope 
 to carry it on in the same method as our present 
 stations. The outlay would be too large; the 
 transport of property and substance too laborious. 
 Might we not, however, extend effort in some 
 directions, if more of an industrial character were 
 stamped on the undertaking — if it were fully 
 understood that, in return for the priceless 
 blessings imparted to the convert, we should in 
 every case expect some equivalent in the shape 
 
 * It seemed more than a fortuitous coincidence that a 
 large body of Plain Indians should have been in the settle- 
 ment at this time. I feared that they would pay me their 
 formal visit during the delivery of this Charge, and I there- 
 fore sent to say that I should be happy to see them in the 
 afternoon, or the following morning. Accepting the latter 
 proposal, the four Chiefs came the next day with a large 
 retinue, amounting in all to nearly two hundred, and the 
 greater part of the clergy being still with me, we held 
 a conference, at which addresses were made on both sides. 
 Though unattended with immediate effect, it will, I am con- 
 vinced from what passed, tend to break up the system of 
 heathenism ere very long. One of the Chiefs has since been 
 baptized, but he had been an inquirer for several years 
 before. 
 
28 
 
 of labour? I notice that at the foot of the 
 Himalaya Mountains there are what are termed 
 Industrial Schoolmasters, and that in their hands 
 the mission becomes almost self-supporting. This 
 were an idle dream for some time in this country, 
 but in endeavouring to carry our missions to- 
 wards the Kocky Mountains, or towards the 
 Arctic Sea, might we not do well to make some 
 return of labour an understood condition of 
 membership ? 
 
 Besides, it is sufficiently manifest, that we 
 cannot expect to multiply European labourers, 
 nor can we hope to obtain for many others 
 salaries of large amount. This, then, would 
 lead to the question, Can no other method be 
 adopted for carrying to the benighted Indians 
 the truth of God ? Now, by one of your own 
 number the suggestion has been offered, whether 
 something of Colportage might not profitably be 
 adopted ; whether an Indian, who has received 
 the truth in the love of it, might not be sent 
 forward to communicate to his countrymen the 
 Word which he has found precious to his own 
 soul. The suggestion seems to us worthy of con- 
 sideration ; and now that the Colporteur might 
 take with him large portions of the Word, 
 the Prayer-book, and some simple tracts, both 
 in the Roman and S}llabic characters, the way 
 seems more open in the providence of God. 
 Few, it is true, are fitted for such a task and 
 errand ; but your own minds can suggest one 
 
29 
 
 or two, who, had they been free and disengaged, 
 would have been invaluable and trustworthy.* 
 
 And, while thus dealing in suggestions and 
 throwing out hints, may we not ask, whether 
 the time has not yet arrived for undertaking 
 ourselves something of the work ? Our mis- 
 sionary field now covers a wide surface, from the 
 East Main to the English River, yet small, com- 
 pared to what lies beyond. We cannot expect 
 that the liberality of others can aid us in any 
 farther extension of the work. Ought we not to 
 arise ourselves and possess the land? Are we 
 not sufficient for it as regards means, and num- 
 bers, and influence, if only the Spirit of the Lord 
 should breathe upon us ? It may be, perhaps, 
 that the flame of piety burns scarcely so brightly 
 as in the earlier days of the mission — that a 
 measure of worldliness may have crept in. Now 
 what more likely to counteract this, and to draw 
 down the blessing of God on our own souls, 
 than to arise to a concern for the souls of others ? 
 Should we live, then, to return among you, it 
 would be our earnest desire to inaugurate a 
 new period, by becoming ourselves a Missionary 
 Church for transmitting the light onwards ; that 
 we should have a missionary of our own, sup- 
 ported by ourselves, to labour in a spot where 
 
 * The system is, in effect, carried out at present by one 
 catechist, at the Lakes of Qu'Appelle, and by a second at 
 Port Alexander. What is to be wished is the extension of 
 the same machinery beyond the Portage La Loche. 
 
30 
 
 the foot of the messenger of peace has not yet 
 trodden. 
 
 Thus to throw out branches from itself would 
 be the mark of a fruitful vine. It would indi- 
 cate life and healthy action. It would connect 
 us with that life and expansion which are con- 
 spicuous in every portion of the Church at this 
 moment. Since we last met, five additional 
 Bishoprics have been added to the Colonial 
 Church. Of others, which remain to be created, 
 the two to my own mind the most interesting 
 would be that of the Melanesian Islands, and 
 that of Agra, or Northern India. To the latter, 
 indeed, I should have been inclined to give the 
 preference over some smaller spheres lately raised 
 into Episcopal Sees, and I could have wished 
 it done during the lifetime of the venerable 
 Metropolitan of India ; that as he has lately had 
 the happy privilege of consecrating at Calcutta a 
 Bishop for Labuan and the Island of Borneo, 
 so, assisted by the other prelates of India, he 
 might also have consecrated another to preside 
 over the vast territories, which the providence 
 of God has so marvellously added to our empire. 
 To endeavour to raise man is thus the glory of 
 the age — to raise the Dyaks — to raise the Zulu, 
 the Patagonian, and the Indian. In this, too, 
 we bear a part ; our calling is to raise a people, 
 one of the families of mankind, as well as to 
 preach the everlasting Gospel ; and if we have 
 received much from others, let us seek to lead 
 
31 
 
 our people to impart also, as good stewards of 
 the manifold grace of God. 
 
 We would contemplate, then, a more aggres- 
 sive inroad on heathenism, in a more direct form, 
 should life be spared. In this, perhaps, we could 
 all bear a part : for there are some near us, in- 
 termingled with us, as well as beyond the limits 
 yet visited. To these we might endeavour once 
 more to commend the Gospel, and entreat them 
 in Christ's stead, ''Be ye reconciled to God." 
 We can all gain much from past experience ; and 
 a fresh effort, from the knowledge thus acquired, 
 might carry with it the Divine blessing. 
 
 If it be asked. What are the requisites for 
 such an undertaking ? they would appear to be 
 the very gifts which go to form the true mission- 
 ary. Now, this we always imagine to be a pe- 
 culiar calling — something different from minis- 
 terial life, as such. We might ■ say of him as of 
 the poet, that he is born, not formed ; or, more 
 correctly, that he is called to his work by the 
 Spirit of God, rather than framed and fashioned 
 by the instruction of man. As we believe that 
 the Holy Spirit still gives the true and effectual 
 calling to the ministry, so beyond that we feel 
 that he gives to some the peculiar desire to 
 labour in the outer fields, in the highways and 
 hedges, gathering the lost and outcast into the 
 fold. Such are the very individuals fitted for 
 labour abroad — they are there exactly in their 
 places, and blessed abundantly by God : transfer 
 
32 
 
 them to the crowded city or the retired parish at 
 home, they are out of their element and lost. 
 
 What, then, would be the missionary requi- 
 sites ? It is almost unnecessary to say, that at 
 the root must lie ardent love for souls. It is the 
 sight of the perishing which leads him to forsake 
 country and home ; it is the mind, dwelling much 
 on the numbers of the lost — the millions under 
 the grasp of Satan — which is led, as with a 
 mighty and strong impulse, to devote itself to 
 their rescue. And it is equally superfluous to 
 say that there must be also a patience which is 
 never wearied by discouragements and crosses, 
 and a spirit of prayer which faints not, though 
 the stirring among the dry bones may be long 
 delayed. These requisites are universally recog- 
 nised, and force themselves on the attention even 
 before the work is entered on, and have been 
 alluded to by us on former occasions. I wish 
 now rather to speak of gifts less commonly no- 
 ticed, and which experience alone brings out to 
 view. 
 
 There must he, brethren, much self-reliance, 
 as a primary element of success. In the selec- 
 tion of instruments, this ought to be an essential 
 point. It can be traced in all who have been 
 the most honoured agents in largely extending 
 the kingdom of the Lord. It is indispensable in 
 the earthly conqueror that he should feel a con- 
 fidence in his own resources, and that, though 
 baffled by temporary difficulties, he should stea- 
 
33 
 
 dily follow up some definite plan ; and, knowing 
 the all-sufficiency of the weapons of his warfare 
 — the almightiness of the power on his side — 
 the soldier of the cross feels well persuaded that 
 he will at last come off more than conqueror. 
 With, however, equal piety, there is often a mighty 
 difference between two individuals in self-reli- 
 ance. One is taken by surprise by the occur- 
 rence of an unexpected case, and cannot form a 
 judgment without much time and careful thought; 
 while the other, possessing more self-reliance, can 
 devise almost on the moment, and has a plan 
 prepared for every emergency.* Now the latter 
 is the temperament most fitted for the missionary 
 field. Scarcely a day, never a week elapses, 
 without placing the labourer in a position in 
 which, apart from the possibility of conferring 
 with others, he must decide, and that instantly, 
 and act upon the decision. And herein it would 
 differ from anything of self-trust, or pride : it is 
 reliance on that which God would furnish and is 
 ever ready to bestow, but which is to be used 
 and applied by us as instruments. It is the very 
 necessity for this self-reliance which would make 
 the missionary a man of prayer. Not knowing 
 what a day may bring forth, he must be fore- 
 armed -^prepared at every point : he must have 
 a cool head and a prompt judgment. 
 
 * It is the «uT«'gx£(« of Aristotle, taken in a Christian 
 sense : it is the excellence ascribed to Themistocles by the 
 
 historian, Oio-sa; fih ^vydfiu jKEAstds ^s ^^a^vTtiTi Kg^uTurroi; 
 auTcir^i^iii^iiV t« ^'uvrx. — ThuC. 1. 138. 
 
34 
 
 And next to self-reliance we would place 
 constructive power. There are two distinct me- 
 thods of viewing the human soul : we may con- 
 template it individually, as to be brought to the 
 knowledge of the truth, or we may consider it in 
 its relation to others around. Now, however the 
 former may occupy the mind in theory, it cannot 
 do so long in practice. Of the soul it may be 
 said, as of man originally, it is not good for it to 
 be alone. In his wild condition, man may roam 
 as a wanderer on the earth ; but in grace, God 
 would set the solitary in families. After any 
 one soul has been awakened by the Spirit of 
 God, the question soon comes, Where shall I 
 place him ? how shall I use him ? what is his 
 exact position in the economy of God? Nor 
 need we wonder at this : we are gathering stones, 
 but each stone is to be built in, and to have its 
 place in the spiritual temple ; we are collecting 
 the scattered members of a body, but each mem- 
 ber has its specific use. Now, to dovetail these 
 stones — to fix, and plant, and employ the con- 
 vert, so that he may feel himself an integral part 
 of the body — is a gift, and varies much : it is 
 what we would call constructive power. You 
 may see it in the parochial minister. In one 
 spot we perceive much available power ; but all 
 are acting without unity of efibrt and sympathy 
 with their head, and all is therefore isolation. 
 In another spot there is one heart and mind — 
 all are pulling in one direction — each has an 
 office, a duty, and we think of them naturally as 
 
35 
 
 one body under one head. It is this art of pro- 
 ducing unity which is wanted in the missionary, 
 only that the problem in his case is an hundred- 
 fold more difficult, as he has to form a society 
 out of the most discordant elements — to form of 
 units void of every principle of combination a 
 compacted whole. Surely, brethren, such a task 
 requires no small measure of ability and con- 
 structive skill. 
 
 Of intellectual attainment and acquired know- 
 ledge, you may yet expect me to speak. Perhaps 
 it might suffice to say, that in the work there is 
 employment for the very highest.* Wc rejoice 
 to find that many, trained in every branch of 
 human learning, have gone forth to India and 
 China, to meet the Brahmin and the disciples 
 of Oriental philosophy, and lead them to the 
 simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. But we 
 cannot think the same amount of acquirement 
 alike necessary in all. Many full of zeal and 
 earnestness have, we doubt not, been often lost 
 to our Church, by insisting on one unvarying 
 and unbending rule in all cases. Perhaps a 
 greater depth of theological learning should 
 rather have been required, when the extent of 
 classical erudition was the one point chiefly re- 
 garded. I have not, as a rule, required the ac- 
 quaintance with the ancient languages, which is 
 deemed, and most wisely so, an indispensable 
 
 * See " The Missions of the Church of England an In- 
 viting Field for Men of Academical Acquirements." A 
 Lecture by the Eev. J. Chapman, B.D. ; especially p. 10. 
 
 C 2 
 
36 
 
 qualification at home. We want special instru- 
 ments for a special work ; but, if admitted to the 
 ministry without a longer period of previous train- 
 ing, you stand pledged to the more constant study 
 of that which may supply the deficiency — the 
 diligent and laborious study of the great writers 
 in our own tongue. It is with pleasure that I 
 find that you are thus anxious to store your minds, 
 and that in this way our diocesan library is likely 
 to turn to direct and immediate profit. 
 
 The power of acquiring the native tongue 
 would fall under this head. The necessity would 
 vary much according to the spot, and the amount 
 of intercourse with the Indian. That the lan- 
 guage, whatever the dialect may be, can be ac- 
 quired in a very short time, I think sufficiently 
 proved from what has been done in our Eastern 
 missions. But beyond the mere language, it is 
 very essential to study the tone of thought and 
 feeling. It was said of an illustrious linguist, 
 a late Cardinal of the Church of Rome, that, in 
 commencing a language, he endeavoured to gain 
 its rhythm and general flow ; so in the Indian lan- 
 guages we may discern* something in the tone of 
 thought which, if grasped, becomes a key to the 
 wishes of th e speaker. The language of the Indian, 
 you well know, bears a close resemblance to his life. 
 He never enters on his subject at once ; but the 
 practised ear can, from a few sentences, or even 
 words, discern, by a kind of instinct, the remoter 
 subject to which he is tending. Study, then, the 
 language, those of you whose life and sphere are 
 
37 
 
 among the Indians ; but, besides this, study much 
 their minds and thoughts, so as to acquire influ- 
 ence and command over them ; condescend to 
 lend the patient ear to their tale, with its many 
 bends and windings ; and after so gaining their 
 hearts, unfold to them the story of grace — the 
 glad tidings of great joy — and, as you speak, 
 pray that God may give them the hearing ear 
 and the understanding heart. 
 
 Now, in order to carry out any such mission- 
 ary enterprise with success, it would be absolutely 
 necessary to abstain from questions of mere worldly 
 politics. This is, indeed, an acknowledged prin- 
 ciple in all missionary operations, and if necessary 
 in other countries, in our own doubly so. To 
 entangle ourselves in local matters is too sure to 
 defeat the object of our high calling, and to cir- 
 cumscribe, rather than to extend, the kingdom of 
 that Master whom we serve. That as citizens 
 of the country — as those who have a large stake 
 in it — as those brought into contact in so many 
 different ways with the population — we should 
 feel no little interest in its welfare, is only na- 
 tural. That we should sigh while so many thou- 
 sands are still sitting in darkness, untaught and 
 unblest — that we should long for the time when 
 all within its borders shall be taught of God — 
 this is only to say that we feel as followers of the 
 Saviour must. But let us not be led thereby to 
 go before the leadings of Divine Providence ; let 
 us not seek to transfer our responsibilities to the 
 shoulders of others, nor expect that under the 
 
38 
 
 present dispensation those employed in the va- 
 rious avocations of life will tread in the steps of 
 the minister of Grod, and become evangelists to 
 lost souls. 
 
 That the next seven years will be productive 
 of great changes in the land we feel assured. 
 Our own desire would be to see additional settlers 
 introduced, and immigration, though for a time 
 on a very cautious scale, encouraged. At a period 
 when the mother country is overstocked and over- 
 peopled, it would seem that a land which could 
 furnish support for the industrious might take 
 off a part of the population. Judging by the 
 reports of those who have left us and gone else- 
 where, the means of life are, on the whole, more 
 easily procured here than in other spots ; and we 
 believe that, over the surface of the land, some 
 situations might be found as fertile, and offering 
 as fair returns to the agriculturist, as the Eed 
 River. 
 
 Our hope, too, would be that, in any plan for 
 the amelioration of the land, the avenue to the 
 highest employments — to the positions of greatest 
 trust — should be thrown open to the native, as 
 in the recent case of Eastern India. As education 
 advances, this would afford the strongest stimulus 
 to exertion, to find that birth would never ope- 
 rate as a cause of exclusion, but that with merit 
 and application all might rise. 
 
 To effect, however, political changes, or even 
 to interfere in them, is not our province ; to hold 
 an opinion, after the experience of the past, and 
 
39 
 
 to support it with suflScient reasons, is the com- 
 mon privilege and birthright of all. But if in 
 political matters powerless, in social improve- 
 ments, and their recommendation, we possess no 
 small weight. In these respects, too, changes 
 may be before us, through the increase of ma- 
 chinery, the subdivision of labour, the encou- 
 ragement of the manufactures of the country, 
 and the introduction of special trades. Indeed, 
 as you well know, a settled society is only just 
 commencing among us, emerging from that wild 
 and irregular state, in which all were of necessity 
 obliged to undertake everything for themselves. 
 It is our legitimate province to endeavour to give 
 a healthy tone and direction to this gradual pro- 
 gress of society, as it uprises around us. 
 
 And in doing this nothing ought to be deemed 
 trivial or unimportant. As regards the dwellings 
 of the poor, I would ask you to use your influence 
 in promoting improvement in their internal ar- 
 rangement. Much has already been done by 
 recommending, and even insisting on, the subdi- 
 vision of the houses, where different members of 
 a family were under the same roof. This is alike 
 necessary for comfort, and important as regards 
 the moral well-being of the household.* 
 
 Let me also request you to discourage those 
 
 * Any reluctance which I felt to allude to this subject 
 was overcome by finding it noticed in a Metropolitan 
 Charge : — " That internal arrangement of cottages, whereby 
 three sleeping apartments, however small, may be secured to 
 
40 
 
 very large gatherings which often take place at 
 marriages. Some apology might be offered for 
 such general invitations, when the settlement was 
 small, forming, as it were, but one family ; but, 
 as the population increases, it cannot be necessary 
 to enlarge the number to such unreasonable di- 
 mensions. It has often materially lessened the 
 resources of the young couple for many years, 
 and, what is of greater consequence for us to 
 notice, it has been the prolific, source of much 
 evil. 
 
 And if in the hour of rejoicing you are to 
 exert an influence, and to seek to bring in mode- 
 ration and a more excellent way, so in the house 
 of mouf ning there is something for you to modify 
 and correct. We cannot too strongly express our 
 dislike of the large numbers that are often found 
 by the bedside of the sick or the dying. It is 
 kindly meant, but it is kindness sadly misapplied. 
 Nor can we approve of the watching the livelong 
 night by the corpse. The deeper feelings of the 
 bereaved would rather seek solitude — a place in 
 secret where to weep — than to be exposed to the 
 gaze of others at such a sacred season. And, 
 when the body is to be carried to the house ap- 
 pointed to all living, rather seek to diminish the 
 attendance, and confine it to the relatives and 
 
 each cottage, should be strongly recommended, instead of 
 that demoralizing custom which crowds the whole family, 
 of whatever age and sex, into one undivided chamber." — 
 Archbishop of York's Second Charge, 1853. 
 
41 
 
 nearest friends, than embrace a circle of indis- 
 criminate mourners. 
 
 By attention to these matters affecting our 
 daily life — our sorrows and our joys — family 
 comfort would be increased, domestic holiness 
 augmented ; and, while the tide of joy and grief 
 would not be lessened, it would flow, I cannot 
 doubt, in a deeper and more consecrated channel. 
 
 And now it only remains that I offer my 
 usual summary of work performed, and then in 
 a few parting words commend you to the good 
 care and keeping of God. 
 
 Our own numbers have advanced with the 
 same steady increase as before. One has from 
 unavoidable circumstances been withdrawn — cir- 
 cumstances over which neither he nor I could 
 exercise any control ; but, as his heart is still 
 with us, as it is his eager wish to return, and as 
 the desire of his late flock is as great to receive 
 him back again, I can hardly deem him lost to 
 us. Were he with us, and had I been able to 
 effect the journey to the Saskatchewan as I had 
 proposed, and there to ordain one additional 
 labourer, we should have been twenty instead of 
 eighteen to-day. For the continuance of un- 
 broken health among us we cannot feel too grate- 
 ful ; and for that providential care which has 
 guided so many of us in journeys by sea and land. 
 And yet we are reminded that death may come 
 in an unexpected hour. One, to whom allusion 
 was made when we last met, has since been carried 
 hence very suddenly by God — shipwrecked on 
 
42 
 
 his voyage home.* We rejoice that his place at 
 Vancouver has been supplied ; and we could only 
 wish that it were possible for us to include his suc- 
 cessor! in our own number, and that he could join 
 with us in brotherly intercourse and fellowship. 
 
 In ordinations, four European labourers have 
 been added to our little band ; and it is a satis- 
 faction to me to leave all in priest's orders before 
 my temporary departure. Of consecrations, we 
 have had but one church — one which, in effect 
 and finish, would form a good model for any 
 future structure.l At Moose and at St. Andrew's 
 I have consecrated burial-grounds ; and that 
 around St. James's Church will be ready before 
 I go. This will leave in the country five churches 
 and five burial-grounds consecrated. Churches 
 are completed, but not yet consecrated, at the 
 Indian settlement and at La Prairie. An en- 
 largement of the previous building having been 
 found necessary at Moose, a new church will 
 instead be erected there ; and at York, but for 
 the want of labourers on the spot, a church 
 would have been in progress during the present 
 summer.§ 
 
 * The Eev. E. J. Staines, B.A., Hon. Hudson's Bay 
 Company's Chaplain, Fort Victoria. 
 
 t The Eev. Edward Cridge, late Incumbent of Christ 
 Church, Stratford. 
 
 i St. James's Church, Assiniboine : to it the Society for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge contributed 200/., the re- 
 maining outlay being made up by voluntary subscriptions. 
 
 § The churches at Moose and York will be erected by 
 the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
48 
 
 We are engaged in our third series of confir- 
 mations, and they proceed hopefully. On each 
 occasion fresh spots are added. In our first 
 series I confirmed at seven different places; in 
 the second at ten ; during the third, should I 
 live to complete it, the rite would be administered 
 at seven places before my departure, and at seven 
 more after my return. My fear was, that the 
 numbers would necessarily diminish considerably 
 from its recurrence after an interval of only three 
 years ; but the number of those presented on the 
 Red River and Assiniboine has already exceeded 
 those on the previous occasion. 
 
 We are still, beyond all doubt, the chief organ 
 of education in the land. On the two rivers 
 alone, or, as it might be said, within the extended 
 boundaries of this colony, we have twelve schools ; 
 at the out-stations as many more. The influence 
 of these four-and-twenty schools cannot be small. 
 As in other countries, we have to lament over 
 the apathy of parents, who might by a judicious 
 exercise of authority, and by some little self-sacri- 
 fice, keep their children much longer at school. 
 Once started in life, they look back on the past 
 with regret, and they constantly confess to us their 
 deficiencies with unavailing sorrow. Those fully 
 trained and educated by us are found not inferior 
 to those whom they meet in life, able to compete 
 vigorously with others who have enjoyed much 
 greater advantages. The want still is depth and 
 solidity of character. The experiment of a dis- 
 tinct female school of a higher stamp has now 
 
44 
 
 been made for five years ; and has, I trust, been 
 appreciated through the country. For the sake 
 of the young, especially those necessarily separated 
 from their parents at a very early age, and feel- 
 ing deeply the mighty importance of raising the 
 female mind, as affecting the well-being of the 
 next generation, I am willing, at whatever cost, 
 to risk a second attempt ; and I have endeavoured 
 to obtain a suitable successor to her whose loss 
 to the country we have now to deplore. 
 
 At St. John's a Board of Trustees has been 
 established, who will act as guardians of the pro- 
 perty connected with the Collegiate School, and 
 keepers of the Diocesan Library. The latter 
 now numbers more than one thousand volumes, — 
 a number small in itself, but considerable when the 
 diflBculty of inland carriage is taken into account. 
 They now bear the stamp, device, and motto of 
 St. John's College. And yet I feel that the very 
 name of College may at times perplex and be- 
 wilder, from the scanty number which we can 
 assemble in the land, and the little claim that we 
 can make to anything approaching to college life. 
 But, as I think of and use the word, I revert to 
 bygone years, and the meaning of the term in 
 early times. In this sense would I employ it, as 
 embracing not the pupils and scholars alone, but 
 the bishop and clergy also, forming a missionary 
 college in a dark land. I would regard each 
 clergyman as a member of that College, and it 
 thus becomes a centre, uniting us all. In this 
 light it is no longer a vision or an ideal thing. 
 
45 
 
 but a living and substantive reality. The Library 
 would be the proof of its existence, which speaks 
 to the eye and mind of all, comprising within 
 itself the collected wisdom of ages for the use of 
 the present and every future generation in this 
 land. 
 
 At Moose it was a pleasure to me to prepare 
 a Pastoral Address to those Indians whom I was 
 unable to meet. It was translated and printed 
 oflF in a very short space of time, after which it 
 was signed by myself, and circulated through the 
 country. I hope to be able to continue this 
 practice yearly, or each alternate year, and so to 
 speak to those whom I cannot see in person. I 
 was delighted to find the amount of food which 
 was being supplied in that quarter for the Indian 
 mind, and the eagerness with which they asked 
 for a new book. The " Catechism of Bible and 
 Gospel History" has proved most useful for them, 
 and but for the lack of paper at the time many 
 other useful books would have been in circulation 
 last summer. It was pleasing to find, on my re- 
 turn, two additional Gospels and a short Cate- 
 chism in our own character, and to know that 
 the perusal of these would occupy the Indian of 
 the Saskatchewan for many a long hour during 
 the winter. And a few Sundays ago, while offi- 
 ciating at St. Andrew's, my eye fell with delight 
 on the Indian Gospels and Prayer-book, lying 
 side by side in the reading-desk with the Bible 
 and Prayer-book in our own tongue. To these 
 we hope may soon be added some simple ele- 
 
46 
 
 mentaf y compilations, . and a dictionary of the 
 Cree language. The latter will, we doubt not, 
 be undertaken on our application' by the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge, who so 
 kindly and promptly carried out Archdeacon 
 Hunter's translation of the Prayer-book, with 
 some hymns annexed to it for public worship. 
 For the Gospels we have to thank the Bible 
 Society ; for the printing press at Moose, and 
 the fount of Syllabic type, the Church Missionary 
 Society. 
 
 To all of these noble bodies it will be a satisfac- 
 tion to learn, that the desire for the Word of Life 
 spreads. At Moose, I myself witnessed the anxiety 
 of the Severn Indian for copies, which we could not 
 furnish according to his desires. And from York 
 we hear of the renewed petitions to that quarter 
 of the Severn Indian. Many of them Were bap- 
 tized during the last summer at York, but the 
 supply of books has been very inadequate to the 
 demand. They call for the Syllabic volume, but 
 with some slight changes from the Moose dialect. 
 And on the English Eiver much patient study 
 and laborious thought has been given to the 
 wider application of the Syllabic system, in the 
 hope that it may be brought to bear on the 
 Chippewyan. This may be effected, it is thought, 
 by the introduction of a few additional characters, 
 just as, at a conference at Moose, it was agreed 
 to add a few symbols to adapt the system to the 
 wants of the Eskimo. Now I cannot believe that 
 such labour will go without its reward ; in which- 
 
47 
 
 ever form Christ .is preached, and the broken 
 fragments of the bread of life distributed, "I 
 therein do rejoice, and will rejoice." The number 
 of our own clergy who can now address the 
 Indian, and speak to him in his own tongue, 
 would be at least seven ; the number of those 
 who have translated portions of God's word would 
 be six, to four of whom the language was not 
 their vernacular tongue. 
 
 With a work thus growing and increasing, 
 and a sphere of operation widening each year, it 
 may naturally be asked. Why leave the sheep in 
 the wilderness ? And from the close and affec- 
 tionate footing on which I have been among you, 
 you have perhaps a claim to know some of those 
 reasons which have led me to wish for a tem- 
 porary absence at this time. When I first came 
 out I imagined that a necessity might have 
 arisen for my visiting England at an earlier 
 period : year after year this was deferred, and, 
 had I not fully pledged myself now, this year also 
 I might have postponed it. But I believe that 
 there are reasons, which render it almost impera- 
 tive for me, and expedient in some measure for 
 yourselves. 
 
 After the completion of seven years I wish to 
 render up some account of my stewardship. Not, 
 indeed, that it is by man's judgment we stand or 
 fall : it is the great day of the Lord which will 
 try our work of what sort it is ; and it is to that 
 Master alone that we make our final appeal, as 
 ministers of Christ and stewards of the mvsteries 
 
48 
 
 of God. But we derive as a Church so much 
 from others, that it is only right that they should 
 have the fullest information how the work ad- 
 vances. With the condition of every station I 
 am now perfectly familiar, from personal inspec- 
 tion and oversight. I become, therefore, the re- 
 presentative of you all, and in leaving you would 
 bear both you and your work on my heart. My 
 earnest desire would be to report, as simply and 
 faithfully as 1 can, what my eyes have seen of 
 your spheres, your trials, and successes. You 
 have each your personal friends, the home parish 
 in which you were brought up, the house of God 
 in which you were accustomed to worship, and 
 fi'om which you were sent forth with many 
 prayers ; these will of course b3 spots sought out 
 by me, in order that I may refresh their heart?, 
 by telling them how the work of the Lord 
 prospers in your hands. 
 
 There is too a very large debt of gratitude, 
 which I am anxious to discharge, and to thank 
 Christian friends for the riches of their liberality. 
 Surely it is ''a land which the Lord our God 
 careth for," if, with so little cost or outlay, 
 almost without money and without price, His 
 hand has provided it with ministers, and Bibles, 
 and schools. To the Societies, from which as His 
 instruments, we have received these gifts, what 
 adequate thanks can we render ? Words are a 
 very poor acknowledgment, but to each it is your 
 wish that I should confess ourselves largely in- 
 debted. There are congregations which support 
 
49 
 
 special schools, and contribute to particular mis- 
 sions ; circles of Christian friends, who send the 
 raiment wherewith to clothe the inquiring Indian. 
 There are those who have kindly thought of our 
 orphans ; they must be told of the removal of 
 their asylum from a spot, in which we had found 
 insuperable obstacles, to a place in which God 
 had already assembled many of that helpless 
 class, and where, under the very roof of the 
 devoted missionary, they are as of his own family, 
 sharing in all that prayer and the deepest affec- 
 tion can effect for them. And there are noble 
 contributions cast into the treasury of the Lord 
 by those, the records of whose deeds will never 
 appear on earth, whose names will not be known 
 until the Saviour shall acknowledge the cup of 
 cold water given to the saint, — there are the 
 offerings of the widow, the hard-gained earnings 
 of self-denying poverty. Not overlooked are 
 such gifts by the Lord of the vineyard, and if so, 
 then they too are not to be forgotten, when we 
 recount with gratitude what we receive. We 
 would not willingly omit one drop which feeds 
 the stream that fertilizes and enriches our land : 
 from the fellowship of ministering to the saints 
 none are excluded, the richest may give by hun- 
 dreds, the poorest may give the mite watered by 
 prayer, and to each we may be alike debtors. 
 
 And while making this poor return, the only 
 one in our power, the experience of the past 
 would embolden us to venture to increase the 
 debt, and make even an additional appeal. It 
 
50 
 
 has surely been a blessed period for Britain^ 
 since God poured out on her the spirit of en- 
 larged charity, — since God made her his almoner 
 to the very ends of the earth. Even amid the 
 distractions of war, the extremest East and West 
 have continued to reap her bounty. As a nation, 
 she hath found that " there is that scattereth 
 and yet increaseth ; " and religion hath burnt all 
 the brighter at home, from diffusing the light 
 abroad. A further purpose would be to collect, 
 if God permit, for some special objects. Should 
 I live to spend other seven years in the land after 
 my return, a portion of them must be. devoted to 
 the task of building. While other churches 
 have been assisted and aided by us, we have not 
 yet attempted our own Cathedral Church. For 
 it we would require help, and we cannot for a 
 moment imagine that this will be withheld. The 
 three special objects for which I would solicit 
 contributions would be, (1,) The erection of a 
 modest and unpretending Cathedral ; (2,) The 
 enlargement of the Missionary field ; (3,) The 
 carrying out of Educational effort ; and donors 
 may appropriate their gifts to any of these ac- 
 cording to inclination. If the work be of the 
 Lord, pleasing and acceptable in his sight, then 
 he will, I doubt not, incline the hearts of many 
 to offer of their substance willingly and cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 And the last object I would mention would 
 be to gather fresh life and vigour from the sight 
 of home activity and intercourse with Christian 
 
51 
 
 friends. As it is indisputable that the hu- 
 man frame, in coming from warmer countries, 
 brings with it an amount of heat, which it gra- 
 ■ dually throws off from year to year, so we might 
 expect beforehand that the warmth of Christian 
 feeling, the livelier emotions with which we first 
 commence thie work, would become somewhat 
 lessened by residence in a foreign clime, where 
 the highest standard of Christian excellence is 
 not presented to view, — much more where there 
 is the daily deadening contact with heathenism. 
 That the country is healthy for the European 
 constitution, I deem a fact sufficiently established, 
 (our average of missionary labour, which is al- 
 ready higher than in most other lands, would 
 prove it ;) but for the restoration of spiritual 
 life, for the invigorating of all the mental powers, 
 on. this account I would recommend in your case, 
 what I now seek for myself, — a year of relaxation 
 from severer duty, to be spent in the bosom of 
 Christian society. It is not to a period of idle- 
 ness and entire remission that I look forward ; 
 almost daily shall I be occupied on behalf of this 
 country and its interests, even while absent: I 
 shall be speaking and pleading for it at a distance, 
 while you are supplying my lack of service and 
 working on the spot. I might, as you well know, 
 have spent an easier period among you, and have 
 kept myself comparatively free from care and 
 anxiety, but I undertook a larger responsibility, 
 when I saw no one willing to assume it. Though 
 the mind has thus at times been much exercised, 
 
 D 2 
 
52 
 
 my health is, through the blessing of God, wholly 
 unimpaired; and I scarcely feel to-day as if 
 seven years had passed over my head. Should 
 health he continued during my absence, I feel as 
 little inclined to spare myself; my wish would 
 be still to spend and be spent for the land to 
 which, as on this day, I solemnly devoted myself. 
 
 In the fullest confidence, I would leave all in 
 your hands, beloved brethren, during my absence. 
 The ecclesiastical authority would devolve on the 
 senior archdeacon on the spot, so that all would 
 be left in regularity and order. For your labo- 
 rious discharge of your duties, and your ever 
 ready attention to my own wishes, while I have 
 been among you, I return you my warmest thanks. 
 And, if thus diligent while we have been toge- 
 ther, I cannot doubt that you will be doubly so 
 when ray eye is removed. Realise, then, I en- 
 treat you, more and more, the momentous inter- 
 ests committed to you ; and, in the full light of 
 eternity, preach the Gospel in its bearing on 
 man's hopes and peace in this world, and on his 
 blessedness in that beyond the grave. The 
 longer God graciously spares you to your flocks, 
 let them discern the more a deepening expe- 
 rience of Divine truth in your preaching, a richer 
 unfolding of the spiritual treasures of the word. 
 
 All things conspire to remind us, that the 
 time may be short. The events of centuries seem 
 now crowded into a few years. The latter days 
 spoken of may be perhaps approaching. To the 
 East I once before directed your eye, to look out 
 
53 
 
 for the signs of the Master's appearing: how 
 much more has the attention heen drawn to that 
 quarter in the interval which has since elapsed I 
 We need not the voice and vision in order to 
 hear the appeal. The scene of conflict of the 
 powers of the earth is on the horder land between 
 the two continents, near the very spots most 
 noted in early story. Asia now calls to Europe, 
 "Come over and help us," — the Churches of 
 the Revelation and the neighbourhood of Para- 
 dise may ere long revive under the light of the 
 Gospel, — the way of the kings of the East may 
 be soon prepared. Now, aU these would be signs 
 heralding the coming dawn : all would point to 
 Jerusalem as " the first and last centre of the 
 Church on earth."* 
 
 To assist in forwarding this blessed consum- 
 mation is our glorious privilege. Mercy has been 
 termed the pattern-attribute of God ; and what 
 mercy, brethren, can compare with pity for lost 
 souls ? Yet a little, and the condition of the souls 
 of all will be fixed irrevocably : no messenger of 
 peace can then pass over the great gulf. But 
 now, how beautiful on the mountains the feet of 
 him that publisheth peace, — how sweet to make 
 ready a people prepared for the Lord — to make 
 straight in the desert a highway for our God! 
 Seven years of imperfect labour have we given to 
 the work amid many short-comings, which we 
 pray God to pardon. But insensible and un- 
 
 * " Land of the Morning." Eev. H. B. W. Churton. 
 P. 304. 
 
54 
 
 thankful should I Be, were I not to confess that 
 fruit appears, to the praise and glory of God's 
 name: a change does appear in the wilderness 
 and solitary place, — a change appears in the 
 heart and hosom of your parishes. And I call 
 upon you to say, what I would humbly exclaim 
 myself, — " Thanks be unto God, which always 
 causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh 
 manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in 
 every place." May I solicit your earnest prayers, 
 that my very absence for a season may be for the 
 furtherance of the Gospel in this land, and that, 
 if we are again permitted to meet on earth, it 
 may be in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel 
 of Christ, with more extended power to carry for- 
 ward the proclamation of his truth, and hearts 
 more enlarged to make known his salvation ! 
 
 London ;— Printed by G. Barclay, Castle St. Leicestol- Sq. 
 
A CHARGE 
 
 DELIVERED TO 
 
 THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 OF 
 
 RUPERT'S LAND, 
 
 IN 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RED RIVER, 
 
 AT HIS • 
 
 TRIENNIAL VISITATION, 
 
 JANUARY 6, 1860. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LOBD BISHOP OF RUPERT'S LAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HATCHARD AND CO. 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 1860. 
 
LONDON : 
 Printed by G. Bakolay, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
TO THE 
 
 EIGHT REV. a. J. MOUNTAIN, D.D, D.C.L. 
 
 LOBD BISHOP OF QUEBEC, 
 
 AND NOW SENIOR COLONIAL BISHOP, 
 
 THE FIRST 
 
 WHO CONFIRMED AND ORDAINED 
 
 IN THIS LAND, 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 BY HIS 
 FAITHFUL FRIEND AND BROTHER, 
 
 DAVID RUPEET'S LAND. 
 
 Bed Biver, Jan. 14. 
 
A CHAEGE, 
 
 My Reverend Brethren, 
 
 It was not without some reluctance that I 
 gave up the idea of meeting you, as usual, on 
 St. John's Day. But from the almost additional 
 solemnity connected with Christmas and New-: 
 year's Day, as falling each of them on a Sunday, 
 it was found inconvenient and unadvisable to 
 withdraw those from more distant spheres during 
 any portion of that week. I deemed it best that 
 you should enjoy both those hallowed seasons 
 in the bosom of your flocks, and that you should 
 come up with aU the freshness of an opening 
 year for mutual counsel and communion. Nor 
 could I have much doubt in the choice of the 
 Epiphany instead, as a bright and blessed 
 season for all associated in any way in mis- 
 sionary labour and in the ingathering of the 
 Gentile Church. 
 
 I have read somewhere of a celebration 
 which takes place at Rome as about this time 
 
—an exhibition of the various languages among 
 which her emissaries are labouring over the 
 face of the earth. In something of a similar 
 spirit we might reckon up to-day the different 
 tongues to which the ministrations of our Church 
 are extended in this far-reaching land. The 
 Crees and the Sauteux, the two largest tribes, 
 with their cognate dialects, have been long em- 
 braced ; to these have been added during the 
 past year a large body of the Chippewyans, and 
 a very few of the -Sioux ;* while in the eastern 
 district, the Norwegians f have regularly, and 
 the Eskimos occasionally, heard the message of 
 the Gospel. These with the original settlers, 
 and, as yet, a very small number of emigrants, 
 form our care; and along with them wiU be 
 associated, we trust, gradually, a remnant from 
 other numerous tribes,J as we penetrate yet 
 farther to the mountain ridge of the west and 
 the icy barrier of the north. Planted in the 
 midst of these, accommodating itself to their 
 
 * Three, who had intermarried, were baptized and con- 
 firmed at Headingly. It seems not unlikely that more of 
 the tribe may penetrate into this country. As the territory 
 of Dacotah becomes settled, the Sioux (or Dacotahs) will in 
 all probability be driven northwards. 
 
 I It is not a little creditable to Mr. Horden, that in 
 addition to preaching in the Indian tongue, he has also 
 acquired the Norwegian, so as to be able to preach in it to 
 the Norwegians in the Hudson's Bay Company's service at 
 Moose factory. 
 
 J Among these would be the Blackfeet, towards the 
 plains; the Siccanees and Loucheux towards the extreme 
 north. 
 
varied^ tongues, "the little one" may, in accord- 
 ance with the Divine promise which we have 
 just heard, " become a thousand, and the small 
 one a strong nation," 
 
 With such a field of labour before us, it is 
 an unspeakable pleasure to find our ranks still 
 unbroken by death. Indeed, the healthiness of 
 the land for the European may now be esta- 
 blished upon grounds which place the matter 
 beyond dispute. When I look around, and see 
 one of you who has completed his thirty-fourth 
 year in this country -r- when I take the average 
 of the seven who have been the longest on this 
 continent, and find it seventeen years — when I 
 remember that it is the eleventh year of my 
 own episcopate, and think of the short period 
 in that office of many most signally marked 
 out by God as possessing every qualification 
 for their high work,* I feel that no common 
 gratitude ought to be ours for the amount of 
 health and strength which God grants us here 
 in His service. 
 
 Now, if God, while mysteriously cutting 
 short the thread of life elsewhere, prolongs so 
 graciously the span of our existence, He has 
 
 * Three more providential appointments cannot be 
 imagined than the three first Bishops of Sierra Leone : 
 Bishop Vidal, from his singular linguistic talent ; Bishop 
 Weeks, from his previous knowledge of the country, where 
 he had laboured for years ; and Bishop Bowen, from his de- 
 votedness to missionary work, having given his gratuitous 
 services to the cause in Abyssinia and Palestine. And yet 
 these three were cut down within seven years ! 
 
8 
 
 surely work for us to perform ; and we are 
 naturally called upon to review our position, 
 and to ask how we stand at tlie point of time 
 which we have now reached. 
 
 Politically, no change has as yet passed over 
 the land. Several social improvements have 
 taken place, marking a new era, and betokening 
 progress. The river communication has been 
 opened up ; the road over the prairies has been 
 traversed; and the appliances of modern science 
 have rendered more easy the production of some 
 of the necessaries of life,* But the greater 
 change has not yet come. There is a general 
 expectation that the present year may usher it 
 in, and that during its course the southern 
 portion of the land, or at least our own settle- 
 ment, may become a direct colony of the Crown. 
 The boon was granted with great promptitude 
 by the late Colonial Secretary to British Co- 
 lumbia, and I can scarcely doubt that the noble- 
 man who has succeeded him in office, and whose 
 attention has for so many years been directed 
 to the subject, wiU be prepared ere long vdth a 
 comprehensive measure bearing on the condition 
 of this territory. For this, as a body, we have 
 ourselves petitioned the two Houses of Par- 
 liament, from the persuasion that the highest 
 interests of the country may in this way be best 
 promoted. "Whenever the change shall take 
 place, a new class of duties and responsibilities 
 
 * Besides these might be specified the publication of 
 this Charge on the spot for the first time. 
 
will arise. It wiU be your part, brethren, to 
 gmde and direct the minds of the people in the 
 new channel, so that there may be a healthy 
 and hearty co-operation from all — so that they 
 may exercise the privileges which may be com- 
 mitted to them, to the good of their feUow-men 
 and the glory of God, 
 
 Ecclesiastically, we ought to feel in measure 
 strengthened. Two new dioceses, the eighth 
 and ninth in British North America, have been 
 formed since we last met ; so that we have an 
 additional one on either side of us — that of 
 Huron on the east, and that of British Columbia 
 on the west. The uncertainty regarding the 
 extent of our own jurisdiction has been re- 
 moved; our boundary is now marked and de- 
 finite, and the Rocky Mountains would limit 
 our view in looking towards the Pacific. We 
 have, too, a third new diocese immediately ad- 
 joining us to the south — that of Minnesota, in 
 the Sister Church of the United States. All 
 this has a tendency to support us. And yet, in 
 comparison of all the other dioceses, we are stUl 
 of a very unwieldy shape, and, though small in 
 population and number of clergy, our distances 
 are almost as great as before. In each of the 
 other eight dioceses the clergy can, on all such 
 occasions as this, meet almost all of them to- 
 gether — here we can scarcely ever expect to 
 succeed in gathering more than a half. In this 
 diocese alone can it be said that one is absent 
 from us two thousand five hundred miles dis- 
 
10 
 
 tant to the north-west ; * that another is unable 
 to be with us, being twelve hundred miles to 
 the east. I Ungava Bay, the Kocky Mountains, 
 and the Arctic Sea, our present limits, are limits 
 rather for the eye and the imagination to rest 
 upon, than possible to be overtaken by any 
 amount of personal labour.| And at the heart 
 and centre we remain very isolated — we are 
 still the oasis in the wilderness. After repeated 
 eflforts, the difficulty is found to be great to 
 bridge over the intervening distance on each 
 side — to throw out branches which may connect 
 us with our neighbours in Canada and Co- 
 lumbia, and make us to be, in something more 
 than name, the highway of the west. 
 
 With this measure of apparent outward 
 strength, there are some causes and hindrances 
 which, I think you will agree with me, tend 
 to cripple and retard our work. 
 
 There is the very migratory character of our 
 most settled population. This may, in the good 
 
 * The EeT. W. West Kirkby, at Fort Simpson. 
 
 t The Eev. J. Horden, at Moose, James' Bay. 
 
 I The quotation at once suggests itself — 
 
 " Interralla vides humane commoda."— HoR. 
 Much as I should regret to give up the Moose missions, they 
 would seem to fall more naturally under another diocese. 
 The Roman Catholic priests who visit James' Bay are not 
 under the Eoman Catholic Bishop at Red River, but under 
 the Roman Catholic Bishop at Bytown or Ottawa. They 
 have also further subdivided this immense territory by 
 planting another Bishop in the north-west, to be stationed 
 at Isle a la Crosse. 
 
II 
 
 providence of God, carry onward the tide of 
 population, and scatter it over the wilderness. 
 It may thus ultimately answer a good purpose ; 
 but its tendency at the time is felt by most of us 
 very painfully. It weakens parishes, and very 
 materially checks education, rendering it more 
 expensive and difficult to be extended to all. It 
 keeps the mass in a state of greater poverty, 
 and prevents their growth and rise. It lessens 
 the amount of public spirit and local attach- 
 ment, and perpetuates many of the habits of 
 Indian life. It parts and separates, where, if 
 united, all would be combination and strength. 
 There is, too, the want of a deeper religious 
 life, even amongst the more advanced Christ- 
 ians. Here there is stagnation instead of move- 
 ment. The Word is heard with joy and received 
 with readiness ; but it is the development of the 
 rich fruit which the minister looks for, and looks 
 too often in vain. Measuring themselves rather 
 by that from which God hath saved them — the 
 condition of the heathen who know not God — 
 than by the standard of by -gone generations and 
 of other countries, they are satisfied with smaller 
 attainments — they rest contented with a lower 
 level, and do not press forward to the measure 
 of the stature of a perfect man. Their con- 
 dition is a matter of rejoicing to the minister of 
 God, at first, as they are eager to hear. It is 
 in their after course that he suflFers disappoint- 
 ment. The building stops before he is pre- 
 pared : the growth terminates suddenly, after 
 
12 
 
 advancing for a time with rapidity ; and there is 
 not the higher experience of the Divine life. 
 
 There is, moreover, an additional check in 
 the Indian work. It is a transition period ; 
 change is anticipated. An excitement has 
 seized the Indian mind, and he is little inclined 
 to give a calm and patient attention to the 
 claims of the Gospel. A wider competition 
 is afloat ; and baits are held out by the un- 
 scrupulous which the poor Indian is too weak 
 to resist. A greater difficulty has thus been 
 found in selecting and planting new stations, 
 while at the old-established missions the stead- 
 fastness of the convert has been very sorely 
 tried, if not in some cases too successfully 
 shaken. Direct conversions have, in conse- 
 quence, been less numerous during the last 
 two years, and I much fear that the next two 
 or three may continue to tell the same tale. 
 At all events the Indian is less hopeful and 
 more difficult to act upon than he was found to 
 be five years ago. 
 
 With these and other causes impeding the 
 progress of our work, and materially affecting 
 its character, the testimony of all of us would, 
 if I mistake not, be somewhat similar to-day, — 
 our common acknowledgment would be, that 
 the interval since we last met has not been 
 marked with such distinct success as previous 
 periods — that some of our more sanguiae ex- 
 pectations have only been faintly realised. Now, 
 if such be your feelings, brethren, is there no 
 
13 
 
 deeper agency to which we may trace this? is 
 the condition peculiar to ourselves, or may we 
 throw it under a wider classification and identify 
 it with what we notice elsewhere on a wider 
 scale? The answer to my own mind is suffi- 
 ciently clear ; the explanation which alone ap- 
 pears to me to account for it, is a greater 
 measure of power put forth by Satan in the 
 days in which we live, not only here but over 
 the whole earth. Can we then substantiate this 
 in the world, so as to prove it more than an idle 
 dream? 
 
 He has surely convulsed nations, and kin- 
 dled the. flames of war, so as to multiply deso- 
 lation, and misery, and mourning. A sanguinary 
 war had been brought to a close at the period 
 of our last Visitation — the tidings of peace had 
 just reached our ears. How quickly was another 
 kindled at a distant spot, if not more sanguinary, 
 yet in all its features more fiendish — laying low 
 not only the warrior whose profession was arms, 
 but massacring with untold atrocity the mother 
 and daughter, and the helpless babe ! Did any 
 question the power of Satan here ? Was it not 
 talked of, and on the lips of all?* And when 
 the carnage was over, and the records of the 
 
 * As in the passage, " The cunning Spirit of Evil may 
 fear that his time is shoi-t ; and assuredly, if he walked 
 abroad, and, in some visible, unsightly form, tempted men to 
 evU, we could hardly be more certain that he has possessed 
 the perpetrators of these foul enormities, and hurried them 
 
14 
 
 whole committed to the page of history — except 
 what history would blush to mention — did Satan 
 cease from "going to and fro on the earth," 
 stirring up war and death? The scene only was 
 changed, and the heart of civilised Europe was 
 next convulsed. Bloody battles were again 
 fought in rapid succession on a very ancient 
 battle-field : and when the loss has been told 
 in thousands of slain, and the sword is once 
 more sheathed, the question is asked — to which 
 none seem able to reply — Has aught been 
 gained? who has reaped any solid and enduring 
 advantage ? Satan, we fear, alone ; and the 
 volcano only slumbers to break forth afresh in 
 deadlier fiiry. 
 
 He has troubled, too, the Church of God, by 
 unsettling the faith* and ruffling the peace of 
 many. He has approached the bulwarks, the 
 towers which protect the Zion of the living God, 
 and tried to weaken the foundations ; his efforts 
 
 into excesses which seem almost to require an infernal 
 prompter." And again, " Atrocities which make one shud- 
 der, and ask whether hell be worse than earth when thus 
 polluted and defiled." — The Moral of a Sad Story, by the 
 Rev. J. Hampden Gurney. 
 
 * " A small amount of reading of the literature of the 
 day, a slight attention to passing events, a little intercourse 
 with general society, wUl be enough to convince us that 
 there is much unsettledness upon the most essential truths 
 of religion, and that the agents of Bomanism, Rationalism, 
 and Infidelity are openly and dehberately at work, in under- 
 mining the foundations of our country's faith." — Bishop of 
 Gloucester's Primary XJharge. 
 
15 
 
 here have been covert and disguised:* making 
 choice of a fresh point of attack as each assault 
 was in turn repulsed, he has endeavoured to 
 shake the pedestal on which the truth of the 
 Gospel is placed. The effect is seen in a few 
 of the unstable, who have never had a firm 
 grasp of vital doctrine. Without a sure anchor 
 themselves, they are driven about with each 
 fresh wave, and at last seek a haven where they 
 may be saved the trouble of thought. Such 
 perversions have latterly been much less fre- 
 quent. Some, however, still stand on the 
 brink, trifling with the ceremonies and sophis- 
 tries of Eome, and seeming almost to make it 
 a question how much of Komanism they may 
 bring in among us before they take the final 
 step. An effort has been made to re-introduce 
 the debasing evils of the confessional, from 
 which it had been hoped that the Reformation 
 had for ever delivered us. We cannot, surely, 
 my reverend brethren, feel too grateful to the 
 Bishop of London for the boldness with which 
 he at once met the subject, nor to the venerable 
 Primate for his unequivocal decision that the 
 innovation was " not only not in accordance 
 with the rubric or doctrine of the Church of 
 
 * " Our adversary, who never sleeps, has recently put 
 forth his wiliest wiles, and strained his mightiest might. 
 Long -settled verities have been disturbed. Some have 
 upraised a hand to dim the principles of Eeformation light ; 
 others, with philosophy not wiser than a heathen • dream, 
 have touched the keystone of the Gospel arch." — Arch- 
 deacon Law's Charge, 1857. 
 
14 
 
 whole committed to the page of history — except 
 what history would blush to mention — did Satan 
 cease from "going to and fro on the earth," 
 stirring up war and death? The scene only was 
 changed, and the heart of civilised Europe was 
 next convulsed. Bloody battles were again 
 fought in rapid succession on a very ancient 
 battle-field : and when the loss has been told 
 in thousands of slain, and the sword is once 
 more sheathed, the question is asked — to which 
 none seem able to reply — Has aught been 
 gained? who has reaped any solid and enduring 
 advantage ? Satan, we fear, alone ; and the 
 volcano only slumbers to break forth afresh in 
 deadlier fury. 
 
 He has troubled, too, the Church of God, by 
 unsettling the faith* and rufiling the peace of 
 many. He has approached the bulwarks, the 
 towers which protect the Zion of the living God, 
 and tried to weaken the foundations ; his efforts 
 
 into excesses wMch seem almost to require an infernal 
 prompter.'' And again, " Atrocities which make one shud- 
 der, and ask whether hell be worse than earth when thus 
 polluted and defiled." — The Moral of a Sad Story, by the 
 Eev. J. Hampden Gurney. 
 
 * " A small amount of reading of the literature of the 
 day, a slight attention to passing events, a little intercourse 
 with general society, wiU be enough to convince us that 
 there is much unsettledness upon the most essential truths 
 of religion, and that the agents of Romanism, Rationalism, 
 and Infidelity are openly and deliberately at work, in under- 
 mining the foundations of our country's faith." — Bishop of 
 G\.oviCQaiMv'& Primary XJharge. , 
 
15 
 
 here have been covert and disguised:* making 
 choice of a fresh point of attack as each assault 
 was in turn repulsed, he has endeavoured to 
 shake the pedestal on which the truth of the 
 Gospel is placed. The effect is seen in a few 
 of the unstable, who have never had a firm 
 grasp of vital doctrine. Without a sure anchor 
 themselves, they are driven about with each 
 fresh wave, and at last seek a haven where they 
 may be saved the trouble of thought. Such 
 perversions have latterly been much less fre- 
 quent. Some, however, still stand on the 
 brink, trifling with the ceremonies and sophis- 
 tries of Rome, and seeming almost to make it 
 a question how much of Eomanism they may 
 bring in among us before they take the final 
 step. An effort has been made to re-introduce 
 the debasing evils of the confessional, from 
 which it had been hoped that the Reformation 
 had for ever delivered us. We cannot, surely, 
 my reverend brethren, feel too grateful to the 
 Bishop of London for the boldness with which 
 he at once met the subject, nor to the venerable 
 Primate for his unequivocal decision that the 
 innovation was " not only not in accordance 
 with the rubric or doctrine of the Church of 
 
 * " Our adversary, who never sleeps, has recently put 
 forth his wiliest wiles, and strained his mightiest might. 
 Long -settled verities have been disturbed. Some have 
 upraised a hand to dim the principles of Eeformation light ; 
 others, with philosophy not wiser than a heathen ■ dream, 
 have touched the keystone of the Gospel arch." — Arch- 
 deacon Law's Charge, 1857. 
 
16 
 
 England, but most dangerous, and likely to 
 produce most serious mischief to the cause of 
 morality and religion." In other and very 
 opposite quarters — in much of the popular 
 literature, and it is to be feared in some of 
 the writings of a very plausible religious school 
 — there is a large amount of a vague Univer- 
 salism,* which would throw a cloud on the 
 doctrines of grace, and seem well-nigh to con- 
 found the God of providence with the God of 
 grace, and almost entirely to deny that sin, 
 uncancelled and unrepented of, will imprint any 
 indelible mark on the soul beyond the grave. 
 So opposite are the poles of error — the super- 
 stition which seeks relief from sin by the con- 
 fession to a fellow-creature, and that rationalistic 
 spirit of overweening pride which will scarce 
 believe that sin's shadow can darken man's path- 
 way here, or involve him in unending misery 
 hereafter ! Meanwhile controversy increases and 
 rages around the most sacred subjects. The age 
 has, with some truth, been characterisedf as one 
 of "the most tremendous conflict of opinion." 
 The intellectual and spiritual trials of life are 
 thus added to i the Tempter has cast fresh 
 snares across the path to beguile souls. 
 
 If, then, we turn to heathenism, has he 
 stirred and aroused it in like manner? No : 
 here, and here alone, his object is to rivet the 
 
 * See the Rev. C. J. EUicott's Sermons on the Destiny 
 of the Creature, p. 75. 
 f Bishop Trower. 
 
17 
 
 soul in its chains — to lull with the opiate of 
 a false security — to prevent inquiry, and seal 
 up in darkness. Fearing lest the light should 
 shine into their prison-house, he would stay the 
 hand of Christian charity, and silence the voice 
 of the preacher. No interference with the sys- 
 tems of idolatry and superstition — neutrality 
 would be the watchword which he would seek 
 to instil into the minds of all. How clear his 
 unwillingness to allow any soul to escape from 
 his bondage and thraldom — how plain the cry 
 of the spirits which " work in the children of 
 disobedience," anxious to retain them a little 
 longer in their grasp, " Art thou come hither 
 to torment us before the time ?" 
 
 Is there, then, this growing power in the 
 world, the Church, and heathendom? If there 
 be, then, judging by the analogy of God's pro- 
 vidence and the promises of His word, we might 
 expect to find that there would be a correspond- 
 ing outpouring of the Spirit. Can we then, 
 brethren, discern side by side anything of this ? 
 
 And surely here we may place first among 
 the phenomena which force themselves upon 
 our notice the symptoms of revival in so many 
 different spots — in the United States, in Ireland, 
 Scotland, and elsewhere. Whatever there may 
 be of physical or nervous excitement connected 
 with it (as there will often be when the masses 
 are concerned in a religious awakening), I can- 
 not doubt that there is beneath a work of God. 
 This on our own continent is attested by two 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 Bishops of the highest character,* and is made 
 by one of them the subject of his annual Charge; 
 while in the North of Ireland it is fully recog- 
 nised by the Bishop in whose diocese the occur- 
 rences have chiefly taken place,f who has him- 
 self taken part in many of these devotional 
 meetings. Visitors to the spot, and even judges 
 on the bench, all concur in the same testimony ; 
 and surer almost than all these is the proof 
 from the changed life, the wonderful disappear- 
 ance from districts of sin and vice — the wide- 
 spread prevalence of prayer. The very scorner 
 can scarcely deny that the hand of God is here. 
 But the believer, turning aside to behold the 
 sight, recognises in it something of an effusion 
 of that same Spirit which was poured out on 
 the day of Pentecost : he looks hopefully for 
 times of refreshment from these premonitory 
 tokens ; he sees from the droppings the proof of 
 the willingness of God to give the more plen- 
 teous shower ; he hears almost the very voice of 
 God, saying to him, " Prove me now herewith, 
 if I will not open the windows of heaven, and 
 pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be 
 room enough to receive it." 
 
 Connected with this spirit of awakened 
 seriousness there is the ever-widening spirit of 
 zeal for the souls of others, whether at home or 
 
 * Bishops M'llvaine and Eastburn. — See Charge of 
 the latter: "The Signal Work of the Holy Spirit in the 
 United States." 
 
 t The Bishop of Down and Connor. 
 
19 
 
 abroad. How manifest this in the special ser- 
 vices at Exeter Hall and elsewhere, designed to 
 bring all within the sound of the Gospel — how 
 manifest in the opening of cathedrals, where 
 thousands listen together to the glad sound, 
 and fill the lofty dome with choral praise — how 
 manifest where, under the open canopy of hea- 
 ven, the ambassador of God declares the same 
 message, wherever he can assemble hearers — 
 on the steps of the seat of commerce, or in the 
 neighbourhood of the densely -peopled alley! 
 Nor has this in the least tended to weaken the 
 activity of Christian charity for dying souls 
 abroad. We had all, perhaps, thought with 
 anxiety regarding the future, when we heard of 
 the efforts made to succour the Indian sufferers 
 — the large sums raised for their temporal 
 relief. We thought it must necessarily curtail 
 and lessen the receipts of the various Christian 
 societies on which we were so largely dependent, 
 and we were prepared to find it so. But we 
 hear of no diminution. Many seem to have 
 acted on the conviction, that whatever their 
 previous contributions to the cause may have 
 been, they must now be doubled.* The inse- 
 curity of the past has been felt; it has taught 
 the necessity of building on a surer foundation, 
 and proved, with a force clearer than that of 
 
 * The Church Missionary Society has its Special Indian 
 Fund. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel has 
 determined to double the number of its European mission- 
 aries in India. 
 
20 
 
 lengthened argument, that the open avowal of 
 the Christian faith must ever be the surest 
 defence of a professedly Christian nation. 
 
 And already the power of the Spirit is mani- 
 festing itself in those very portions of the earth 
 where Satan had erected his trophies, and from 
 which he thought he had gathered in his tri- 
 umphs. We noticed, on a previous occasion, 
 that war had given us noble and cheering speci- 
 mens of the beauty of holiness — convincing 
 proofs of the efficacy of Divine grace. It has 
 been so again, brethren, and on a wider scale. 
 Some of the names most conspicuous recently 
 in military prowess are to be handed down as 
 very memorable examples of a living faith. 
 Religion has been seen to be the brightest orna- 
 ment on the brow of the victorious general ; it 
 has been seen giving energy and decision to the 
 civilian, investing him with a power and influ- 
 ence greater than that of the sword ; * and 
 elevating, with the bright hope of heaven, the 
 patient and enduring female as she bends under 
 the stroke, willing either to suffer or to die. 
 Already we receive from the land tidings which 
 speak encouragingly of the future, and tell of a 
 greater willingness to entertain the message. It 
 
 " The names of Lawrence, Montgomery, and Edwardes 
 will readily occur as instances of great personal influence, 
 as well as the singular fact that, when all means of getting 
 supplies failed, the Eev. C. B. Leupolt was sent out from 
 Benares as the one most trusted by the natives, and suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
21 
 
 is as if the darkest hour had come, and God 
 were now ready to hless. Seeds of light have 
 been sown on the very spots bedewed with 
 blood, and the names of places associated with 
 fierce and foul deeds seem likely to be hereafter 
 connected with the records of grace. And in 
 that other land, since rendered desolate — the 
 land of poetry and song — is a similar dawn of 
 hope. The older superstitions of Italy, under 
 which she has so long groaned, seem fast 
 decaying. Many, unwilling to dwell longer in 
 darkness, seem calling for the light. There is 
 a growing demand for God's blessed word ; and, 
 while seeking to cast off their shackles and 
 assert their nationality and independence, they 
 appear in some quarters to manifest an anxiety 
 for that liberty wherewith Christ makes His 
 people free. The slumbering truth may revive, 
 the hidden witnesses who have long prophesied 
 in sackcloth may awake as from the dead, and 
 the pure Gospel of Christ may carry healing 
 and cure to the wounds of that stricken people. 
 Thus have we taken a rapid glance at the 
 growing power of Satan, as seen at present in 
 the world, and the yet mightier power of the 
 Spirit which God shows himself so willing to 
 exert on the side of His people, in answer to 
 their prayers. May we not, brethren, learn 
 something ourselves from this double view ? 
 May we not, on the one hand, do well to re- 
 member that our very calling is to make 
 inroads on the kingdom of Satan, that "mys- 
 
22 
 
 terious, ever-working power, which is en- 
 trenched in heathenism as in a stronghold."* 
 Let us never forget his personality, his power, 
 his wiles, as now more than ever necessary to 
 be borne in mind.f Let us remember, that at 
 the basis of all missionary effort lies the de- 
 claration, " the whole world lieth in wicked- 
 ness," or rather in the wicked one. From it, 
 that is from his grasp, we are to win souls 
 for Christ, bringing them to the foot of His 
 cross and the knowledge of His salvation now, 
 that we might present them to Him hereafter, 
 to receive from His hands their crown. And, 
 on the other hand, let us seek more of the 
 power of the Spirit. We cannot, it is true, 
 look for it in the mightier gatherings of the 
 saints, where numbers add a quickening energy 
 to prayer ; but let us look for it where the 
 promise is still sure of fulfilment, where two or 
 three are met together. You have felt the 
 profit as weU as the pleasure of those monthly 
 clerical meetings for prayer and the study of 
 God's word, and conference on ministerial 
 duties and trials, at most of which I have been 
 able to be present and take part with you. 
 
 * Rev. J. Hampden Gurney. 
 
 t My intention was to have taken, as the more especial 
 subject of this Charge, " Mission-work an inroad into the 
 kingdom of Satan;" but I found almost all that could be 
 said anticipated in the very able Charge of Dr. Burgess, 
 bishop of Maine, in July last, on " The Personality, King- 
 dom, and Power of Satan." 
 
23 
 
 Their object is to remind of ordination vows, 
 to plead for a pentecostal blessing, to give 
 point and unity and purpose to separate and 
 scattered effort. You felt, too, the advantage 
 of the social meetings with your parishioners 
 during the last winter — the cottage or family 
 lecture from house to house. Now, at all such 
 seasons, whether meeting ministerially, as bre- 
 thren whose toil is for souls ; or parochially, as 
 the shepherd with a portion of his flock, let us 
 with yet deeper fervency pray that the agency 
 of the Spirit, felt elsewhere, may be more and 
 more felt among ourselves ; that while re- 
 freshing other spots, it may also " drop upon 
 the pastures of the wilderness." 
 
 And now I might almost pass to the reca- 
 pitulation of our own work, were it not that 
 there are two subjects which have of late been 
 much before the public mind, which seem to 
 call for a passing notice and some expression of 
 opinion. The one concerns all the Churches of 
 the Reformation, which speak our tongue ; the 
 other is connected with our own branch of the 
 Church of Christ, and limited to it. The first 
 is a question regarding the Bible, which is the 
 guide and manual of the redeemed people of 
 God, to whatever earthly communion they may 
 belong ; the second is concerning the form of 
 prayer in which we worship our Heavenly 
 Father, as we trust, in spirit and in truth. 
 
 The first question, then, is that of the re- 
 vision of the authorised version of the Bible, 
 
24 
 
 or rather, in a narrower shape than this, the 
 authorised version of the New Testament. 
 We have not seen in any discussion of the 
 subject the Old Testament brought prominently 
 forward. It is to the New Testament that the 
 attention has been almost entirely confined. 
 
 Now it is a matter of very grave responsi- 
 bility, and, it must be allowed, of no little 
 hazard, to interfere in any way with a transla- 
 tion consecrated by all the recollections of 
 childhood, treasured up in our memories from 
 early youth, and quoted since from week to 
 week in the recurring ministrations of the 
 pulpit. We remember, of course, that it is a 
 translation ; but a translation how marvellously 
 made ! 
 
 How wonderful and providential the time — 
 before separation and division had crept in — 
 when England and Scotland were united under 
 one sovereign — before colonization had spread 
 its branches over the globe. Issued at this 
 singular and fortunate season, it became the 
 charter of the Reformed Church — the one 
 bond uniting its separate parts, and its echoes 
 still seem to linger in and haunt the minds of 
 those who have left her and gone over to wor- 
 ship in a corrupt church.* It has passed, too, 
 with the settler and emigrant to the remotest 
 shores, so that " its sound has indeed gone out 
 
 * See the admissions in a passage of extreme pathos 
 and beauty quoted from the Dublin Review, June 1853, in 
 Trench's English, Past and Present, page 32. 
 
25 
 
 into all the earth, and its words unto the ends 
 of the world." For the same wide diffusion, 
 the same universal acceptance of any new 
 version, we can scarcely look, rent and divided 
 as the Church of God now is. But God may 
 mark an era yet to come, with tokens of as 
 providential suitableness. In proportion as the 
 Spirit is more largely poured out, there may be 
 a greater union among the people of God — 
 they may be drawn closer to each other and to 
 His word, and one fruit may be their willing- 
 ness to co-operate in this blessed work, so as to 
 remove every known imperfection from that 
 record in which is conveyed to us the word of 
 eternal life. 
 
 How wonderful, too, the form in which the 
 version appeared — the rhythm and majestic 
 dignity of the language, unequalled since, and 
 still the standard, to which all turn with re- 
 verence and awe. But here we are at all 
 events making some progress. The very study 
 and contemplation of it has in our own time led 
 gradually to something of a purer style, and 
 the latest attempt made, has been generally 
 acknowledged to approach very nearly to its 
 tone — to have struck the key-note,* and to 
 maintain it very successfully throughout. 
 
 How wonderful, too, the accuracy, even as 
 tested by modern scholarship, at a distance of 
 two centuries and a half. Here every suc- 
 
 * This is their own expression. See "Preface to the 
 Revision of Epistle to the Romans by the Five." 
 
26 
 
 cessive effort deepens the confidence felt in the 
 faithfulness of that which we all respect. Take 
 a Grospel or an Epistle with all the emendations 
 of the late Regius Professor at Cambridge,* and 
 how few and unimportant they appear. Still it 
 is in this department that the greatest advance 
 has been made. The sifting of God^s word, the 
 collation of manuscripts, and the minute ana- 
 lysis of the text when established, has done 
 much to secure a more perfect comprehension 
 of the whole. During the last ten years, the 
 exegetical labours of Alford and EUicott, and 
 the recent translations of the Five, have borne 
 good fruit. The present age is thus making 
 large contributions — preparing the way for what 
 the next generation may carry out. 
 
 I would not, then, speak, as I do not feel, 
 despondingly on the subject. Many are at 
 work in the precious mine, " seeking for the 
 truth as for silver and searching for her as for 
 hid treasure." The letters of the manuscript 
 are minutely scanned,f the meaning of each 
 word and passage weighed, and the whole then 
 transferred from the language in which "holy 
 men spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 
 * Professor Scholefield. See his Hints for some Im- 
 provements in the Authorised Version of the New Testa- 
 ment, edited by Professor Selwyn. 
 
 f Thus, in Rom. v. 1, the difference between a long and 
 short vowel would lead to the rendering, " Let us have 
 peace with God;" the preponderance of authority being in 
 favour of this reading. 
 
27 
 
 Ghost," as nearly as circumstances will permit, 
 into our own tongue. Book after book of the 
 New Testament is so handled with reverence 
 and prayer and every appliance of scholarship. 
 When its several hooks are, finished and the 
 whole completed and subjected to yet another 
 revision, reducing the changes to the smallest 
 number possible ; the result may then be sub- 
 mitted to the Church of God at large. We 
 rejoice that those of our own Church are fore- 
 most in the laborious toil — that most men seem 
 to look to them for the accomplishment of the 
 detail : the judgment to be pronounced will 
 rest with others besides. Should that judg- 
 ment be generally favourable, we are not with- 
 out hopes that a voice almost unanimous may 
 ask to have the changes embodied in the text — 
 that the Churches which unite with us in re^ 
 ceiving the present, may agree to accept the 
 new version. We feel with him* who has 
 written with his usual attractiveness upon the 
 subject, that " a revision will come," though, 
 perhaps, not in our day. Our task may be 
 only the gathering of the material ; the com- 
 pletion may mark the close of the century, or 
 may even be reserved for the Tercentenary of 
 our present Bible. 
 
 Let us, however, turn from this revision, in 
 which other branches of the Church of Christ 
 
 * Dr. Trench, Dean of Westminster. See his work on 
 tlie Revision of the New Testament, page 12. 
 
28 
 
 have an interest as well as ourselves, to that 
 other revision in which our own branch is alone 
 concerned, that of the Prayer-book. 
 
 Now in this we have surely a right to claim 
 that no hand, no voice, take any part in any 
 change, except those who use it and have 
 drunk in of its spirit. Is there, then, among 
 such — among those who are true and loyal- 
 hearted sons of the Church of England, any 
 desire for change ? Is there any wisdom in 
 seeking to conciliate by change? — would any 
 large number, or any at all, be won over by 
 such change ? Now it is a fact weU worthy of 
 notice, that in several quarters a desire for a 
 form has manifested itself — nay more, that a 
 form has been used and recommended where 
 we should scarcely have expected it. With the 
 tendency in this direction — this approximation 
 to ourselves — it is pleasing to observe the 
 growing liberality — the willingness to soften 
 any unnecessary stiffness on our own side. 
 This is seen in the permission to break up and 
 subdivide services, given by those in authority, 
 and to use shortened services on special occa- 
 sions. 
 
 I feel individually thankful that the three 
 services commonly called the State or Histo- 
 rical Services have been cancelled, and that 
 there remains attached to the Prayer-book only 
 the one for the anniversary of the Accession of 
 our gracious Queen. As a custom, we all, I 
 believe, omit the use of the Lord's Prayer 
 
29 
 
 before the sermon, in accordance with the sug- 
 gestion of the Archbishop and the Bishop of 
 London, I could myself wish that it should be 
 omitted at the beginning of the Communion.* 
 Starting, then, with the Collect for Purity, the 
 earlier portion of the ante-Communion would 
 stand a beautiful and complete service for the 
 regulation of our conduct, by reference to God's 
 law. We should in it bring our lives to that 
 code written of old by the finger of the Most 
 High, and pray that He would cleanse (not the 
 outward actions only, but) the thoughts of our 
 hearts by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit. 
 In so doing, we are, as it appears,f the only 
 Church which thus honours the moral law by 
 its weekly repetition in the ears of our people. J 
 I have sometimes also felt a desire that but 
 one Creed were rehearsed in the Morning Ser- 
 vice, and that if so, it might be the Nicene 
 Creed, uttered by all standing, as the profession 
 of our faith, and forming the solemn and suit- 
 able termination of the whole : the Nicene to 
 be thus the Creed of the Morning, and the 
 
 * This was suggested by the Royal Commissioners in 
 1689, among whom were Burnet, Tillotson, Patrick, Teni- 
 son, Stillingfleet, Beveridge, and Kidder. See the Altera- 
 tions of the Commissioners, as printed by the House of 
 Commons, page 18. 
 
 t See the Protoplast, page 224 — a remarkable passage. 
 
 X Very beautiful is the addition in the American Prayer- 
 book. Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ saith, " Thou 
 shalt love,'' &o. In 1689 it was proposed that the eight 
 Beatitudes might be used, especially on Communion days. 
 
30 
 
 Apostles' that of the Evening Service. With 
 this change, another repetition of the Lord's 
 Prayer might be omitted, the congregation 
 passing at once from the Jubilate to the Collect 
 for the day, with only a few versicles inter- 
 posed.* The Lord's Prayer would thus occur 
 once near the opening of the Service, and after- 
 wards in the penitential depth of the Litany,f 
 where all would be loth to part with it, — twice 
 in the Morning Service and twice in the Evening 
 Service. 
 
 And if it be asked. Are there no more 
 essential changes than these, which, after all, 
 touch no vital point? — I would say that the 
 error appears to me to have been the desire to 
 do too much: the attempt at over-legislation 
 has been the bane. Convocation has diverted 
 the attention to so many points as to carry but 
 few. If unanimity could be secured on two 
 points, the two I should name would be the 
 entire disuse of the Apocrypha, and the omission 
 of the specific declarations in the Burial Service. 
 To' be relieved from the latter, a petition was 
 signed some years ago by as many as four 
 thousand clergymen. To a petition limited to 
 these two points, I think even a larger number 
 
 * This passage was written before I noticed that this 
 is carried out, exactly in the manner suggested, in the 
 American Prayer-book. 
 
 •f " Like a bright jewel in the centre of a circle of 
 pearls, it now gathers up our petitions in one knot and 
 fastens them as with a nail in a sure place." — Whytehead's 
 Key to the Prayer-book. 
 
31 
 
 of signatures might now be obtained. The 
 Apocrypha is, in fact, practically disused : it is 
 not read in our Sunday services ; it only occurs 
 in some of the Daily Lessons in the Calendar, 
 and as a Proper Lesson for some Saints' Days. 
 Let chapters of the Scripture be substituted for 
 the former, as they have done in the American 
 Prayer-book ; and portions also selected for the 
 latter, as, singularly enough, they have not done, 
 and the whole is effected.* There would be 
 thus the unequivocal declaration of the supre- 
 macy of God's word — the manifest determina- 
 tion not to read anything save from it on any 
 occasion of public worship. In the second case, 
 the grievance is felt of expressing words of 
 hope, where the life has belied such confidence. 
 Their omission was recommended by the Royal 
 Commissioners in 1689, and would bring us in 
 this particular into exact correspondence with 
 the large and growing branch of our Church in 
 the United States.f If, with united voice, relief 
 from these Two Gravamina could be sought, it 
 would, I am sure, lighten many within us — 
 
 * The paragraph on the subject in the sixth Article 
 might, at the same time, be cancelled. 
 
 I It is interesting to notice the growth of our Church 
 there, and compare it with that of our own Colonial Church. 
 Of Colonial Bishops there are now 38 : Kingston, to which 
 an election will soon take place, and Agra, in Northern 
 India, would make 40. This was exactly the number of 
 the Bishops in the American Church at the close of the late 
 convention at Richmond : with a Bishop of the North-west, 
 since consecrated, 41. 
 
32 
 
 win, I hope, not a few to us —and be, I humbly 
 trust, instrumental in bringing down an enlarged 
 measure of the Divine blessing on our beloved 
 Church. 
 
 But I feel my own incompetence and unwor- 
 thiness to propose any alteration in these time- 
 honoured forms ; and the authority to introduce 
 change rests, as you well know, with those of 
 calmer and more mature judgment. Having 
 used them from childhood, and each year with 
 increasing affection, and having the strongest 
 desire that others also might use them, I would 
 seek to remove from them every flaw and 
 blemish, if perchance by so doing others might 
 be attracted to their adoption. It is, too, by 
 such suggestions, offered in a spirit of humility 
 from many different quarters, that the great end 
 in view is most likely to be successfully attained. 
 And perhaps, in some points, position here may 
 give some advantage, from being brought into 
 closer contact and more familiar intercourse 
 with the American Church. While conscious 
 of a want, as all of our communion would natu- 
 rally be, in the use of her services, we are not 
 blind to some improvements which experience 
 and the progress of time led her to introduce. 
 The changes now suggested would not involve 
 any violent, any organic change;* they would 
 
 * The petition presented by Lord Ebury seemed liable 
 to tbis great objection : it introduced too great doctrinal 
 changes, and would abridge too far the liberty which has 
 always marked the Church of England. Some of its 
 
33 
 
 only tend, it is imagined, to render more perfect 
 that which we all love. May the heads of our 
 Church, in any future change, be guided by the 
 wisdom which is from above, and may they 
 carry with them the consenting voice of all 
 those branches of the Church which are now 
 scattered so widely over the world! 
 
 I must now, however, hasten to the con- 
 sideration of events more closely connected with 
 ourselves, and with the progress of the Gospel 
 in this land. Of these the most prominent 
 would be, our own temporary absence, the 
 commencement of the mission on the Mackenzie 
 River, and the anxiety of the Chippewyans fot 
 the permanent ministrations of our Church. 
 
 For our own absen<;e some reasons were 
 given before leaving you — reasons which justi- 
 fied the step to ourselves, and made it in some 
 degree necessary. In addressing you to-day, I 
 would say, unhesitatingly, that the expectations 
 then formed were very fully realised. The 
 spiritual refreshment, from intercourse with 
 Christian friends, I found, and found abund- 
 antly. It is the compensation which God has 
 graciously provided for a sojourn in a distant 
 wilderness ; it is a part of the " manifold more 
 in this present time,"* which the Saviour holds 
 
 proposals, too, seem to us to be in the wrong direction — 
 as, for instance, that of Special Second Lessons for each 
 Sunday. 
 
 * St. Luke, xviii. 29, 30. This was my first text after 
 landing in England. 
 
 C 
 
34 
 
 out in promise, and will ever give, to those who 
 forsake home and kindred. If the visit be at 
 sufficiently long intervals, and the land of 
 adoption be kept as the one object uppermost, 
 it is then, I think, alike beneficial to yourself, 
 to the land from which you are for a time an 
 absentee, and, as I was repeatedly assured, to 
 the land which you visit ; it renews half-severed 
 links, it revives connexions, it kindles fresh 
 interest and sympathy — in a word, it readjusts 
 that electric chain of communication along which 
 mutual spiritual blessings flow. 
 
 In looking back upon the period, how many 
 the tokens of God's peculiar and providential 
 care ! Surely it was His hand, in answer to the 
 prayers of many here and elsewhere, which on 
 our homeward voyage interposed to deliver 
 from a disaster which might have been attended 
 with much trial and suffering ; it could only be 
 His hand which brought me back to the very 
 Sabbath of appointment,* strengthened both in 
 body and mind ; and, to take but two interme- 
 diate cases, it must have been the good hand of 
 God which, without concert or pre-arrangement, 
 brought from China and Rupert's Land those who 
 had been sent forth to their work together, and 
 
 * Sixty Sundays I had spoken of, before my departure, 
 as my probable period of absence, hoping to be in my 
 accustomed place on the sixty-first. With a voyage across 
 the Atlantic, and a long land-journey, it was almost a matter 
 of wonder that I should have arrived on the Saturday, and 
 preached in my own pulpit on the very Sunday. 
 
35 
 
 placed us so often on the same platform, the visible 
 representatives of the Churches of the East and 
 the West. It was the same hand which carried 
 me to England in sufficient time to be present 
 at the consecration of a beloved friend and com- 
 panion of early youth to his high and weighty 
 office — the charge of what he has truly desig- 
 nated as "the greatest diocese in the world," 
 the Metropolitan See of London. These, bre- 
 thren, are the waymarks to be set up — the 
 never-to-be-forgotten causes of gratitude which 
 sweeten the pilgrimage of life. 
 
 It was not, as you well know, a period of 
 rest and inactivity ; it was one of more unceas- 
 ing employment and greater mental strain than 
 when among yourselves. The preaching and 
 speaking in public were, indeed, without inter- 
 mission ; but the occasions of preaching gave to 
 the labour an agreeable variety. It was no 
 little pleasure to preach, soon after arrival, the 
 Ordination Sermon before my own University 
 — to lay, by invitation, the foundation-stone of 
 the new chapel of my own college ; * it was 
 pleasant to preach, as it happened, on successive 
 Sundays in St. Patrick's and St. Paul's Cathe- 
 drals; and, not least of all, it was pleasant to 
 ordain a labourer for this land in the very 
 church which I had left on coming out hither, f 
 
 * The chapel of Exeter College, since consecrated. 
 
 •f The Rev. T. Hamilton Fleming, CM. S., ordained at 
 All Saints, Derby, through the kindness of my successor, 
 the Eev. E. W. Foley. 
 
36 
 
 Nor was the public speaking less diversified : 
 whether it were the village-gathering in the 
 parochial school-room, in the spreading tent, or 
 on the green turf, or the crowded assembly of 
 those of quicker intelligence and more sharp- 
 ened powers, in the hall of town or city — 
 whether it were the University meetings, now 
 so fuUy attended, where one longed to be able 
 to discern a Martyn or a Fox, a Kagland or a 
 Tucker, among the youthful throng — or whe- 
 ther it were those largest meetings, of a more 
 mixed and general audience, which mark the 
 months of April and May,* there was always 
 that eagerness to hear, that anxiety to receive 
 tidings from afar, which at once carries forward 
 the speaker and makes the effort comparatively 
 easy. 
 
 But there was much of detail beneath. In 
 the way of necessary business, I would assign 
 the highest place to conference with those great 
 societies which bear up and sustain our work : 
 they are the fountain-heads from which the rills 
 flow over our land ; they are the wonderfal 
 agencies of this century, for, though some of 
 them existed a century before, their sphere of 
 operation has more than doubled during it. 
 On their practical wisdom, on their prayerful 
 zeal, on their being guided in each deliberation 
 by the Holy Spirit, would depend in no ordinary 
 
 * The meetings in Dublin, of April, and those in London, 
 of May. 
 
37 
 
 degree the welfare of the Colonial and Mis- 
 sionary Church. One to whom the Missionary 
 Church at least, and consequently our own 
 diocese, owes a large debt of gratitude, has 
 lately given up his position of very extended 
 influence — one whose instructions are treasured 
 up and remembered at many a lonely station, 
 — the respected Principal of Islington College.* 
 I am sure that I am but giving expression to 
 the feelings of those here present who were 
 trained by him, in saying that our best wishes 
 would go with him on his retirement — that 
 our prayers would accompany him that, while 
 blessed in his parish, he may ever retain the 
 happy consciousness that the seeds of truth 
 scattered by him are bearing good fruit in many 
 a distant clime. God, we doubt not, has filled 
 up his place ; and to his devoted successor, 
 who had even beforehand furnished an unusual 
 number for the mission - field, one looks with 
 unabated confidence for a supply of duly qua- 
 lified missionaries — men of God — full of faith, 
 and wisdom, and prayer. 
 
 To thank for the sums collected is far 
 beyond my power. With the fulness of a 
 grateful heart, I always find words but feeble 
 to express such feelings. Very various were 
 the donors. Some gave, and gave, we fear, 
 almost beyond their ability — very many the 
 
 * The Eev. C. Childe, now Rector of Holbrook, Suffolk. 
 
38 
 
 fruits of much self-denial and self-sacrifice — 
 some, "whose hearts the Lord stirred up" from 
 simply hearing the tidings, although previously 
 unknown to ourselves — others from personal 
 regard and affection — some anxious that their 
 names should be concealed, content to lay up 
 treasure in heaven. Not a few are already 
 gone to their rest, and, as we trust, to their 
 rich reward — to that Saviour who remembereth 
 the cup of cold water given to a saint in His 
 name. How doubly sacred their legacy and 
 parting gift ! The amount collected might have 
 been more, had I made this my only object; 
 but this I could not think of doing. As we are 
 still a Missionary Church — as every ministerial 
 income, except the endowment of the bishopric, 
 comes from home, I placed my services in great 
 measure at the command of those societies 
 which feed and support us. To all of them, 
 I trust, some services were rendered in pleading 
 their cause ; * nor did I willingly decline to 
 undertake labour in any direction for them. 
 But, most of all, as the Church Missionary 
 Society furnish so large a proportion of my 
 clergy, I felt that all I could do for them was 
 but little in return for the past. And on this 
 occasion I would say that my admiration of the 
 
 * Thus I preached in Winchester Cathedral, and attended 
 two meetings there, on behalf of the joint committee of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 
 
39 
 
 wisdom of their committee, my affection for their 
 office-bearers, has much deepened from those 
 months of unreserved, confidential intercourse. 
 
 On my way out I had an opportunity of 
 seeing, and that for the first time, our Church 
 in Canada and in the United States. In the 
 former I was welcomed on ari-iving by him who 
 made the first episcopal visit to Rupert's Land, 
 and was in a manner its first Bishop.* It was 
 delightful to notice the warmth with which he 
 made minute inquiry after many here, and the 
 deep anxiety which he manifested for the pro- 
 gress of the Church in this land. The re- 
 collection of his wanderings in the western 
 wilderness is, he seems to feel, a bright and 
 sunny spot in the memory of the past. He 
 was the only Canadian Bishop at home as I 
 passed through. From the Bishop of Toronto 
 I have since heard, having received a letter of 
 commendation on behalf of one who has come 
 amongst us. For it I feel grateful, as the inter- 
 course now opened will doubtless rapidly in- 
 crease. I hope that all my brethren, as well 
 as the clergy generally, will send such intro- 
 ductions with those of our own Church who 
 may come in, whether to visit or to settle. 
 
 In the sister Church of the United States 
 I saw also but one Bishop, it being the season 
 when most were absent from the larger towns 
 
 * Dr. Mountain, bishop of Quebec, who confirmed and 
 ordained here in 1844. 
 
40 
 
 on their visitations through the country,* but 
 he was (if I may say so) the one whom I most 
 wished to see — the Bishop who for four-and- 
 twenty years has been the missionary bishop 
 of the north-west, and who, after organising six 
 new dioceses, has now retired, as he well de- 
 serves to do, from the wider field, and will 
 henceforward limit his labours to the diocese 
 of Wisconsin. He has thus been a standard- 
 bearer, carrying forward the banners of the 
 cross for nearly a quarter of a century, and 
 yet he has still an undiminished freshness and 
 activity. At his request I preached the open- 
 ing sermon at the annual convention of the 
 diocese of Minnesota, and remained with them 
 throughout its session. We cannot wonder 
 that the late triennial convention should have 
 tendered to him their warmest thanks, and 
 should have felt unwilling that the oflSce and 
 title should disappear. They have elected in 
 his room another bishop of the north-west — 
 an unattached bishop, if we may use the term 
 ■ — or rather a purely missionary bishop. He 
 would in sti'ictness make a fourth new diocesan, 
 if not a fourth new diocese adjoining us, and 
 our best prayer for him would be that on him 
 might fall the mantle of Bishop Kemper. 
 Having thus carried your thoughts to others, 
 
 * I was sorry to miss Bishop A. Potter in Philadelphia, 
 and Bishop H. Potter in New York ; and greatly disap- 
 pointed at not seeing Bishop Boone of China, who was in 
 New York at the time. 
 
41 
 
 and spoken much of them, it would be un- 
 gracious and ungrateful were I not to thank you 
 from the very depth of my heart for the very 
 cordial welcome which you gave me on my re- 
 turn. Often had I spoken, when away from you, 
 of my possessing, if ever bishop did, an affec- 
 tionate body of clergy, and on my arrival I found 
 that I had not over-estimated the personal at- 
 tachment to myself of either laity or clergy. 
 
 Ready as I was myself for travel, if neces- 
 sary the following summer, the task seemed 
 naturally to devolve in turn on others. In the 
 winter the proposal came from one among you : 
 a plan for a very long and distant enterprise, to 
 plant the cross in a new territory and penetrate 
 towards the Arctic Sea. He came, not sketch- 
 ing a plan for others, but willing to start him- 
 self, wanting but an answer to his offer, " Here 
 am I, send me." We have sxirely reason to 
 thank him to-day for the commencement of a 
 good work there, and however difficult its con- 
 tinuance may be, ours will be in great measure 
 the blame should the station be abandoned and 
 the citadel thus gained be given up. With the 
 results of the mission so far we have much 
 cause to be satisfied. It has been hailed by all 
 the oflScers of the Hon. Company, and it will 
 tell I hope happily hereafter on some of the 
 poor scattered tribes. The Archdeacon* has 
 
 * Archdeacon Hunter, who spent the last winter at Fort 
 Simpson, and travelled as far as Fort Good Hope, almost 
 within the Arctic Circle. 
 
42 
 
 returned among us in the fulness of God's 
 blessing, and wUl by his presence tend to keep 
 alive the interest in the work. He has seen 
 what we only hear of; he feels as one yearning 
 for souls without a shepherd. To him, there- 
 fore, peculiarly do we commit the work, and 
 trust that he may yet live to see the pleasure 
 of the Lord prospering in that bleak and barren 
 portion of the earth. One has gone to relieve 
 him, to occupy the advanced post, and we await 
 with eagerness the tidings from him which may 
 reach us in a few weeks. May they be that, 
 undeterred by difficulty, he is willing to con- 
 tinue and abide there, scattering the seed of 
 life. 
 
 During the last summer I have myself gone 
 in the same direction, but only about a third of 
 the distance. Anxious as I was to stand on the 
 height of land, and meet the gentlemen of the 
 district, according to their wish, at Portage la 
 Loche, I felt that the time was not yet — that 
 my presence at a future day would do more 
 good. And the event proved to my own mind 
 that I had judged rightly, from the very favour- 
 able journey which God gave me. It was the 
 lightest and easiest trip I have yet made in the 
 country — seven weeks, and not wind-bound 
 one whole day ! My object was to visit the 
 stations at Christ Church and the English River, 
 and I confess to have started with a greater 
 measure of despondency than usual. These 
 stations have been passing through much trial 
 
43 
 
 for some winters. To them may indeed be 
 applied those pregnant and forcible words of 
 the Apostle, " pressed out of measure, above 
 strength."* I found all, however, more en- 
 couraging than I had expected, and I then 
 fondly trusted that I had passed through the 
 worst. But I would scarcely say this now. 
 The non-arrival of the supplies from England, 
 through the loss of the ship, will I fear renew 
 and aggravate their difficulties, and throw them 
 back again. The brightest and most cheering 
 sight was that of the canoes and tents of the 
 Chippewyans on the bank of the English River. 
 Their naturalness of manner, and frank and 
 open cordiality with Mr. Hunt, left on my mind 
 the most pleasing remembrance. They seemed 
 the first-fruits of a tribe. With pain I declined 
 to admit to baptism many who importunately 
 sought it. I took their little ones as a pledge, 
 and promised that, God willing, they should 
 soon have some one to preach among them in 
 their own tongue. 
 
 For the two spheres, the Mackenzie River 
 and the Chippewyans, I have written for help, 
 pleading for two able and active men ; the one 
 to relieve Mr. and Mrs. Hunt (for in speaking 
 of missionary labour they must always be named 
 together), and then to direct his efforts to the 
 Chippewyans ; the other to assist in carrying on 
 
 * Still more deeply significant in the original, y-ctf 
 
44 
 
 the work on the Mackenzie River. The burden 
 of secular care is still felt at the stations which 
 I visited, so as to weigh down almost beyond 
 the power of endurance. I found in the United 
 States, that in their missions among the Indians 
 (and I believe it is the case also in their foreign 
 missions), they have an officer called an Eco- 
 nomos — a layman entrusted with the pecuniary 
 and worldly concerns, the household and the 
 farm. This doubtless tends to lighten care. 
 But if the office were created among us the 
 difficulty would be great to find the man, or 
 rather the men, as they must be multiplied for 
 the several stations. The conviction too I 
 found gaining ground in the north, and I think 
 probably among us all, that more must be 
 attempted by itinerating ; that in districts where 
 distances are counted by thousands of miles we 
 cannot cover the surface with large and ex- 
 pensive stations; that we must rather take a 
 centre, and from it carry the truth in diverging 
 lines. Such is the nature of the work at Moose 
 and in the eastern district, and such must be 
 the aggression on the Mackenzie River and ia 
 the north-west. 
 
 As the result of such a general survey, you 
 want, brethren, some actual statistics, and to 
 see the sum in intelligible figures. We have 
 then held nine confirmations since our return^ 
 and confirmed in all 331, giving what is a very 
 fair average in each church of 36, or very 
 nearly 37. We have still to confirm at La 
 
45 
 
 Prairie, if God permit, in March, and at Moose 
 in July. We have held four oi'dinations, (in- 
 cluding that already referred to in England), 
 at which three were ordained deacons and two 
 priests. Two additional labourers came out 
 the year of my return, one for each district ; one 
 of whom is at present at York;* the other has 
 already traversed the greater part of the Moose 
 quarter.f A third, whom I cannot forbear to 
 mention, offered her gratuitous services for the 
 work, and, with all the heart and devotedness 
 of a missionary, came out at the same time. 
 She is now labouring assiduously at Fairford, 
 as a fellow-labourer in the Gospel. J A candi- 
 date for ordination is, we hear, on his way; and 
 another has already reached the land, under 
 circumstances which call for much of sympathy 
 and prayer. § One of our own party on our 
 way home — as one of my own children, for 
 years previously under my care ; he had gained 
 the love and affection of all at the Missionary 
 College when the hand of God laid him aside, 
 and he returns weakened in body, but, I trust, 
 much ripened in spiritual things. Happy 
 should I be if, through the Divine blessing, his 
 native air should restore him during the winter, 
 
 * The Eev. J. P. Gardiner, C. M. S. 
 
 f Mr. Fleming has already visited Whale River, New 
 Brunswick, and Albany. 
 
 ^: Philip, iv. 3. 
 
 § Mr. Henry Budd, of the C. M. College at Islington, 
 son of the Rev. Henry Budd of the Nepowewin. 
 
46 
 
 so that I may yet lay hands on the son as I 
 have done on the father, and that the name 
 introduced among us may pass down to yet 
 another generation and become rooted among 
 us. 
 
 We are thus in all twenty-one to-day — one, 
 and one only, in deacon's orders. We have 
 lost one since our last Visitation, who has been 
 recently appointed to a living in the diocese of 
 Norwich.* I have an additional grant from 
 the Colonial Church Society, and only regret 
 that they have not yet succeeded in finding one 
 to relieve me in some measure of the heavier 
 parochial duty. The work of translation is still 
 going on. The only labourer absent from the 
 country is actively employed in carrying through 
 the press the Syllabic Bible, at the joint expense 
 of the Bible and Church Missionary Societies. 
 He is at the same time superintending two 
 editions of the Prayer-book in the same cha- 
 racter — the one the translation of Archdeacon 
 Hunter, for York and the Saskatchewan, the 
 other that of Mr. Horden, for Moose and the 
 East Main. For both of these we have to 
 thank the Christian Knowledge Society.f The 
 work not having been fully completed, the 
 
 * Rev. Charles Hillyer, now Eector of Ashby, Suffolk. 
 
 t I am glad to see that another, whom we may almost 
 claim, is engaged in the same work. The Rev. Peter Jacobs, 
 educated among us, is mentioned in the report of the Foreign 
 Translation Committee of the C. K. S., as assisting the Eev. 
 Dr. O'Meara in translating the Pentateuch into the Ojibwa 
 language. 
 
47 
 
 parent committee of the Church Missionary 
 Society determined to keep Mr. Mason a year 
 longer in England, and, as the event has proved, 
 most providentially. The large supply of copies 
 for York has, we fear, been lost. But he is on 
 the spot to continue the work and to throw off 
 additional copies, to repair in some degree the 
 loss. On his return Mr. Gardiner wUl, we hope, 
 pass on to a new station and occupy Fort 
 Churchill. 
 
 Having thus mentioned, as far as space and 
 memory will permit, your various cares and 
 sorrows, if you ask my own peculiar weight at 
 this time I would at once reply. Separation 
 from my children I must of course feel as a trial 
 to which I was not subjected during my first 
 period of seven years ; but it is a trial common 
 to missionary life, and perhaps enables us to 
 feel the deeper sympathy with some of your- 
 selves in this particular. It is not, however, 
 that which, if I know my own heart, the most 
 depresses me. It is rather the delay in the 
 application of the fund collected, and my in- 
 ability at this time to build my cathedral. My 
 distress is that we still meet as we do here to- 
 day, and that I cannot report progress or give 
 a more definite idea of the future. The re- 
 moval of the population from this immediate 
 locality would make it unwise and hazardous 
 to lay out a large sum here. Besides this, to 
 build at present requires a practical knowledge 
 of the detail of each department. The masonry 
 
48 
 
 and woodwork must be calculated and measured, 
 the materials be procured separately from great 
 distances, and the whole carried on under close 
 superintendence. For this I have not the time 
 with other cares, had I (as I have not) the 
 varied practical knowledge. I have a plan, 
 with some working drawings, very kindly and 
 gratuitously furnished by a Christian friend,* 
 but beyond the power of any on the spot 
 to raise and complete. Were it in my power 
 to place the whole in the hands of a single 
 contractor, as in the case of the Bishop of 
 Montreal with his cathedral just opened, the 
 contract would be given out this year, or rather, 
 would have been given out long ago. My hope 
 is, that by the delay I may yet be able to do 
 this, and to effect it in the end more satis- 
 factorily than if I had precipitated the erection. 
 Should I eventually determine on another site, 
 a small parish church would at all events be 
 placed here. 
 
 Meanwhile the fund is not idle. It was 
 given by kind donors with different views and 
 feelings ; in some cases expressly for the cathe- 
 dral,! in some for missionary work and its 
 extension — in others, left unreservedly to my 
 own discretion, for the promotion of education 
 
 * Mr. J. Henry Stevens, of Derby. 
 
 t For this purpose the two largest sums were given — 
 that of 500?. from the Hon. Hudson Bay Company, and a 
 similar sum from the Christian Knowledge Society; the 
 latter to be paid on the completion of the building. 
 
49 
 
 or other objects in the land. A portion has 
 been given to education, though I regret to say 
 that education of a higher stamp has rather 
 fallen behind. The want of openings in the 
 country for those trained, — the growing near- 
 ness to the superior advantages of Canada and 
 England, leave few on the spot willing to devote 
 the necessary time to the prosecution of more 
 advanced studies : education in consequence 
 languishes; schoolmasters are scarce, and re- 
 main but a short time at their posts. Grants 
 also have been made to churches, so that, while 
 refraining from building my own, I am carrying 
 out and aiding many others. The sum of 100^. 
 was given, in accordance with the express wish 
 of the donor, an esteemed and valued clerical 
 friend, to the church at Mapleton, on conditioji 
 that the same sum (as was stipulated) should 
 be contributed on the spot. A similar sum has 
 been given to the church about to be erected 
 by Mr. Stagg at Fairford, and a grant of 
 100/. has been made more recently to a second 
 church, to be raised by the indefatigable exer- 
 tions of Archdeacon Cochran, near La Prairie. 
 Two supplemental grants of 50/. are given 
 annually to clergymen — the one to meet a 
 grant of the Church Missionary S9ciety, the 
 other a grant of the Colonial Church Society. 
 And while, therefore, I referred to some measure 
 of anxiety connected with the application of the 
 fund, I should be wanting in gratitude were I 
 not to say that it has given me two years of 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 greater comfort and more extended usefulness 
 than I could otherwise have possibly secured. 
 
 Eegarding the future prospects of the diocese, 
 I should be glad to receive suggestions from any 
 of you while we are together at this visitation 
 season. It becomes a question, as the work 
 extends, whether anything can be done in the 
 way of making any of our churches self-sup, 
 porting ; whether steps may not be taken at 
 a future time towards a sustentation or endow- 
 ment fund. When the temporary depression of 
 this winter has passed over, the subject is one 
 which may well occupy your thoughts. 
 
 One of the great problems of the age would 
 be, the best method of securing the cordial co- 
 operation of the laity with the clergy. In this 
 we can perhaps have no better example of what 
 can be effected by energy and exertion than the 
 Bishop of London, who has succeeded in a very 
 short time in gaining to a very unusual degree 
 the hearts and sympathies of the laity. It is 
 a question with ourselves how we may best 
 (though in so different a sphere) gather around 
 us the same zealous co-operation. 
 
 And while we wish to unite the laity in 
 general with us, we would seek especially to 
 attract the young — I mean those who have 
 passed from their years of education, and have 
 just entered on the freedom of life. They are 
 a source of deep anxiety to us all. The object 
 is to retain a hold upon them ^^ to promote in 
 every way self-improvement — and to lead to 
 
51 
 
 the cultivation of domestic habits. A successful 
 effort has been made in one quarter to interest 
 them in church music, and we trust that the 
 introduction of our present hymn-book* has 
 been an aid in this direction. Young Men's 
 Christian Associations for the discussion of a 
 given subject have also been attempted, and 
 should they lead, as we hope, to the encourage- 
 ment of a taste for reading and the promotion 
 of study, will doubtless be attended with profit. 
 Lectures, too, intended chiefly for the same 
 class, have occasionally been given on general 
 subjects, during the past winters, in many of 
 our school-rooms. In this, however, we are so 
 dependent on the clergy, and so devoid of the 
 means of illustration or experiment,! that com- 
 paratively little can be done. 
 
 But I owe you, my reverend brethren, some 
 apology for having dwelt so long on what may 
 appear to some of you subordinate and less 
 important topics. I have not forgotten the 
 weightier objects which bring us together at 
 this time. I have not forgotten that the preach- 
 ing of God's word is your weapon of power, 
 and that every Visitation is altogether useless, 
 unless it send us forth quickened with a fresh 
 energy to be more unwearied in its exercise 
 
 * That of the Rev. Charles Kemble, Rector of Bath. 
 
 f This was the chief difficulty when Professor H. Y. 
 Hind, of Trinity College, Toronto, kindly gave some lec- 
 tures on astronomy and natural philosophy. 
 
52 
 
 during the brief remnant of life. I would re- 
 mind myself as well as you of the words of a 
 living Archdeacon, in what I would venture to 
 call a golden Charge,* — " Happy is the synod 
 which forms efficient preachers." Oh, that the 
 Spirit of the living God might teach each one 
 of us the divine art, so to preach as by each 
 sermon to win one soul. 
 
 Nor have I forgotten that other weapon of 
 mighty prevalence with God, which must ever 
 be united with the proclamation of the truth. 
 In order to preach effectually to our people, 
 the preparation and after-blessing must be 
 sought by prayer. If we seek not the pre- 
 paration from above, we shall be contending 
 in our own strength ; if we seek not the bless- 
 ing to follow the word, Satan may prevail to 
 take the seed out of the heart, lest men should 
 believe and be saved. To pray much with 
 and for our people will enable us successfully 
 to preach to them: we shall thus carry their 
 wants to God, and bring down of God's fulness 
 a supply for them. To quote again the words 
 of another faithful Charge,f — "The praying 
 minister is the powerful minister. Oh for more 
 of the spirit of prayer amongst us ! " 
 
 For more special prayer for the outpouring 
 
 * Charge on Preaching, to the Archdeaconry ofWells, 
 by Archdeacon Law. 1857. 
 
 t Primary Charge of Dr. Cronyn, Bishop of Huron. 
 Page 35. 
 
53 
 
 of the Spirit of God, we shall join together 
 during the following week;* one united meet- 
 ing will be held here, and in addition, several 
 parochial meetings. We have reason to believe 
 that prayer for the same object will during the 
 week almost encircle the globe, and if the 
 Saviour has promised an answer from the Father 
 where even two agree in the petition which they 
 ask, what may not faith expect if believers 
 throughout the wide world agree at one season 
 in one common request? We know that this 
 very week will be so observed in the Punjaub, 
 and many parts of India, by many throughout 
 Britain; and here in the Far West would we 
 take up the prayer, that while God's voice is so 
 mightily awakening the careless, His quicken- 
 ing energy might be seen among us, and more 
 extensively through the world. I would most 
 fully adopt as my own the words of the ex- 
 cellent pastoral of the Bishop of Bombay, in 
 speaking of the remarkable movements else- 
 where, and pray that " God would be pleased, 
 in so far as they are from Him, to extend them 
 to ourselves, and whereinsoever they are not 
 from Him, to forbid the frailty of man from 
 marring the work of His grace." 
 
 Let us make it at this season our especial 
 prayer that our land may come up ia remem- 
 brance before God. We have seen, in another 
 
 * This was arranged after the preparation of the earlier 
 portion of the Charge, in consequence of intelligence re- 
 ceived from England and India. 
 
 d2 
 
54 
 
 quarter of the globe, how quickly the storm 
 may sweep over, and the neglected heathen 
 become a scourge and instrument of vengeance. 
 May we receive the warning, and be wise in 
 time! We labour in a land of difficulty and 
 paradox. Our double trial is its vastness and 
 its smallness — its vastness, so that we often 
 strain the eye until lost in the contemplation 
 of the untrodden soil to which no messenger of 
 peace has yet penetrated, and for which we are 
 in a measure accountable. The bold and daring 
 mariner braves the peril of the Polar Sea in 
 search of those who have perished; and there, 
 from time to time, he meets with some living 
 men. How emphatically may such say, "No 
 man careth for my soul ! " Its smallness, too, 
 so that we often ponder over the thinness of its 
 population and our inability to produce mighty 
 results, or work on a large scale, until we are 
 almost tempted to relax our energy and cry, 
 " By what shall Jacob rise, for he is small ?" 
 We cannot traverse the land in its length and 
 breadth ; and if we could do so, over hundreds 
 of miles we should not meet a fellow-creatm'e. 
 We cannot plant the wilderness with settlers 
 and thriving villages, for this is not our voca- 
 tion, and would require far mightier resources. 
 Our best support would be found in the ever- 
 present recollection that each single soul saved 
 is a gem in the Kedeemer's crown, and that 
 each such soul eflFectually rescued from Satan's 
 grasp is a magnet to . draw other souls, to in- 
 
55 
 
 crease the ever-widening circle on earth, and 
 add to the number of the redeemed in heaven. 
 
 Besides this, the condition and daily duties 
 of those who are not with us to-day are almost 
 as different from our own as if they dwelt in 
 another country. But little of what is addressed 
 to you has direct application to them ; and our 
 voice, at such seasons as this, cannot reach to 
 counsel or comfort them. Though holding our 
 fourth Visitation, there are those who have 
 never yet been present at one. For them I 
 would ask a large portion of your sympathy 
 and prayer. While your own domestic comfort 
 and happiness increase, as I think they have 
 done the last few years — while the ties of 
 brotherly love draw you closer to each other, 
 forget not to think of those who labour, and 
 labour alone — who look out, from week to 
 week, on the same scene — the snowy waste, 
 the ice-bound river or bay in winter, and the 
 unvaried landscape in summer, and on a very 
 few souls, and those, it may be, very dead and 
 dry, like the bones in the valley of vision. 
 While you have derived some encouragement 
 and refreshment from the social and ministerial 
 intercourse of this happy season, think of the 
 comparatively cheerless monotony which may 
 be their lot. 
 
 Something of a sadder, at least a soberer 
 tone, may have pervaded this Charge. But let 
 not anything of despondency paralyse our 
 
56 
 
 efforts. Consider, brethren, our blessings — 
 how many, compared with those of other lands ! 
 
 — how many, compared with India, where we 
 have heard lately of a chaplain asking for a few 
 moments to read to those around him from his 
 pocket Bible, and oflfer up prayer, before he and 
 they should meet a cruel and bloody death ! 
 
 — how many, compared with China, where a 
 naval chaplain was among the sufferers in the 
 recent treachery, and where the minister and 
 missionary are so often exposed to the violence 
 of popular outbreak ! — how many, compared 
 with the West Indies, where the yeUow fever 
 cuts down the strong and vigorous in the midst 
 of their zeal and usefulness ! — how many, com- 
 pared with Africa, where Sierra Leone seems 
 again to vindicate for itself the title of "the 
 white man's grave ! " How great the blessing 
 
 — a healthy land, and " peace in all our 
 borders ! " 
 
 How many, also, our privileges ! What a 
 privilege to be witnesses for God's truth, until 
 the Gospel shall have run its mighty round, 
 and shall have been heard by every nation-^ 
 to declare a Saviour's blood to souls weighed 
 down under the burden of sin — to seek to wean 
 from a perishing world by pointing to a better 
 and brighter one — to comfort under the sharp- 
 est pang of sorrow by revealing an exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory! How shall we 
 wonder through eternity that we could unfold 
 
57 
 
 such a message so coldly as we do ! May we 
 feel more and more that we are Evangelists — 
 that we hut carry on what angels hegan — that 
 we hear glad tidings of great joy to all people;* 
 and whensoever we open our mouths, may the 
 Lord give unto each one of us " the tongue of 
 the learned, that we may know how to speak a 
 word in season to him that is weary!" May 
 we be, as especially a missionary body, " mes- 
 sengers of the ChurcheSjf and the glory of 
 Christ!" 
 
 A peculiar privilege, too, to be witnesses, it 
 may be, in the latter days of the world's history. 
 Who shall lift the veil and foretell the events 
 which may transpire in the decade of years on 
 which we have just entered? Into it some of 
 our best expositors of prophecy have thrown 
 the termination of the 1260 years,J and, with- 
 out pronouncing, we can only say that the 
 signs deepening and thickening around Rome 
 
 * How close the angelic announcement, IvayyiXi'^tftict 
 ifth %ct(»'i ftiydy^tif, and the universal term, ivxy/iXi^ifteSct, 
 applied throughout the Acts and Epistles to the diflferent 
 apostles and teachers of the truth. Cf. Acts, xiii. 32 ; xiv. 
 7, 15 ; xvi. 10; Gal. i. 8 ; 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 
 f Messengers of the churches, amrrcXci ixxXviiriat, i.e. 
 " They are of the churches, what the apostles are of the 
 Lord." — Alford, in loc. 
 
 I Counting from the Decree of the Emperor Phocas, 
 A.D. 606.' See Elliott's Mora Apocalypticee, vol. iii. 250-252. 
 Prideaux and Newton also notice that the retirement of 
 Mahomet to the cave to frame his system was in the same 
 year, 606. Faber {Calendar of Prophecy) would place the 
 termination of the period a.d. 1864. 
 
58 
 
 would lead lis to await the issue with dread 
 expectancy. But if so, we live on the eve of 
 a crisis, on the eve of mighty and stupendous 
 events. The hour of God's judgment may be 
 at hand ; the cry of the angel may not be so 
 far distant, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen."* 
 Ours may be the ministry which shall precede 
 the time of the end, and, after a short period of 
 severer trial over all the earth, Israel's deliver- 
 ance may draw on, and the fulness of the 
 Gentiles be at length brought in. 
 
 Then let us "arise and he doing;" let us 
 " watch and pray always, that we may be ac- 
 counted worthy to escape aU those things that 
 shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son 
 of man!" 
 
 * " The events which are now taking place in Christen- 
 dom may be the appointed means whereby God will bring 
 about the destruction of the man of sin, the final overthrow 
 of the mystical Babylon, foredoomed of God, which we 
 know He wiU accomplish in due time. The signs of the 
 times (we would speak with all humility) appear to indi- 
 cate that ' the Lord is about to make bare His holy arm iii 
 the eyes of all the nations,' and to establish the kingdom of 
 Christ upon the ruins of all those earthly kingdoms which 
 have existed in the world." — Bishop Cronyn's Charge, 
 page 7. 
 
 Loudon :— Piiutod by G. Barclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq, 
 
A CHARGE 
 
 DELIVEEED TO 
 
 %\t Clerp of l^e giatese of |l«pert's f anir, 
 
 IN 
 
 ST, JOHN'S CATHEDRAL, EED RIVER, 
 
 AT HIS 
 
 FIFTH AND LAST VISITATION, 
 January 6, 1864. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF RUPERT's LAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HATCHARD AND CO. 187 PICCADILLY, 
 
 33oo6seUtrs to Tk- J^-'^- tfi« Vtinctsa e( malts, 
 
 1864. 
 
LONDON; 
 
 StkangewaTs akd 'Waiden, PRINTEESj 
 23 Castle St, Leicester gq. 
 
ARCHDEACONS AND CLERGY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DIOCESE OF EUPERT S LAKD 
 
 %\U fast Clargj 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY AND GBATEFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY THEIB 
 
 FAITHFUL FBIEND AND BEOTHEE, 
 
 DAVID RUPERT'S LAND 
 
 West Single, Liverpool, 
 August, 1864. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The apprehension, of which I had some fore- 
 boding in the delivery of this Charge, has now 
 become a reality. Circumstances preclude my 
 return to the country which has occupied my 
 thoughts and energies for fifteen years. In a 
 few weeks I shall drop the accustomed signa- 
 ture which connected me with the largest 
 Diocese, in territorial extent, committed to any 
 living Bishop. 
 
 Unspeakably painful as is the prospect of 
 separation, it has been a comfort to find that, in 
 the gracious providence of God, a sphere of 
 wide and extended usefulness awaited me on my 
 arrival in England ; so that, while health and 
 strength last, I shall thus still be able to work 
 in the vineyard. And although memory must 
 often revert to the land which I have left, I de- 
 rive consolation from the thought that "the 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 time is short," and that I shall soon be re- 
 united for ever with not a few from the far- 
 distant wilderness, when "many shall come 
 from the east and the west, and shall sit down 
 with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the king- 
 dom of heaven." Eupert's Land must always 
 have a large part in my affections and my 
 prayers. May my successor have a yet 
 richer harvest of souls, and may "a double 
 portion of the Spirit be upon him." 
 
 D. E. • 
 
A CHARGE, 
 
 Sfc. Sfc. 
 
 Mt Reverend Brethren, 
 We have all, I trust, come up hither at this 
 time, after prayer to God for guidance and 
 direction. Feeling the important consequences 
 connected with such a meeting, you have prayed 
 that it might prove a season of refreshment and 
 encouragement : and, if this sense of dependence 
 has carried you to the Divine footstool, how much 
 more ought it to send me to the source of all 
 strength, in order to obtain suitable words of 
 counsel, warning, and instruction ! Kealizing more 
 deeply the responsibilities of my office as years 
 roll on, I cannot wonder that, among the papers 
 of an eminent Prelate,* was found after his decease 
 a Prayer, which he appears to have kept continually 
 before him, and to have used at intervals in the 
 preparation of what proved to be his last Charge 
 to the Diocese of Durham. In the spirit, if 
 not in the words of that prayer, would I endeavour 
 to fulfil the duty assigned to me to-day. 
 
 * Bishop Van Mildert. See the Life prefixed to his 
 Works, p. 155. 
 
8 
 
 Once more have I been compelled to defer 
 my visitation. Circumstances prevented me from 
 holding it, as had been proposed, in May, when 
 some of the Clergy came in from their Stations, 
 expecting that it would take place. I cannot, 
 of course, summon them again on the present 
 occasion, but must be content to feel that they 
 are with us in spirit. Four years, instead of 
 three, have thus (much against my inclination) 
 intervened since we last met. The same sacred 
 season of the Epiphany again brings us together, 
 inviting us to contemplate the gradual unfolding 
 of the Divine purposes — to ask, in its bearing on 
 ourselves, how the manifestation of the Saviour 
 advances around us, and to look forward with 
 ever-increasing eagerness to " that blessed hope, 
 the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." It gives us thus a longer 
 period to review; it inspires more of the cheer- 
 fulness of hope in the anticipation of the future, 
 from the natural freshness of the opening year. 
 
 The indications of the lapse of time are not, 
 indeed, few. Death has still proved himself the 
 mighty leveller, entering alike the palace and the 
 cottage, carrying off the aged and those in man- 
 hood's pride. No death has ever, perhaps, awak- 
 ened a more universal sympathy than that of the 
 accomplished and highly gifted Prince Consort. 
 To human eye, a most useful life was suddenly cut 
 short. There was no preparatory warning, and, 
 before danger was fully realized, the fatal blow 
 descended. The nation felt that they had lost 
 
a wise counsellor — one who had filled a place of 
 singular difficulty with rare wisdom ; and by their 
 public loss they, could, in some faint degree, 
 measure the unspeakable loss of the Queen and 
 the youthful members of her family. The sorrow 
 was sufficient to cloud the Christmas joy of the 
 year. Deeper reflection was aroused, and it only 
 then became known how much his calm forethought 
 had directed the current of public affairs — how 
 completely his penetrating mind had mastered 
 the details of every department of the social 
 system — how near the weal of his adopted country 
 lay to his heart — -and yet, how ready he was to 
 forego all when the voice of God called hira hence ! 
 The most remarkable tribute appears to our own 
 mind in the absence of party spirit, the national . 
 calm which has since prevailed. The grief of a 
 widowed Queen has been by a tacit consent held 
 sacred, and two years of unexampled political quiet 
 have reigned throughout the land. 
 
 The next death which demands our notice was 
 more in the natufal course of events. The vener- 
 able and much-esteemed Primate, ripe in years 
 and honour, was gathered as a shock of corn in full 
 season. His services to the Church of Christ will 
 only be fully known in the great day of final 
 revelation.* Unwilling should I be to enlarge 
 
 * I have somewhere seen a similar remark, made, I think, 
 hy Archdeacon Utterton, regarding the Bishop of Winchester, 
 and with much reason. An Episcopate of thirty-five years has 
 been no common gift to the diocese of Winchester. Two 
 brothers ! — how large a blessing to the Church of England ! 
 
10 
 
 upon them, lest the testimony might be suspected 
 of undue partiality. Admitted to Holy Orders 
 by his Lordship when Bishop of Chester, advanced 
 afterwards to the Priesthood, and subsequently 
 consecrated by him to the high ofl&ce which I hold 
 (the only Colonial Bishop, if I mistake not, in this 
 very position), I must ever regard his memory with 
 fond and affectionate respect. He was my friend 
 and patron in my early ministerial life, and his 
 friendship and kindness continued to the last. 
 As I received his God-speed on coming out hither, 
 so was I welcomed with the same cordial and 
 affectionate interest by his Grace when I returned 
 home with my report of the first seven years. 
 His influence I consider ' to have been a happy 
 one for the Church of England. His Episcopate 
 in Chester formed an era in the North ; the con- 
 secration of upwards of two hundred churches by 
 a single Bishop had not taken place there since 
 the Reformation.* But the growing labour was 
 found beyond the strength of one man, and a 
 division of the unwieldy charge was proposed. 
 Another Diocese was marked off, and that one is 
 now the second in population in England,i- the 
 next to that of the metropolis. 
 
 * A similar work was carried on at the same time by 
 Bishop Blomfield in London. The total number of 
 churches consecrated by each of the two prelates was very 
 nearly the same. 
 
 f By the census of 1861, the diocese of Manchester is 
 second in population. Had there not been any division of 
 the See of Chester, it would by that census have exceeded 
 the population of the diocese of London. 
 
11 
 
 Prom the onerous duties of the See of Chester 
 he was summoned to the Primacy at a critical 
 period, but the same meekness of wisdom cha- 
 racterized him in the sphere of higher authority, 
 and gained for him universal love and respect. 
 His eye took now a wider view; it ranged over 
 the churches of the dispersion, the widely scattered 
 branches of the Colonial Church, as well as the 
 Dioceses of the Church at home. Por them he 
 laboured and prayed, heartily thanking God that 
 he had been called to rule over a more extended 
 Church than any predecessor. How different his 
 survey and prospect from that of Archbishop 
 Seeker, one hundred years before ! To that prelate 
 he bore perhaps the nearest resemblance, and from 
 his Charges he often quoted appositely and 
 largely.* Indeed, if we were asked to select the 
 three points to which the efforts of the late Arch- 
 bishop were most directed, and in which his in- 
 fluence was most successful, we should mention a 
 greater distinctness in the statement of doctrinal 
 truth,t a stricter enforcement of the practical duties 
 of the Clergy,]: and a ready willingness to co- 
 
 * As especially in his Primary Charge at Canterbury, pp. 
 26, 37. 
 
 f Take, for example, the clearness with which Christ is 
 made the centre of all religious teaching in his first Charge ; 
 the boldness with which, in the Charge of 1841, the doctrine of 
 Justification by Faith is stated against all perversions, and 
 the idea of Reserve strongly reprobated. So, in a later Charge 
 (1853), mistaken views of the Church are dwelt on, and 
 proved to be the source of the leading errors of the day. 
 
 X This may be seen in the Speculum Oregis appended to 
 
12 
 
 operate in a friendly spirit with the good and 
 excellent of other communions. Now, in these 
 three points the two Archbishops were alike dis- 
 tinguished in their respective periods of the 
 Church's history.* Let me only add, that it is to 
 Archbishop Sumner you would owe a debt of 
 gratitude, as being the link that would connect 
 our Church in this land with the history of the 
 past — the link to connect you with Canterbury, 
 and through Canterbury with Augustine and the 
 earliest days of the British Church.f And in re- 
 minding you of this, let me ask your prayers for 
 him, who in the good providence of God has suc- 
 ceeded to the Primacy, whose best recommendation 
 was a similar Episcopate of twenty years, passed in 
 the busy activities of a Northern Diocese, with a 
 singleness of purpose which rendered him there be- 
 loved by a devoted Clergy. May we often remem- 
 ber him ill our supplications, that he may see our 
 
 his first Charge at Chester, and which was to be filled up 
 by each Deacon before appearing for Priest's orders, and in 
 the mass of statistic&l details in the Notes to each subsequent 
 Charge. 
 
 * For the third point in the case of Archbishop Seeker, 
 see Life by Bishop Porteus, pp. 73, 74. " With some of 
 the most eminent of the Protestant Dissenters — Watts, 
 Doddridge, Lelaud, Chandler, Lardner — he maintained an 
 intercourse of friendship or civility ; and to such amongst 
 them as needed help, showed no less kindness and liberality 
 than to those of his own Communion." 
 
 t It is to be hoped that a sketch of the late Primate's 
 Life will ere long be given to the public ; such a sketch as 
 that of his predecessor, Archbishop Howley, by Archdeacon 
 Harrison ; or that of Archbishop Seeker by Bishop Porteus. 
 
13 
 
 cinurch in peace and prosperity during his life and 
 rule, and may hand her down, with even a larger he- 
 ritage among the nations, to our children's children. 
 But there is yet another Prelate to whom duty 
 and affection would prompt more than a passing 
 reference to-day — another taken hence in advanced 
 years since we met, to whom I referred in my last 
 Charge, and to whom I afterwards dedicated it, as 
 a suitable tribute to the Senior Colonial Bishop of 
 our Church. Though immediately connected with 
 the See of Quebec at his death. Bishop Mountain 
 caa scarcely be viewed as the Bishop of a single 
 Diocese by the future historian of the Church in 
 Canada. Nursed in the Episcopate, receiving it 
 almost by hereditary transmission,* he had at 
 different periods of his life exercised Episcopal 
 authority, from Quebec and Labrador to the Red 
 River. His line and measure had reached even to 
 you — one before me having been ordained by him 
 both Deacon and Priest. f His knowledge of the 
 past thus stretched over a very long period of 
 time — his actual oversight ranged over half the 
 breadth of this continent. With the full use of his 
 faculties spared almost to the last, he was able to 
 worship in public on Christmas-Day, and then, 
 after a few days' illness, as at this holy season last 
 
 * Dr. Jacob Mountain (the late Bishop's father) was 
 Bishop of Quebec from 1793 to 1826 ; Dr. Stewart then held 
 the Bishopric for ten years ; to whom Bishop G. J. Mountain 
 succeeded in 1836, with, for a time, the title of Bishop of 
 Montreal. 
 
 ■} The Rev. A. Cowley, ordained Deacon in Montreal, 
 Feb. 28, 1841, and Priest at the Red River, July 7, 1844. 
 
14 
 
 year, entered into that " rest which remaineth for 
 the people of God." 
 
 But these deaths were all at a distance, it may 
 be thought — far removed from ourselves in position 
 and worldly rank. Are there any vacant places 
 nearer home ? has death been among ourselves ! I 
 sometimes think that I may have spoken too strongly 
 in my last address to you regarding the extreme 
 healthiness of the land — our comparative exemption 
 from many of the shapes of illness prevalent else- 
 where. In the interval, at all events, the mes- 
 senger to whom all must listen has entered your 
 families with greater frequency, carrying off the 
 parent and the child, and marking many of your 
 homes with loss and bereavement. And as regards 
 God's ministering servants, the first death has taken 
 place in our own body — the first of my own Ordin- 
 ation that has yet died. Called into the vineyard of 
 the Lord when I visitedEngland,and ordained Priest 
 when I was last at Moose, Mr. Fleming enjoyed 
 but a short ministry on earth. My text, I well re- 
 member, in ordaining him was, " Do the work of an 
 evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." It is 
 a comfortable thought, that he was indeed an 
 evangelist to the Indians of Albany and the Bay, 
 that he spared not himself, that his willingness to 
 be spent in his Master's service, and a too 
 adventurous exposure to the risks of climate for 
 the good of souls, may have accelerated his. end. 
 After going to the sunnier shores of the Medi- 
 terranean for his health, he was permitted by God 
 to return and to breathe his last, as he had prayed 
 
15 
 
 might be the case, under the paternal roof.* To 
 him, I doubt not, to live was Christ, and to die in 
 that case would be his eternal gain. Let the re- 
 moval of one of our younger brethren in the 
 ministry speak solemnly and powerfully to us all, 
 and, whether our remaining days of service in the 
 sanctuary be many or few, may God give us grace 
 to make fuU proof of our ministry, so as at last to 
 finish our course with joy. 
 
 There are, however, subjects, my Reverend 
 Brethren, much more to be deplored than death. 
 To us, as ministers of the Gospel, as those con- 
 cerned with the welfare of souls, the most painful 
 topic is the gradual spread of a spirit of Scepticism 
 and Infidelity. To the uprising of a spirit of 
 doubt we alluded on a former occasion. You can 
 all see that it has made greater advance since that 
 time. Still, I think that there are reasons which 
 may lead us to infer that God is graciously holding 
 it in check, and that it is not likely to assume the 
 formidable proportions which it did at the close of 
 the last century. 
 
 There was enough to create serious alarm in 
 many of the contributions to the " Essays and 
 Reviews," the more so from the position and 
 personal weight of some of the authors. But that 
 publication found an adequate answer to most of 
 its statements in the two more celebrated Replies. 
 The subject of Miracles was ably met by Mansel ; f 
 
 * The Eev. Thomas Hamilton Fleming died atMiddleton, 
 near Cork, July 34th, 1862. 
 
 f In a separate publication also by Dr. Lee, of Dublin. 
 
16 
 
 that of Interpretation by Professor EUicott, now 
 Bishop of Gloucester. Other topics were handled 
 by different writers ; as that of Prophecy very suc- 
 cessfully by Dr. M'Caul, and that of the Atonement 
 (the subject of his previous Bampton Lectures) by 
 Dr. Thomson, now Archbishop of York. To these 
 were added the more general reply of Burgon, in 
 sermons from the University Pulpit at Oxford ; and 
 a very satisfactory work, in which all the points on 
 which Scripture is now assaUed are met with 
 his accustomed power, "The Bible and Modern 
 Thought," by Birks.* 
 
 The subject had almost died away, when a 
 much more determined attack was made on the 
 volume of Scripture from an unexpected quarter. 
 The field was in a measure changed, and the arena 
 of controversy was transferred, as many had an- 
 ticipated would be the case, from the New to the 
 Old Testament. It was the more to be lamented, 
 as coming from one in the highest position in the 
 Church, commissioned himself to guard the foun- 
 tain-head and send forth teachers of the truth. It 
 is the more to be lamented by ourselves, as coming 
 from one engaged in Missionary labour, where all 
 are supposed to be concerned with the realities of 
 life and the interests of the undying soul — too 
 much occupied with these to have time for specu- 
 
 * Two thoughtful and suggestive Replies on Miracles and 
 Inspiration were published by the Eev. J. Chapman, but the 
 hand of death arrested the further progress of the work, and 
 deprived the Church Missionary Society of a valuable and 
 laborious Secretary. 
 
17 
 
 lative abstractions. Yet in such a quarter the evil 
 appeared, and as native war seemed to be defacing 
 the fair work of God in New Zealand, so in Africa 
 it was native doubt, the mere suggestion of an 
 inquiring Zulu, which unsettled a Bishop's faith in 
 the opening books of the lively oracles of God ! 
 
 Already the eflfort of the Bishop of Natal 
 extends over the first six books of Scripture, and 
 whether he is to drive his ploughshare through each 
 remaining book in succession does not yet appear. 
 There seems an uncertainty in his own mind as to 
 the ultimate issue — how fai', as he writes, " it may 
 require us to modify our present views of the Mo- 
 saic system, or of Christianity itself."* He declines 
 even to state what may be the effect on Christian 
 doctrine, until, to quote his own words, he knows 
 " what is the residuum of real fact left behind when 
 the Pentateuch is thoroughly examined."! In 
 such a state of mind the question need hardly be 
 put, Can he teach others if himself not fully 
 assured whither his own course may carry him ? 
 We cannot wonder that the Bench of Bishops at 
 home (with scarcely an exception), with those of 
 the Colonial Church who happened to be in 
 England, should have joined in a strong condemn- 
 ation of such a melancholy work. And, what is 
 even more likely to produce an effect, we cannot 
 feel surprised that his own Archdeacon and Clergy, 
 and since that the Laity of the diocese, have issued 
 an Address, stating their own adherence to God's 
 
 * Pentateuch and Book of Joshua, Part II. p. 268. 
 t Ibid. Preface to Part II. p. 16. 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 blessed Word, and their grief and distress at what 
 their Bishop had done to undermine it. 
 
 Nor are you yourselves, my Reverend Brethren, 
 uninterested in this attack, as the Bishop levels 
 against the clergy generally a sweeping charge of 
 using with conscious insincerity the Word of God. 
 To this I doubt not you would give an indignant 
 answer, that as at Ordination you have professed 
 your belief in the Canonical Scriptures, so use had 
 only endeared them to your souls. At first, indeed, 
 we may almost shrink from expressing in such 
 strong terms our deeper feelings, but on nearer 
 approach we need not offer any apology for the 
 severity of remark. It has been truly and beauti- 
 fully said, that " the delicacy exhibited in forbearing 
 unnecessarily to shake the faith of others, is a mea- 
 sure of the disinterestedness of the doubter."* In 
 the case before us we are unable to discern any- 
 thing of this delicate sensitiveness. There is rather 
 a tone of fixed defiance — an unblushing assertion 
 of the solitary possession of the Truth. 
 
 Now it is at once acknowledged that our Church 
 is not so strong in the interpretation of the Old as 
 of the New Testament. We imagine, that in very 
 few of the Churches of the Reformation has the 
 study of the literature of the Old Testament pro- 
 ceeded pari passu with that of the New : f it has 
 
 * Farrar, " History of Free Thougtt," p. 19. 
 
 t Has our own University kept up the study as fully 
 as she ought, ever since Bythner (1664) dedicated his 
 Lyra to her as " AlmsB Matri, Academies O^ioniensi, Linguae 
 HebrsesB antiquissimse cultrici, in eaque . . . toti coronse 
 studiosorum lectissimse ? " 
 
19 
 
 not taken such deep hold of the theological mind ; 
 it has never, we are willing to allow, occupied its 
 true place. The Church rested, perhaps, in the 
 thought, that the sanction of her adorable Head 
 was sufficient to stamp and seal it — that the ac- 
 ceptance of the Jewish Church and contending 
 parties in that Church was a guarantee of great 
 weight and authority, on which she might safely 
 fall back. In the hour of need, however, champions 
 have appeared, well able to answer on the Lord's 
 side. To Dr. McCaul especially is the Church in- 
 debted for meeting the assault on Jewish grounds 
 and with well-tried weapons.* Not, indeed, that 
 all the points in dispute require this deeper know- 
 ledge. Many of the arguments advanced as based 
 on the so-called " higher criticism," admit of easier 
 refutation from any well-instructed minister of God. 
 Unspeakably painful is the study of such a 
 production, much more so (to my own mind) than 
 that of the " Essays and Reviews." For here it is 
 Scripture which verse by verse is assailed, and the 
 chaff separated from the wheat according to the 
 intuitions of man. Is it not another proof of the 
 truth of the declaration, that God " turneth wise 
 men backward and maketh their knowledge 
 foolish?" When I observe the minute and 
 laborious toil with which the chapters of the Pen- 
 tateuch are analysed, and on the authority of a 
 
 * The tidings of Dr. McCaul's death, so much to be 
 lamented at this time, had been received before the delivery 
 of the Charge, but after it was completed. It was thought 
 better to allow the reference to stand as above. 
 
20 
 
 very uncertain canon, and very sweeping generaliz- 
 ations 'resting on it, some assigned to Moses, others 
 given up as wholly void of historical truth — 
 portions assigned to Samuel and the Schools of the 
 Prophets, and the Book of Deuteronomy given to 
 Jeremiah or some later writer — when I find the 
 same process applied by German critics and by the 
 Eishop, following in their wake, to the Book of 
 Psalms,* I feel continually reminded of those of 
 whom an A.postle writes — "the unstable," who wrest 
 the Scriptures. t Unstable surely are they not to 
 rest in the teaching of Moses, to reject whose 
 writings was, according to the Saviour, to reject 
 Himself; J from whose heaven- directed act the 
 
 * What is the amount of direct proof that Num. x. 35, 
 is quoted from Ps. Ixvii. i., or that the Song of Deborah 
 (Judg. V.) is taken from the same Psalm? Are not these 
 rash conjectures ? Again, is it not very difficult to believe 
 that ' Thy Throne, O God ' (Ps. xlv.), refers to David, and 
 that "Awake, sword, against the man my fellow" (Zech. 
 xiii.) refers to the reigning king? Why does the Bishop 
 ignore the Divine Commentary on these passages in Heb. i. 
 and St. Matt. xxvi. ? 
 
 f 2 Pet. iii. i 6, ao-TwgtxToi rr^e/lXtvirit. How life-like the 
 picture of Alford commenting on these words : "Unstable! 
 those who, wanting firm foundation and anchorage, waver and 
 drift about with every wind of doctrine. Such persons are 
 stirred from their Christian stability by every apparent diffi- 
 culty, are rendered anxious and perplexed by hard texts; 
 and showing more anxiety to interpret them, somehow, than 
 to wait upon God for their solution, rush upon erroneous and 
 dangerous ways of interpretation.'' So also Distort, (rr^i/ixiu, 
 properly, to twist with a handscrew or windlass. Hence, to 
 torment ; and then metaphorically, to distort, pervert, strain 
 in meaning. 
 
 I See the proof clearly drawn out in " Christ's Testimony 
 
21 
 
 Saviour, in converse vpith Nicodemus, derived the 
 lively and impressive type of His coming sufferings 
 on the cross; from whose history (and that the 
 very chapter most cavilled at) the Saviour gathered 
 argument and proof of the future state, and of the 
 present blessedness of the departed; and from 
 whom the Saviour discoursed so largely of Himself 
 on the blessed day on which He rose from the 
 dead. And what more palpable picture could be 
 presented of the distorting and wresting of Scrip- 
 ture, than the method in which they tear it rudely 
 piecemeal, playing, as if in sport, with its disjecta 
 membra — dissecting, mutilating, transposing at 
 their will ? 
 
 We can only hope, my Reverend Brethren, 
 that "the tide-wave of Scepticism"* has reached 
 its highest flood-point. It has been said by th« 
 recent historian of Free Thought, that doubt recurs 
 in cycles, and that periods of restless and fermenting 
 intellectual activity are unfavourable to religious 
 truth. He argues that such crises are periods " of 
 temporary peril, but of permanent gain" — that 
 progress, according to what has almost passed into 
 a proverb, is by antagonism. May it be so ! One, 
 who wandered far in error and found little rest for 
 the sole of his foot, has returned, acknowledging 
 his fatal mistake. f Oh, that it might be the case 
 
 to Moses ; " a Sermon by the ReT. E. R. Jones, Rector of 
 Limehouse. 
 
 • Birks. 
 
 f The Rev. J. McNaught, formerly of St. Chrysostom's, 
 Everton, Liverpool. 
 
32 
 
 with the Bishop who has so cruelly disturbed the 
 peace of our Church ! Glad should I be to feel 
 persuaded that these doubts and struggles were 
 carrying us to a haven of rest— that, according to 
 the expression of the author above quoted, they 
 might prove, " in the order of a merciful Providence, 
 the transition to a more deeply-seated faith." 
 
 Far be it from us to desire for a moment to 
 check the spirit of free inquiry. Our wish would 
 be rather to encourage investigation — to meet in 
 every way the intellectual demands of the age, and 
 to promote the higjiest learning. We should wish 
 every blemish removed from our formularies,* and 
 should still be favourable to some changes which 
 would, we think, enable our Church to stand forth 
 " fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as 
 an army with banners." We should like in this 
 way some change in the Act of Uniformity, the re- 
 moval of " the unfeigned assent and consent" — the 
 retention of the declaration of adherence to the 
 Prayer-book, required by the canon which you all 
 made at the time of Ordination. But we should 
 be very unwilling to give up subscription to Articles 
 of Faith on the part of the clergy. We think them 
 the necessary limits within which the teaching of 
 the Church must be confined. It has been thought 
 that their narrowness has lessened the number of 
 
 * Why should not, for instance, the Marriage Service be 
 reduced to the shape in which, if I mistake not, it is 
 customary to use it at Royal Marriages — the introductory 
 preface abridged, something after the pattern of the American 
 Prayer-book ? 
 
23 
 
 candidates for Ordination ; that relaxation in this 
 direction would at once enlarge and extend our 
 boundaries. We doubt it much, and would rather 
 hold the opinion that it is the indefiniteness of the 
 teaching of the Church, the undecided tone of the 
 last few years, which has diminished the number 
 of applicants for admission. Let it be clearly 
 known beyond dispute and cavil what are the true 
 doctrines of the Church, and the ranks of the mi- 
 nistry will soon be replenished with willing and 
 devoted sons. It is the uncertainty of the terms 
 of allegiance, the haze and indistinctness which 
 has been thrown over all truth, that lessens, we 
 feel persuaded, the number of those who would 
 range themselves under her standard. 
 
 Such is the one subject which causes dis- 
 quietude and pain in the condition of the Church. 
 There are, however, signs of better things, tokens 
 of encouragement. The noble appeal of the Bishop 
 of London for a million of pounds in the next ten 
 years for the spiritual relief of the metropolis — the 
 united effort in Southwark to raise the incomes of 
 the Clergy in that Deanery — are movements in the 
 right direction. Nor are the reports from the 
 Universities on the whole unfavourable : two very 
 competent witnesses have borne testimony to the 
 deeper spirit of earnestness, the more patient study 
 of the Scriptures, which mark these seminaries,* 
 And, indeed, the intellectual trial is not confined to 
 our own Church — it is a mark of the age, and is 
 
 * Burgon on Inspiration, p. 19. Westcott on the Gospel 
 Miracles, Preface, p. 10. 
 
24 
 
 found in other communions. It exists in France,* 
 as well as in most of the Churches in Britain. 
 Prom the experience of the past, we may hope that 
 a period of rash and unbridled Scepticism may lead 
 to a reaction in the other direction — that the 
 naturalism! ^^^^ materialism of the present day, 
 the wild and extravagant assertions which have been 
 put forth under the guise of historical criticism, 
 may give way to a period of deeper, humbler, and 
 more reverential study of God's Word. 
 
 With this uneasiness in the Theological world 
 there are clouds in the distance on the political 
 horizon. There is tranquillity at present, but there 
 is preparation lest evil should come — there are 
 symptoms of difficulty on the European Continent. 
 In New Zealand there is a war, which, though of 
 small dimensions, would surely show the necessity 
 of troops in this settlement and country. Too 
 grateful we cannot be for that peculiar Providence 
 which has hitherto watched over and protected us. 
 The fear of the Indian has never disturbed us: 
 God has given us favour in the sight of the heathen. 
 He has fulfilled to us His promise, " I will be unto 
 her a wall of fire round about, and will be the 
 glory in the midst of her." But still we have 
 scarcely the security of former times, and there is 
 a measure of growing independence in the Indian 
 
 * See the " Life of Jesus," by M. Ernest Eenan. 
 
 t Dr. M'Cosli has very seasonably called attention to the 
 remark of Leibnitz, that " the last of heresies may be, not 
 Atheism, but Naturalism publicly professed." — The Super- 
 natural, Preface, p. ix. 
 
25 
 
 mind which would dictate the wisdom of pre- 
 caution. 
 
 While there is, however, peace in the Old 
 World, the scene of war has been transferred to the 
 New, there to rage on a mightier scale, and with 
 aggravations that weigh down the spirit. How 
 little could this have been anticipated when we met 
 as on this day four years ago ! During the 
 summer of that year we travelled over many hun- 
 dreds of miles in those States, and saw a noble land 
 rejoicing in a large measure of the good gifts of 
 God. We beheld civilization spreading northward 
 and westward with rapid strides, and heard the 
 people, with all the buoyancy of a nation's youthful 
 hope, anticipating an unbroken course of onward 
 progress. All this has been ruthlessly checked, 
 the march of civilization retarded, and their advance 
 (and ours, in some degree, with it) thrown back 
 many a long year. We cannot look upon these 
 things unmoved : the desolation of a fair land — 
 the sufferings of a noble people. How many 
 already the widows and orphans left to mourn in 
 bitterness of soul ! how full, even to overflowing, 
 the cup of human misery in the two years and a- 
 half of civil strife ! And, alas ! the end is not yet, 
 nor can human foresight predict when it may come. 
 With each year of protracted warfare the bitter- 
 ness of passion will increase, and the probabilities 
 of a peaceful issue diminish. We can but commit 
 the case to Him whose prerogative it is to overrule 
 evil for good. Already, on two former occa- 
 
36 
 
 sions,* when issuing a Form of Prayer and Thanks- 
 giving for special mercies vouchsafed to ourselves — 
 the withdrawal of an apprehended flood, and the 
 gathering in of an unexpected harvest — we ventured 
 to add a Prayer for the Heathen, those still in dark- 
 ness in our vast wilderness, and also a Prayer for 
 Peace,f for those bound to us by so many ties 
 passing through affliction and trial — for those parts 
 of the continent on which we dwell where war and 
 bloodshed rage. We then joined in prayer that 
 God would " heal their sores and troubles, assuage 
 their dissension and strife, that ere long peace, and 
 harmony, and brotherly love, might be restored to 
 their borders." This prayer, or something of a 
 similar hearty supplication, we would still recom- 
 mend to you, for surely we may point to that land 
 and say, in the Prophet'^ words, — " Pray unto the 
 Lord for it, for in the peace thereof shall ye have 
 peace." We cannot be insensible to what is taking 
 place so near us ; from over the frontier, not many 
 miles ofi', we can almost hear " the sound of the 
 trumpet, the alarm of war." Many are the friend- 
 ships which we, almost all of us, have in that land ; 
 with many of the Bishops and Clergy of our Church 
 among them we have long been on terms of cor- 
 respondence, and each year has only drawn closer 
 the bonds of fraternal intercourse. J I know not 
 One who has pleaded more boldly and persever- 
 
 * On Deo. 27, 1861, and Dec. 29, 1863. 
 t See Appendix A. J See Appendix B. 
 
27 
 
 ingly on behalf of the Indian than Bishop Whipple.* 
 I know not a truer or warmer friend of the Chippe- 
 way or the Sioux. He had already commenced a 
 Mission among the Dacotahs, and had gathered 
 together for instructiou at Faribault some of the 
 children and orphans of that tribe, when that ill- 
 fated massacre took place which brought a portion 
 of the Northern Army into the adjoining State, and 
 is likely to consign the remnant of that unhappy 
 nation to the sword. Oh, that they had been wise, 
 that they had understood these things, and had 
 known beforehand their day of visitation ! How 
 manifest the power of Satan here to blind and to 
 destroy ! At the time when Christian love was 
 ready to gather them under her wings, and place 
 them within the fold of the Redeemer, that spirit 
 of barbarity, that fiendish thirst for blood, suddenly 
 reappears among them, which is bringing upon them 
 a righteous vengeance, and will eventually sweep 
 them, it is to be feared, from the face of the earth. 
 The nearest parallel, indeed, to the massacres in 
 Minnesota and on the Upper Missouri would be 
 in those of Cawnpore and Eastern India, Satan 
 exhibiting a similarity of agency in either hemi- 
 sphere. But these are only the outskirts of the war. 
 At the heart and centre it still continues to rage 
 with little of abated violence, and the winter has 
 closed upon it with very small hopes of peace. 
 
 * I refer especially to his manly letter to the President 
 on behalf of the Indian. I find since, that Bishop Lee of 
 Iowa co-operated heartily with Bishop Whipple in his repre- 
 sentations to the American Government. 
 
28 
 
 It is, however, more than time that we pass to 
 a review of what we ourselves have done, and after- 
 wards proceed to offer some suggestions on the 
 varying phases of your own work. 
 
 Soon after we last addressed you we again 
 visited Moose, and found, as on our two previous 
 visits, a large amount of energetic and well-directed 
 effort. We held an Ordination there, the recollec- 
 tion of which must ever be hallowed by the early 
 removal of him then admitted to the Priesthood. 
 A Catechist, whom I had left there on my former 
 visit, and who had in the interval laboured with 
 zeal and efficiency, was on the same occasion or- 
 dained Deacon. It were almost vain to state in 
 words the wants of a single district of this wide- 
 spread land : so much in men and means would be 
 requisite to overtake it in its length and breadth. 
 With two European labourers, and three to co- 
 operate and assist of those born in the land, we 
 could imagine the spiritual necessities of the 
 Southern department in some measure supplied. 
 The coast of the East Main, as far as Ungava Bay, 
 might thus be overtaken ; the Indians and Eskimos 
 between Labrador and Moose would all have the 
 opportunity of hearing the Gospel, while the in- 
 terior might be visited periodically along the 
 Moose and Albany Rivers. But this is after all 
 only a pleasing vision, and in the view of the scat- 
 tered population we can but exclaim in unavaihng 
 regret, " By what shall they rise, for they are 
 small.''" And the whole country is made up of a 
 repetition of such districts. 
 
29 
 
 On our return from Moose, partly because of 
 family reasons, we took Canada on our way. 
 While there, I preached in the four Cathedrals of 
 Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and London, and also 
 in Ottawa, which it was then thought might become 
 the seat of the Bishopric in process of formation. 
 It was not, eventually, the fortunate spot, Kingston 
 being selected for the purpose, with the title of 
 Ontario for the see. This now makes the Tenth 
 Bishopric in the British North- American Provinces. 
 
 It was at the same time my privilege to witness 
 the arrival and enthusiastic reception of the Prince 
 of Wales at Montreal. Having been commissioned 
 by yourselves to do so, I had the honour of pre- 
 senting to His Royal Highness the loyal Address 
 of the Governor and Inhabitants of the Colony, 
 and also that of the Clergy, which were subse- 
 quently graciously acknowledged on the part of 
 the Prince by the Duke of Newcastle.* We cannot 
 but hope that a deeper interest may, in consequence 
 of that visit, be felt by the Heir-Apparent in the 
 welfare of the British possessions on this con- 
 tinent. How little one then knew how soon the 
 cloud of grief would gather around the Royal 
 brow, ^(\iving on him a larger amount of responsi- 
 bility, and depriving him of the ready advice and 
 judicious guidance of a tender and affectionate 
 Father! How urgent on every ground, my Re- 
 verend Brethren, the call to earnest prayer that the 
 union, since so auspiciously formed, may prove a 
 
 * See Appendix C. 
 
30 
 
 source of stability to the throne, a lasting blessing 
 to the Prince and his youthful Princess, a joy and 
 solace to her Majesty in her deep and abiding 
 grief ! 
 
 The close of our own visit was saddened by 
 the death of one, to whose administrative talent the 
 country owes much, and from whom I had always 
 received much courtesy and kindness, the late Go- 
 vernor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land.* 
 
 Since that prolonged absence of four months 
 I have not paid any distant visits. With the ex- 
 ception of one happy trip to Pairford, I have been 
 unable to leave home for any time. The erection 
 of the building in which we are now assembled 
 has occupied almost too much of my thoughts, and 
 yet it is only as I predicted in my Third Charge, 
 that, if I should live to spend other seven years in 
 the land, a portion of them must be devoted to the 
 task of building. Three of them have very largely 
 been so employed ; at least the summer months, the 
 only period available for the purpose here. And 
 now I would thank God that it is so far completed 
 as to admit of our worship : I cannot but acknow- 
 ledge, that His special providence has been with us, 
 so that not a single accident or mischance has 
 happened throughout. Ignorant as I am myself of 
 the details of each separate department of the work, 
 I feel most grateful that the general effect of the 
 whole is pleasing to the eye. I often gaze with 
 pleasure at the tower, with its pinnacles pointing 
 
 * Sir George Simpson, Governor from 1831 to 1860. 
 
31 
 
 heavenwards, especially when seen in the light of 
 the sun going down in the west, with those gor- 
 geous tints which mark the day's decline in our 
 clear climate ; and to all the bells give forth a 
 cheerful sound of a Sabbath morn, inviting to the 
 worship of Almighty God. To friends at a distance 
 we owe more than we can ever repay ; to many of 
 their kind gifts I have referred before, and would 
 now only add the mention of the bequest of an 
 aged and revered friend,* whose legacy of 250/. 
 has most opportunely assisted in the completion of 
 our tower. 
 
 The day may come, as civilization advances and 
 strangers flock in, when this structure shall give 
 place to another more befitting its name, and more 
 harmonizing in architecture and proportion with 
 those time-honoured Cathedrals which are the glory 
 of other lands, and even with those already erected 
 on this continent. f Tt may then take its more 
 appropriate place as one of the Parochial Churches. 
 In the meantime, it may in some feeble measure, 
 and, we are inclined to think, with something of a 
 graceful adaptation to the present humbler position 
 of our land, fulfil to us the purposes of a Cathedral, 
 if we but seek in it God's blessing, and find, 
 according to our text in opening it, "Jehovah 
 Shammah." 
 
 * J. Clarke, Esq., Beaufoy Terrace, Maida Vale ; a highly 
 esteemed member of St. Paul's Chapel, Kilburn, where I 
 once ministered for a season. 
 
 f Especially the Cathedrals of Montreal and Fre- 
 dericton. 
 
32 
 
 It would be the Mother Church of the scat- 
 tered churches of the land. 
 
 It is itself one of Ten such, stretching from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific. The first, that of Nova 
 Scotia, was planted more than seventy-five years 
 ago, to which others were gradually added. Some 
 have grown rapidly in importance from the influx 
 of population ; as that of Toronto, which has thrown 
 off two dioceses since we have been among you, 
 and still contains the largest number of churches 
 after these two subdivisions. The very plan of our 
 interior arrangement was intended thus to speak to 
 the eye — the stalls were to suggest the thought of 
 the ten dioceses — to mark a definite historical 
 period, with which comparison might be made at 
 any future time. 
 
 More difficult is it to represent in any outward 
 shape the ever-fluctuating number of the churches 
 which branch out from us, so to impress it upon 
 the mind of every worshipper that each may, every 
 Sabbath, lift up the prayer for the scattered 
 churches of the land to Him that walketh among 
 the candlesticks. How effectual might the incense 
 of much earnest prayer to this end prove, so that 
 (his Cathedral might indeed become a fruitful 
 mother of churches ! Already we have four on the 
 Red River, as many on the Assiniboine; and 
 besides these there are Devon and Stanley, Eairford 
 and Westbourne, York and Fort Simpson, Moose 
 and Albany : in all ihese spots churches are erected 
 or in progress. Now, in counties or dioceses of 
 England, the churches are often found to conform 
 
 u 
 
33 
 
 to a common type — over one large district the 
 tower, over another the spire prevails, and so with 
 the minuter shades and varieties of architecture. 
 Impossible it would be, even if desirable, to have 
 this exact uniformity over this mighty extent of 
 territory ; the varying circumstances of the country, 
 the severity of the climate as we penetrate north- 
 ward, would compel change and modification. 
 Still, improvements in taste and interior arrange- 
 ment are gradually taking place. What may be 
 effected in these respects, even within a very small 
 compass, is sufficiently seen at Westbourne. 
 Would that we could plant such a Church, correct 
 in symmetrical proportion and detail, at Fort 
 Youcon, our most remote station, and that in due 
 time Churches might cover the surface of the 
 land, meeting the traveller whithersoever enterprise 
 or the desire of gain might carry him ! 
 
 The Cathedral would be also a centre of Mis- 
 sionary operation, a focus of spiritual hght. 
 
 In it, for the most part, would the Ordinations 
 be celebrated, — in it those sent forth would un- 
 dertake their vows in your presence, and assume 
 their weighty responsibilities. Of this you had a 
 very striking and significant example in the solemn 
 services of last Whit-Tuesday. Four were then 
 ordained priests within these walls — the largest 
 Ordination we have yet held, all of them born in 
 the land, all sent forth to different spots.* The 
 
 * Kev. T. Vincent, Kev. H. Budd, jun., Rev. J. A. Mackay, 
 G.M.S., and Rev. Thomas Cook, S.P.G. 
 
34 
 
 four in their birthplaces would, I delight to 
 think, represent to some degree the extent of terri- 
 tory — those mighty rivers which are the arteries of 
 the land, Rupert's River, Albany River, the Red 
 River, and the Saskatchewan. Immediately after 
 OrdinatioH they passed hence by canoe or boat, or 
 over the prairie, to their respective spheres of labour ; 
 but their minds will often revert to that day, — to this 
 place, " from which they were recommended to the 
 grace of God, for the work which they are fulfilling." 
 Oh that this might be an Antioch, a centre of deep 
 vital Christianity for the land ! 
 
 It ought to be besides, if I mistake not, an 
 Intellectual centre. 
 
 Here, according to the idea of our Church, 
 would be the means and instruments of learning. 
 The College would be here in theory, if not in 
 fact. In a more thinly-peopled and isolated dio- 
 cese it may be impracticable to collect a suffi- 
 cient body of well-qualified teachers ; it may be 
 difficult to assemble a nucleus of students, who 
 shall carry on their pursuits with the life and com- 
 petition of other spots. The work may, for these 
 reasons, be better conducted elsewhere, at least for 
 a time, as we have partly learnt by experience. 
 But still, in sending forth a Bishop, the Church 
 would suppose him an intellectual centre ; and if in 
 other lands, how emphatically in this, so far re- 
 moved from the appliances of civihzed life ! It is 
 on this account that I look with pleasure on the 
 Diocesan Library of about fourteen, hundred 
 volumes, which is now formed and deposited among 
 
35 
 
 you. By access to it, any clergyman may study 
 the rich divinity of former periods, as well as 
 familiarize himself with the leading questions and 
 controversies of the day. Most works bearing on 
 the exposition of the Word of God are there ; a 
 portion of the standard works of our own Divines : 
 there, too, as necessity obliges us to have know- 
 ledge of them, are attacks on the faith, for which 
 we blush, but along with them also the best replies 
 which the watchmen on Zion's walls, who could 
 not hold their peace in such days of rebuke, have 
 sent forth against the foe. And I hope that these 
 stores may be carefully kept, and, ere long, largely 
 added to.* They are doubly valuable in such a 
 remote spot ; but, with our growing facility of com- 
 munication, it will not be so difficult hereafter to 
 supply that which is lacking. And here I cannot 
 but express my astonishment that, amid all the 
 absorbing interest of internal strife, works on Theo- 
 logy and those of a more abstract character should 
 still have been so largely republished in the United 
 States. It is not a little creditable to them that it 
 should be so, proving that there must be a demand 
 for works of this description, and affording a 
 guarantee that the minds of the Clergy (at least in 
 the leading centres of thought) would desire a full 
 
 * I was unable to obtain a gift of books from the Univer- 
 sity of Oxford, from not having a separate building for the 
 Diocesan Library. This is a necessary condition in all such 
 grants. The difficulty here vrould be to maintain and warm 
 a detached edifice. 
 
36 
 
 acquaintance with the highest theological literature 
 of the age. 
 
 Other uses there may be of a Cathedral Church 
 and centre; but these it may be sufficient to specify 
 as its more immediate objects here. 
 
 Por Synodical action I do not think that we 
 are yet ripe, and my reasons would be our essential 
 difference from other dioceses, and the great dif- 
 ference among your respective parishes and districts, 
 which would render any common system of repre- 
 sentation impossible. In Canada there are five 
 dioceses all resembling each other, and now welded 
 together and cemented in one Provincial Synod, 
 with a Metropolitan at their head. To the east 
 there are the three dioceses of the Lower Provinces : 
 to the west, British Columbia and ourselves. Of 
 British Columbia I cannot of course speak, but we 
 are ourselves wholly different from any of the other 
 dioceses of the continent. There is, as was lately 
 remarked by one engaged in the work,* a great 
 and essential difference (though often unnoticed) 
 between a Colonial and Missionary Diocese. We 
 partake in some degree of the character of both : 
 but the latter element, as you know, largely pre- 
 ponderates, and stamps its impress upon us. Now 
 there is a necessary elasticity in the conduct of all 
 Missionary operations on a large scale,t which can 
 
 * The Bishop of Melbourne, at the Church Congress, 
 Manchester. 
 
 ■j- 1 am aware that a Diocesan Synod has taken place at 
 Waiapu; but there, if I am right, it is a purely Missionary 
 
37 
 
 very little become tlie subject of uniform rule and 
 rubric. There is an ever-shifting variety of circum- 
 stance, vyfhich no pre-arranged plan can meet : 
 here a new language or dialect ; there a fresh body 
 of inquirers and converts, and those converts 
 varying indefinitely along the scale of knowledge as 
 well as in outward condition. The picture has 
 been drawn to the life by one who has never, it is 
 true, himself made trial of Missionary life, but 
 whose occupation has been the survey from a dis- 
 tance of a thousand such fields, and whose ripe ex- 
 perience, so acquired, generalizes the result in a view 
 which none with the scene before them could draw 
 more correctly. " The work," says that servant of 
 God, whose care as it were, is of all the Missionary 
 Churches,* "is so varied, and its emergencies so 
 sudden, that the evangelist must be left to act 
 mainly on his own responsibility and judgment. 
 It pre-eminently requires independence of mind, 
 fertility of resource, a quick observance of the foot- 
 steps of Divine Providence, a readiness to push 
 forward in that direction, an abiding sense in the 
 mind of the Missionary of personal responsibility to 
 extend the kingdom of Christ, and a lively convic- 
 tion that the Lord is at his right hand." These, 
 my Reverend Brethren, are words of weighty 
 wisdom, and very sinful would it be in one placed 
 in authority to repress, by a rigid adherence to 
 
 Church, and all are -within a reasonable distance of the centre, 
 so that a large proportion can meet together at any given 
 time. In these two points we differ materially. 
 * Eev. Henry Venn, B.D. 
 
38 
 
 form, that yearning love of souls which would seek 
 to break forth on the right hand and on the left, 
 and would become all things to all men, if by so 
 doing you might save some. 
 
 While I cannot report to day any large pro- 
 gress, I feel the deep conviction that God must 
 have some gracious purposes in planting and pre- 
 serving us here, so far from our fellow-men, at the 
 heart and centre of the continent. 
 
 One change has already taken place. The 
 Company so long connected with the government 
 and best interests of the country has passed away, 
 and the one, which succeeds, enters upon its duties 
 pledged to open up the land by direct communica- 
 tion from Canada to Columbia. That these are 
 only preparatory steps I feel persuaded, an inter- 
 mediate agency which will be superseded by some- 
 thing more permanent. The next Session of Par- 
 liament will, I make little doubt, grant at least to 
 a portion of the territory the privileges of a Colony 
 of the British Crown. No one, I think I may say, 
 is more anxious to carry out these plans for the 
 future than our present Governor-in-Chief. For 
 him we have now introduced the iisual form of 
 Prayer, assimilating thus our worship to that of 
 Canada.* Nor can any deliberations of weightier 
 importance be imagined, than those in which, with 
 Her Majesty's Colonial Secretary and the newly- 
 appointed Governor of the Company at home, he 
 may be called to take part, by which the face of 
 
 * See Appendix D. 
 
39 
 
 the wilderness may be changed, and unity of law 
 and order, and the comforts of social life, cover this 
 land in its length and breadth. 
 
 We are at the present moment twenty-three. 
 As before, I have been anxious to leave all in 
 Priest's Orders. Under the circumstances of the 
 country, until some larger influx of settlers take 
 place, or the population gather around new centres, 
 I should scarcely look to our exceeding twenty-five. 
 Only one European labourer has been added to our 
 number,* so that our Ordinations stand five Dea- 
 cons and six Priests — of those ordained Deacons, 
 the Europeans being to the Natives in the propor- 
 tion of one to four. I think this would in some 
 measure prove that we are seeking to do our part, 
 and it would, I humbly imagine, give us some claim 
 on help from abroad. It would be very culpable 
 remissness were 1 not to mention, that we have the 
 gratuitous services of one of the Clergy reported.! 
 We have been looking anxiously for some months 
 for one, promised us by the Colonial and Conti- 
 nental Church Society. A slight interruption may 
 have taken place in their operations, through the 
 promotion of their late Secretary to the Bishopric 
 of Goulburn. It is to the exertions of Bishop 
 Thomas that the Society owes its present position 
 of widely extended influence. His duties have 
 been divided between two Secretaries, one of them 
 to take the Colonial correspondence as. his peculiar 
 
 * The Kev. T. T. Smith, Stanley, English River, 
 f The Rev. Thomas Cochrane, Assistant Minister at 
 Laprairie. 
 
40 
 
 sphere ; and in their hands I am sure the Society 
 will not suffer loss. 
 
 We notice, too, in the account of a recent dis- 
 missal from the Church Missionary College, that 
 a Catechist is set apart for our diocese.* The 
 arrival of these two would bring us up to twenty- 
 five, the number we hope to be able on an average 
 to maintain, exactly a five-fold increase in the fifteen 
 years. I ought, perhaps, also to say, that we have 
 lost the services of the Rev. Robert Hunt, of the 
 Church Missionary Society, who came out originally 
 with myself. His memorial would be the striking 
 Church which he succeeded in erecting on a com- 
 manding point in the English River, and the inge- 
 nious symbolical system which he thinks would not 
 only represent the various Indian tongues, but also 
 comprise all the vocal sounds possible in human 
 language. 
 
 The number confirmed has been 307 on nine 
 different occasions, giving an average of 34 in each. 
 The largest number, as is very pleasant to notice in 
 such a diocese as our own, was at the Indian 
 Settlement, where 79 were presented. There 
 would have been an addition to the total had I 
 been able, as in former years, to visit more largely. 
 
 Of Burial-grounds, we have consecrated those 
 of Headingley, Westbourne, and Fairford. We 
 have opened a new Church at Laprairie ; another, 
 built through the untiring energy of Archdeacon 
 Cochrane, is, I believe, very nearly ready to be 
 
 * Mr. E. Phair reached the Red Kiver shortly after the 
 delivery of the Charge. 
 
41 
 
 opened, these two Churches to be formed into one 
 united Parish. A Church and Burial-ground, that 
 of St. Clement's, Mapleton, will, if God permit, be 
 consecrated in the course of next week. As regards 
 the future, there would be enough to do : St. Paul's 
 Church must be rebuilt ere long, and a new one 
 erected at Headingley. 
 
 Of Stations opened since we met, we think 
 with very peculiar pleasure of that most distant 
 point now gained and occupied, Fort Youcon, on 
 the Russian frontier, where one from the Red 
 River, who may therefore feel himself entitled to 
 the character of a Missionary, is labouring, and 
 from whom the accounts of the docility of the 
 Indians around continue very favourable. To it I 
 would add the mention of the Station of Claremont, 
 at Touchwood Hills, which, I regret to say, I have 
 not yet seen, but of which even those uninterested 
 give pleasing reports; where our Catechist, Mr. 
 Charles Pratt, is, I hope, doing good service. A 
 second permanent Station has. been taken up by 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, that 
 of Fort EUice, and is likely to prove a spot of 
 growing importance, as it must almost of necessity 
 remain ever on the highway of the West. Churchill, 
 on the Hudson's Bay, is occupied by the Church 
 Missionary Society, through the liberality of a 
 Christian layman, who offered to contribute 100/. 
 per annum towards that object. 
 
 But if, my Reverend Brethren, a direct formal 
 Synod be scarcely adapted to the exigencies of our 
 work, let us not forget that such gatherings as the 
 
42 
 
 present ouglat to be as Missionary Conferences, 
 occasions of free'intercliange of thought, of kindly 
 suggestions, of spiritual and prayerful communion. 
 Such seasons have been enjoyed elsewhere. How 
 interesting tljiP account of that Conference, where 
 the highest functionaries of the Government took 
 part with the Missionary servants of God far up in 
 Eastern India, towards the foot of the mountains 
 which form its Northern boundary. Oh, that as 
 the rivers flow down from that quarter to enrich 
 and fertilise the land, so the Gospel may spread 
 with resistless energy from the Punjaub, from 
 Peshawur, the key and gate of the North, carrying 
 life and peace and joy wherever it comes ! The 
 message sent to lis across the ocean would be the 
 avowal, not of one of God's ministering servants, 
 but of one who, nobly fighting the battles of the 
 Crown, is not ashamed to own allegiance to the 
 great Captain of his salvation. " Missions in 
 India," says Sir Herbert Edwardes, " have begun 
 to tell. God grant that we may see their triumph 
 in our day ! " 
 
 Can we honestly apply these words to our own 
 land ? We trust that the admission is in some 
 degree true of ourselves, and I doubt not that the 
 prayer is echoed from the depths of your inmost 
 souls ; but may we not gird ourselves up for yet 
 more devoted service ? Bear with me, then, if I 
 ask you to concentrate your thoughts on your own 
 work, while, without a very strict methodical order, 
 I endeavour to review in something of sequence 
 that which is entrusted to you. 
 
43 
 
 Take, first, the treatment of Inquirers. In a 
 country such as our own, in a Missionary field, 
 ought there not always to be some — is it not a 
 token that matters are healthy and promising 
 when there are many such, asking for the way of 
 life and peace ? What need of patience, of study 
 of the heart and the word, in dealing with them ? 
 The heathen inquirer comes, hearing that we have 
 a message ; but with his mind blind and dark, and 
 in total ignorance of divine truth. What is the line 
 of scriptural teaching adapted to his case ? May 
 we not unfold the book of Nature, and, opening our 
 volume, teach him that " the heavens declare the 
 glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handi- 
 work?" or may we not point to his own wondrous 
 frame, and inquire again in the Psalmist's words, 
 " He that planted the ear, shall He not hear ? He 
 that made the eye, shall He not see ? or He that 
 nurtureth the heathen, it is He that teacheth man 
 knowledge, shall He not punish ? " (P. B. ver.) 
 Or, turning to our Missionary record of the early 
 pioneers of the Gospel, have we not St. Paul's 
 words at Lystra, which we may adopt as our own, 
 and tell them how " God in times past sufi'ered 
 all nations to walk in their own ways ; nevertheless 
 He left not Himself without witness, in that He did 
 good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful 
 seasons, filling our hearts with food and glad- 
 ness." Passing from Lystra to Athens, we have 
 those imperishable words uttered on Mars HiU by 
 the great Apostle of the Gentiles, and re-echoed in 
 every country whither the Gospel is borne. We 
 
44 
 
 take them up, and, in answer to any vain idea that 
 the white are of a different race, assert that " God 
 hath made of one blood all nations of men for 
 to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath deter- 
 mined the times before appointed, and the bounds 
 of their habitation : that they should seek the 
 Lord, if haply they might feel after Him and find 
 Him, though He be not far from every one of us." 
 On these, and other passages ready to our hand, 
 we engraft the explanation of the attributes of an 
 omniscient and omnipresent God. Through the 
 sense of sin, the picture of heathenism, as drawn 
 still by the Psalmist and developed by the same 
 Apostle, we endeavour to extort the confession that 
 " destruction and misery are in their ways, and the 
 way of peace have they not known ;" and from 
 the feelings of the soul's disease we would lead 
 them to the Physician of the sick, the Ransom of 
 the sinner. By the description of heaven, the 
 dwelling-place of a holy God, surrounded by the 
 redeemed from earth, we would stir up within them 
 a consciousness of their need of an entire change, 
 of their want of the Holy Spirit to " renew them 
 after the image of Him who created them, and 
 make them meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light." 
 
 With the inquirer of a different kind, the 
 doubter and the caviller, you are not so likely to 
 come, often in contact. And yet, Brethren, we 
 have seen such even here, though not born in the 
 midst of us, who would look on the blade of grass 
 and doubt its giving token of creative skill. Such 
 
45 
 
 would almost deny to the Almighty the power of 
 working any miracle,* or, if it be wrought, they 
 would mark out the path in which it must lie. 
 With such we would have you, as the simplest 
 course, argue upwards from the working of man's 
 mind to the perfection of the Almighty. Conscious 
 ourselves of a determining will, which can originate 
 a new sequence in our little sphere, can we deny 
 that there may be a Supreme Will,t a power with 
 Him who has the laws of nature in His hand, and 
 has impressed on them order and harmony, to in- 
 troduce change in them for infinitely wise reasons, 
 to arrest their operation when He sees fit ? Have 
 there not been such moments of interference, 
 according to the confession of all, as at the dawn 
 of creation, or at those eras and periods of which 
 geology speaks ? Is the order of nature wholly 
 unbroken? Do all things continue exactly as 
 they were ? If so, whence the earthquake, or the 
 comet, or the meteor ? Can man fully explain their 
 secrets — can he anticipate their approach, define 
 their course, or mark their limit ? 
 
 Should the doubter, or even the distressed in 
 mind, speak to you of the conflicting interpretations 
 of the day, as unsettHng and disturbing, a fair and 
 practical answer may be found in the discrepancy 
 
 * " Vetans ne quid miraculum ederet,"is the expression, 
 and perhaps not too strong a one, of a Professor in Holland, 
 referring to such views. 
 
 I See this argument carried out in detail by Mansel, 
 " Aids to Faith," pp. 24-37. 
 
46 
 
 of the various theories preferred.* Profess your- 
 self willing to await a more perfect agreement 
 among the opponents of Scripture, before you give 
 up the received sense on which the Church of 
 Christ has reposed for centuries, and in which 
 believers of past ages have found rest and peace 
 for their souls. 
 
 View next, as following naturally on the case of 
 the inquirer and the convert, the service of the 
 Sanctuary. In it, the Preaching of God's Word 
 would claim the highest prominence. It did so 
 surely in the mind of the great Apostle. To 
 preach Christ crucified, to travail in birth until 
 Christ was formed in those whom he addressed the 
 hope of glory, was his one object. And to the 
 minister the pulpit is still his throne. Is he an 
 ambassador ? from it he delivers his message and 
 credentials. Is he a steward ? here he opens the 
 mysteries of God. Is he a watchman ? here he cries 
 aloud and spares not, and warns souls of the night 
 and a coming judgment. Is he a shepherd? here 
 he feeds the flock — the sheep with the food 
 convenient for them, the lambs with the sincere 
 milk of the word. But how shall he fulfil this high 
 duty, and beseech man as in Christ's stead ? The 
 head must be filled with matter, and the heart 
 must be inflamed with Divine love. If the heart 
 alone be warm^ and the mind unstored, unre- 
 plenished from the fountain-head, the preaching 
 will be vapid, and merely emotional. If the head 
 * Farrar, p. 358. 
 
47 
 
 only be filled, there will be a lack of unction ; it 
 will be dry and comfortless to the hearer. Let the 
 subject then fill your mind; deliberately chosen 
 betimes, dwelling in your thoughts through the 
 week, and becoming part and parcel of them ; and 
 then, whether the sermon be elaborately written, or 
 the outline carefully framed and drawn up, it will 
 be out of the abundance of the heart that the 
 mouth will speak — it will be from the heart to the 
 heart. And while we do not make success the one 
 test of our work, while we must leave the issue to 
 God, yet we may well question ourselves if there 
 be not some evidence of a blessing from above, — 
 some stirring among the dry bones. More likely 
 are we, under the usual working of God's Spirit in 
 the economy of grace, to be able to take up the 
 Apostle's words, " Thanks be to God, which always 
 causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh 
 manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in 
 every place." While, then, you sow the seed of 
 eternal life, look anxiously and pray erf ally for some 
 of the fruits of the harvest. 
 
 But there is another function which we perform 
 in the sanctuary, to which we may do well to turn 
 a questioning eye. We lead the Prayers, we guide 
 and direct the worship of our people, when they 
 draw nigh to the footstool of God. We pray with 
 them, and invite them to pray with us, to worship 
 and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our 
 Maker. Now the spirit of Liturgical worship is a 
 habit, and, like all other habits, grows almost 
 insensibly upon us, and becomes easier and more 
 
48 
 
 delightful from practice. The fervency and deep 
 earnestness of him who leads the devotion will, by 
 a holy contagion, communicate itself to the wor- 
 shipping congregation. It becomes thus a mark 
 by which we may try our ministerial work, to 
 inquire whether there is any symptom of increasing 
 pleasure on the part of the people in their portion 
 of this sacred and spiritual service. How en- 
 couraging to the minister the loud response, the 
 deep-toned confession, when he can humbly hope 
 that heart and voice unite in joint petitions ! 
 What more calculated to inflame devotion, what 
 more beautiful spectacle, than a whole congrega- 
 tion prostrate in holy reverence, and all pouring 
 forth the expression of their common wants into 
 the ear of the Most High ! Although, therefore, 
 not an infallible test, for man cannot look into the 
 heart, take the fervour of the responses as in some 
 measure the pulse of the spiritual life of your 
 congregation. 
 
 We have, however, not yet noticed the most 
 elevating portion of the service, which is Praise. 
 This, too, we ought ever to feel rests upon us as 
 ministers of God. True it is, that you may seek 
 all necessary help, you may endeavour to enlist the 
 services of the young in your choirs, but still the 
 responsibility is at your own door. Very beautiful 
 the solitary voice attuned to the praise of God, 
 or the few voices trained to scientific song, but 
 that is not the service which God requires. It is 
 the blending of voices, as the sound of many 
 waters — many voices, yet one. It was when " the 
 
49 
 
 singers were as one, to make one sound to be 
 heard in praising and thanking the Lord, that then 
 the glory of the Lord filled the house of God." 
 We still use the Psalms of David, which may be 
 termed an inspired liturgy of praise, and along 
 with them other spiritual hymns and songs, and 
 we think that we see indications of a growing 
 union among believers in this exercise. I could 
 almost imagine a selection of Hymns of the Uni- 
 versal Church, some which are accepted and used 
 by all bodies of professing Christians, either in 
 public worship or in their more private devotional 
 exercises. Thus praise is becoming gradually 
 more in. unison over the whole earth. View it 
 then as that breath of the soul, which will outlive 
 the breath of the body, and pass with the redeemed 
 to fill the courts of heaven. 
 
 When, however, we have gathered in the flock, 
 and duly arranged the service of the sanctuary, we 
 dare not forget that our commission is to the 
 regions beyond. With organization the most 
 perfect, must be coupled the duty of Extension ; 
 growth in a Missionary Church would be the mark 
 of spiritual life. 
 
 In this it is impossible to lay down any definite 
 rule, which must be left to individual temperament 
 and the power of seizing opportunities. The ex- 
 tension is in some cases Territorial, of which 
 Archdeacon Cochrane has been a favoured instru- 
 ment, in which adjoining tracts are one after 
 another covered with the means of subsistence, of 
 social comfort, and with ready access to the ordi- 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 nances of God. Its spirit would be that in which 
 the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, " The place 
 where we dwell is too strait for us ; let us go and 
 take every man a beam, and let us make us a place 
 there where we may dwell ;" and thus settlement 
 after settlement springs up full of busy life. There 
 is extension of another kind, which would seek for 
 scattered souls over a wide-spread territory. It 
 would effect its object by Itinerating ; it would say 
 constantly in the Saviour's words, " I must go to 
 others also (to the Indian tent or lodge), for there- 
 fore am I sent." In Southern India there is a 
 local rule of the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel, that one month in three shall be passed 
 by their agents in such Itineration. Such a rule 
 it would be impossible to lay down, as universally 
 applicable in our land, from climate and distance 
 and the unavoidable expense. But trips of this 
 kind twice a-year are often within reach, and where 
 attempted have been attended, as you know, with 
 the happiest results. Of this nature was the recent 
 visit, of which we now hear with so much joy, from 
 Pairford to Fort Pelly, and Touchwood Hills ; and 
 such would be the projected visit from the Indian 
 Settlement to Port Alexander and Islington. This 
 agency is indeed at the root of the success of the 
 Moose Mission ; and as it originally commenced the 
 work there, so must it form our chief hope in all 
 operations on the Mackenzie River, and the Youcon 
 in the north, as well as from the Nepowewin 
 and Carlton towards the plains. 
 
 It is the only agency which can overtake the 
 
51 
 
 land, and on this ground I would affectionately 
 urge it upon you. Has not the Saviour set before 
 you an open door for this very end? The great 
 Apostle tells us that the Redeemer " gave Himself 
 a sacrifice and ransom for all, to he testified in due 
 time " — TO [JiiCigrvgioi/ xat^oig ihtotg — " in its own spe- 
 cial and peculiar times " (to give the full force of the 
 original), as the message is brought to each land. 
 May it not be the due and set time for the various 
 tribes of Indians in our land to hear the joyful 
 sound? God has brought us near them, and they 
 border closely on the Missions already planted : is 
 not that a mark of the Divine Providence? I 
 speak, especially, of the Plain Indians, how near us 
 in several points ! of the Eskimos and Chippewyans, 
 to whom the hearts of those who have seen them in 
 different spots seem much drawn ; and of the 
 Kutchin and Loocheux of the north, who appear 
 cheerfully to hail any overtures made to them. 
 The work is thus a mighty work, and not for man 
 but for God : let us hear His encouraging voice 
 saying, " Go forward." 
 
 But, in the work of Extension, we soon feel the 
 want of the tongue of the learned ; or, if able to 
 speak a word in season in it, we want something to 
 leave behind. As subsidiary to it must come, 
 therefore, the Printing of Translations. 
 
 The present is a day " of stir and labour on 
 God's Word," says Dean Alford, in the preface to his 
 closing volume of the Greek Testament ; that Word 
 is attracting to itself many minds, anxious for a 
 more perfect Text, a more accurate Translation, or 
 
52 
 
 for a fuller and truer Exposition of the volume. 
 Now in each new land there must be something 
 of this labour gone through afresh. What, then, 
 is our advance in this department since we last 
 met? 
 
 One laborious work is completed : the Old 
 Testament in the Syllabic Form, carried through 
 the Press by Mr. Mason during his late residence 
 in England. In the preparation of the whole, he 
 had been largely assisted by one who had just 
 finished the closing chapter of Malachi when she 
 was called hence. Not the first example of the 
 kind in ecclesiastical history, my Reverend Brethren, 
 as you well know ; but surely a blessed thing to be 
 found so doing when the call of the Master arrives. 
 It forms as a whole a book of much beauty, and 
 while it cannot, of course, be as yet perfect in every 
 point, it is already speaking with power to many 
 hearts, revealing to them the things of their 
 God. 
 
 A very minute Dictionary of the Cree language 
 has lately been taken home by the Rev. E. A. 
 Watkins, the fruit of the labour of many years. 
 It embraces more than a mere Dictionary: from 
 the arrangement of words under common roots, it 
 serves also as an etymological help ; and from the 
 natural significance of the Indian words, it is in 
 measure almost a Phrase-book. The Foreign 
 Translation Committee of the Christian Knowledge 
 Society has, at my request, kindly undertaken its 
 publication. From what I have seen of it, my 
 impression would be most favourable of the general 
 
53 
 
 accuracy of the work, which promises to be a valu- 
 able manual, especially for the youthful Missionary. 
 
 Of other religious helps we still stand in great 
 need — food for the inquiring Indian when he be- 
 gins to read. It has been proposed to me to trans- 
 late " The Pathway of Safety," by the Rev. Ashton 
 Oxenden, accommodating it as far as necessary to 
 the Indian idiom, and simplifying a few of the 
 most difficult passages. The proposal I have most 
 gladly accepted, and I hope to receive Mr. Smith's 
 manuscript in a few months, and to take it with me 
 to England for publication. 
 
 Nor is it only additions in our present Indian 
 tongues that we have to notice. There is a small 
 elementary work in a new tongue, reduced to a 
 syllabic form by Mr. Kirkby — a few Prayers and 
 Hymns in the dialect of the Slave Indians, for the 
 use of those at Fort Simpson and in the Mackenzie 
 River district. This- has been printed, too, at 
 New York, and not in England, by which more 
 than a year was saved in its introduction among 
 the Indians of the North — no inconsiderable period 
 when souls are concerned. 
 
 I would only add that the Zincographic Press 
 left at Stanley by Mr. Hunt is now in full opera- 
 tion: by means of it Prayers for the Indians, 
 Music for congregational use, and illustrated Voca- 
 bularies for the School, have been neatly executed 
 under Mr. Smith's superintendence. 
 
 For such varied work do we not require many 
 more, trained and duly prepared, and willing to 
 assist, a fresh undergrowth of the young to aid us ? 
 
54 
 
 What value then would attach to the Progress of 
 Education ! 
 
 Now here we can scarcely report so favourably. 
 The desire for higher education has much dimi- 
 nished ; the dispersion of the settlers over a wider 
 area has made it impossible to overtake them with 
 Schools. As a consequence, the attendance on the 
 individual Schools is smaller, the School is less 
 remunerative, and in itself less interesting to the 
 Master; and, as other more lucrative openings 
 present themselves, few comparatively are willing 
 to undertake the necessary toil and drudgery 
 of tuition. 
 
 It may be a question, whether some change may 
 not be introduced in the system, and the winter 
 months be mainly occupied with instruction, giving 
 the Master freedom for a larger portion of the sum- 
 mer. More ground might perhaps be overtaken in 
 this way, and a larger staff of Teachers be secured. 
 In the schools of the out- stations, I think the hours 
 of tuition might be reduced, so as not to exceed 
 four at most. It would be a bright day for the 
 land if the industrial labour of the children, or of 
 adults at the Station, could in some way be turned 
 to profitable account, as seems done so successfully 
 by Mr. Duncan in his very promising and inter- 
 esting settlement on the Pacific. 
 
 Let me not omit to say, that there are t^vo 
 establishments in which I have every confidence, 
 in which those who wish can secure for their 
 famihes the benefits of a more advanced Education, 
 and which I would most cordially recommend to 
 
55 
 
 all.* Still, should I return, I should be glad if I 
 could re-establish that on which my heart has ever 
 been set, but for which the country did not afford 
 sufficient development — a Seminary, with the usual 
 branches of a Collegiate Education. Meanwhile I 
 should feel content if, as one object of my visit to 
 England, I could secure the services of two trained 
 Masters, one for Indian, the other for English work, 
 to give a fresh impetus to the machinery already set 
 a-going. It would be a mighty boon, and might lay 
 the foundation of a future supply of Native Pastors 
 to fill up vacancies in the land, and provide at the 
 same time for a permanent staff of candidates for 
 our various scattered Schools. 
 
 There is only one other subject, which I dare 
 not omit, as much on my thoughts. While the 
 tide of civilization advances all are not equally 
 successful ; some are left behind in the race of life, 
 and that with very insufficient means. Do not 
 circumstances point to the necessity of a more 
 Systematic Provision for the Poor ? As time rolls 
 on, we have new classes springing up and appealing 
 to us for sympathy. The wants of the settlers, 
 while health and strength are spared, are easily 
 supplied ; but the country is not favourable for the 
 very aged, and we begin to have many such. It is 
 not favourable for the sick — those affiicted with 
 tedious and hopeless illness, and we have some such. 
 There are, too, widows and orphans ; each year is 
 
 * I refer to that of Miss Davis at Oakfield, St. Andrews, 
 and that of Mr. Samuel Pritchard, more recently established, 
 at the Elms. 
 
56 
 
 adding to their number. The various ills, besides, 
 which man is heir to, appear among us here, as 
 elsewhere — the bhnd, the deaf, and the dumb — 
 and the cases meet us, not in the quarters where 
 aid could most easily be afforded, but irregularly. 
 
 Now, I should be most unwUUng to propose 
 anything of a compulsory rate ; far rather would I 
 leave it to the spontaneous exercise of Christian 
 charity. But, as the means of the various congre- 
 gations differ largely, and the means may be the 
 greatest where such wants are the least pressing, I 
 would only to-day suggest a more systematic 
 method of relieving the poor. By each clergyman 
 or vestry, a list might be furnished of the most 
 needy in their estimation in the district, and such 
 a document (to be periodically renewed) might be 
 capable of exhibition to those ready to give, and 
 willing to communicate. No case of extreme dis- 
 tress could thus escape notice, while the most de- 
 serving would be sure of relief from those who 
 would, in this way, have a motive to exercise some 
 self-denial for a definite object. 
 
 And now, my Reverend Brethren, my review is 
 done of the various points suggested by your work. 
 A selection of topics has been necessary in the wide 
 field presented. Time prevents me from adding 
 more, as I have already detained you too long. 
 
 Another Septennial period has nearly passed 
 away -. in a very few months I shall have completed 
 fifteen years in the Episcopate, at which time I had 
 always intended to take some rest and repose. In 
 leaving you again, it is, we must all feel, with 
 
57 
 
 greater uncertainty as to the future as years roll on. 
 As on the former occasion I left the Senior, so now 
 I leave the Junior Archdeacon in charge. I have 
 to thank you for the affectionate confidence you 
 have ever reposed in me, as well as, in the name of 
 our common Lord and Master, for the zeal vtith 
 which you labour in your several spheres in winning 
 souls. 
 
 The links which bind us to each other are, I 
 trust, increasing. There is a growing unity in the 
 work of God over the world. Christians now take 
 in a wider survey, they look across dividing oceans 
 and take in the scattered children of God at a glance. 
 There is unity of life, there is unity of prayer, as 
 we are experiencing this week. 
 
 The links, too, which unite us to another world 
 are surely also increasing. How blessed to be en- 
 gaged in a profession and calling so closely con- 
 nected with treasiire growing in heaven ! It is to 
 " present every man perfect in Christ Jesus '' at the 
 last day that we preach and warn. How high the 
 aim — how bright the jewels which are to form part 
 of Christ's crown ! Labour, then, with that eternity 
 ever in view, that so, " whether I come and see you 
 or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that 
 ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving 
 together for the faith of the Gospel." And whether 
 in the survey of the past, or in the blessed antici- 
 pation of the future, may our prayer ever be, that 
 God would shortly accompUsh the number of His 
 elect and hasten His kingdom, that we, with all 
 those that are departed in the true faith of His 
 
58 
 
 holy Name, may have our perfect consummation 
 and bliss, both in body and soul, in His eternal 
 and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
Appendix A. 
 
 The following were the Three Prayers issued, and used 
 before the General Thanksgiving, on Sunday, De- 
 cember 37th, 1863. 
 
 Prayek of Thanksgiving. 
 
 Lord and heavenly Father, at the close of another year 
 would we remember the way by which thou hast led us, 
 and seek to tell of thy favour and loving-kindness. Good- 
 ness and mercy have still followed us. Thou hast reserved 
 unto us the appointed weeks of harvest, and we were per- 
 mitted to gather in more than we deserved of the fruits 
 and produce of the earth. But although, Lord, thy 
 mercies are thus renewed unto us, we acknowledge that 
 we have too often forgotten thee, their gracious Giver, and 
 tempted thee to remove thy blessings. We confess our 
 manifold transgressions ; we remember our sins this day, 
 and implore thy forgiveness. Blot out from the book of 
 thy remembrance, for thy dear Son's sake, all that is past ; 
 and if spared to enter upon a new year, grant us, our 
 Father, a larger blessing from above. Give unto all a 
 deeper contentment and a livelier trust, more unfeigned 
 gratitude, and more earnest prayer, that we may taste yet 
 more abundantly of thy exceeding love, and be unto thee 
 a peculiar people, zealous of good works, to the praise 
 and glory of thy Name ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
60 
 
 Pkayek for the Heathen. 
 
 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
 of mercies and God of all comfort, we bless thee for thy 
 word and gospel, which thou hast revealed unto us. 
 Make them more precious to our souls, that we may know 
 the riches of thy grace and the hope of our calling. And 
 while grateful to thee for thy great salvation, may we be 
 moved with compassion for those still in darkness and the 
 shadow of death, who know not the joyful sound. We 
 bless thee for thy churches already planted in this land. 
 Add, we beseech thee, to their number, and cause the 
 wilderness and the solitary place to be glad for them, and 
 the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Bless all 
 thy ministering servants, especially those who preach unto 
 the heathen the unsearchable riches of Christ. Be unto 
 them for a mouth and wisdom, uphold and comfort them 
 in every difficulty, and give them much success in winning 
 souls. Soften and subdue by thy Spirit the stony heart, 
 so that many may be led to cry out. What shall we do to 
 be saved ? May thy word have free course and be glorified, 
 and the Redeemer see of the travail of his soul and be 
 satisfied therewith. And this we beg, not for our merits 
 or worthiness, but for the sake of Him unto whom thou 
 hast promised the heathen for His inheritance and the 
 uttermost parts of the earth for His possession ; even for 
 the sake of Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Advocate. 
 Amen. 
 
 Prayer fob Peace. 
 
 Almighty God, who doest according to thy will in the 
 army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, 
 in whose hand are the hearts of aU, and who tumest them 
 whithersoever thou wilt ; Look mercifully, we pray thee, on 
 those parts of the Continent on which we dwell, where 
 war and bloodshed now rage. Behold with pity those 
 bound to us by so many ties, who are now passing through 
 
61 
 
 affliction and trial. Heal their sores and troubles, assuage 
 their dissension and strife, and grant that ere long- peace 
 and harmony and brotherly love may be restored to their 
 borders. Be with those already in suffering; provide for 
 the fatherless and the widow; comfort all in desolation 
 and bereavement. Thou canst, we know, bring good out 
 of evil, and make the wrath of man to praise thee. We 
 therefore commit the issue into thy hands, beseeching 
 thee to overrule all for the promotion of thy glory and the 
 extension of thy kingdom ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Appendix B. 
 
 With the adjoining Diocese of Minnesota I have ever had 
 the most friendly intercourse. In 1857 I preached at the 
 opening of the Convention, at the request of the venerable 
 Bishop Kemper. I was also present at the first Conven- 
 tion held by his successor. Bishop Whipple, in 1860; 
 after which I received the following copy of Kesolution 
 from the Secretary, the Rev. E. R. Welles : — 
 
 Extract from the Journal of the Third Annual Convention 
 of the Diocese of Minnesota. 
 
 " On motion of the Rev. E. G. Gear the following 
 resolution was unanimously passed, — 
 
 " Resolved, — That it has afforded this Convention 
 unfeigned pleasure to welcome in our midst the 
 Right Rev. David Anderson, D.D., Bishop of 
 Rupert's Land, as a representative of the Church 
 of British America, and we desire to express our 
 warmest sympathy in his most interesting work, 
 and to assure him of our earnest prayer for his pre- 
 servation while on his journey, and the best 
 blessing of Heaven upon his arduous labours." 
 
62 
 
 Appendix C. 
 
 The Address, as presented to the Prince of Wales by the 
 Bishop at Montreal, on Monday, the 37th of August, 1860, 
 is here subjoined : — 
 
 "May it please your Royal Highness — 
 
 " We, the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of 
 Rupert's Land, in the territories of British North America, 
 desire to approach your Royal Highness to offer our con- 
 gratulations on your safe arrival on this mighty continent. 
 
 " It would have afforded us no small measure of 
 gratification to have presented personally this our humble 
 address to your Royal Highness, but the distant sphere of 
 our labours precludes the possibility of our enjoying, as a 
 body, so high an honour. We cannot, however, allow the 
 occasion to pass without praying that the Divine blessing 
 may rest upon your visit, and that a gracious Providence 
 may carry your Royal Highness back in health and safety 
 to your august Parents, taking with you to the Royal 
 Throne the hearty wishes and warm affections of a loyal, 
 contented, and happy people. 
 
 " In this, the distant land of our adoption, the religion 
 of our forefathers is extended far and wide, and with it 
 the feeling of dutiful attachment to the British Crown. 
 Along with settlers from the British Isles are mingled 
 worshippers from the Indian Tribes, the original pro- 
 prietors of the soil ; and in many of their varying dialects 
 prayer continually ascends for their ' Great Mother,' their 
 Sovereign Lady Queen over the Waters. 
 
 " We could have wished at such a moment to have 
 been attended by some of our Indians — by representatives 
 of the tribes wandering over the forests and prairies of the 
 land J especially by some of those Christian Indians 
 with whom it has been our delight to join in prayer and 
 
63 
 
 praise, in our few and scattered churches in the lone 
 solitude of the wilderness. Debarred by the circumstances 
 of our position from any such privilege, it is a great satis- 
 faction to be able to commend them to the notice and 
 kind consideration of your Royal Highness. 
 
 " We trust that at some future day a Royal visit may 
 be extended even to our remote land, and to the shores of 
 the Pacific beyond, embracing thus the breadth of the 
 whole continent, and the dominions of our gracious and 
 beloved Queen, from sea to sea. In the event of such a 
 visit, we can venture to promise your Royal Highness a 
 most hearty and cordial welcome. In the mean time, we 
 can only pray that your Royal Highness may enjoy every 
 blessing from above, and may long live to adorn the 
 exalted position to which the providence of God has called 
 you, by the exhibition of those graces which are the 
 surest defence of the throne, and the brightest example to 
 every subject of the realm. 
 
 " Signed on the behalf of the Clergy of the Diocese of 
 Rupert's Land, 
 
 " David Rupekx's Land. 
 " Bishop's Court, Red River, 
 May 28, 1860." 
 
 On behalf of His Royal Highness, the Duke of New- 
 castle replied, by letter, as follows : — 
 
 " Montreal, 27th August 1860. 
 " My Lord, — I have the honour to acknowledge the 
 address presented to His Royal Highness the Prince of 
 "Wales, by yourself and the Clergy of the Diocese of 
 Rupert's Land. His Royal Highness desires me to convey 
 to you his thanks for this address, and to express his 
 gratification at the terms in which it is couched. 
 
 (Signed) " Newcastle." 
 
64 
 
 Appendix D. 
 
 Prayer for the Governor. 
 
 To be used after the Prayer for the Royal Family in the 
 
 Morning and Evening Services, and after that for the 
 
 Queen in the Communion Ojffice. 
 
 Lord of all power and mercy, we earnestly beseech thee 
 to assist with thy favour the Governor-in-Chief of this 
 Territory j cause him, we pray thee, to walk before thee, 
 and the people committed to his charge, in truth and 
 righteousness ; and enable him to use his delegated power 
 to thy glory, to the public good, and to the advancement 
 of his own salvation ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 London :—STKAifOEw AYS and Walden, Fbihtebsi 
 28 Castle St. Leicester Bq. 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP: 
 
 AN 
 
 OEDmATIOlS" SERMOIf 
 
 PREACHED AT 
 
 ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, RED RIVER, 
 
 On SUNDAY, DECEMBEE 22, 1850. 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D., 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF RUPERt's LAND. 
 
 LONDON : 
 T. HATCHARD, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1851. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY «.. J. PALMER, SAVOY STBKET, STRAKD. 
 
CHUECH MISSIONAEY SOCIETY, 
 
 THE FOUNDEHS OF 
 
 THE CHURCH IN RUPEETS LAND, 
 
 Wifis Sermon 
 
 IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED BY 
 
 ITS FIEST BISHOP. 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 " The seal of mine Apostleship are ye in the Lord." — 
 1 Cor. ix. 2. 
 
 Allusion is here made to the method in which 
 any important covenant or agreement is usually 
 ratiiied. The most solemn confirmation is the 
 seal, which is universally accepted as the sure 
 pledge of the validity and genuineness of the 
 document, to which it is affixed. And this figure, 
 borrowed from earthly transactions between man 
 and man, is often employed in Scripture to illus- 
 trate spiritual and heavenly truth. 
 
 It is thus employed regarding God the Father, 
 revealing a way of salvation to the creature, 
 sending His only begotten Son, as the appointed 
 Mediator, the accredited messenger of the cove- 
 nant, with tokens of His divine authority, " Him 
 
6 
 
 hath God the Father sealed." It is employed 
 regarding the believer, accepting the message, 
 resting on it, and declaring it to be the sure 
 refuge of his soul ; when thus believing and 
 receiving tlie testimony, " he sets to his seal that 
 God is true." It is applied beyond this to that 
 inward token of his adopting love, which God 
 bestows upon all his true children, as the pledge 
 and earnest of the full inheritance prepared for 
 them above : " In whom after ye believed ye 
 were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 
 which is the earnest of your inheritance." And, 
 to quote but one other passage, it is used by the 
 Apostle, when he would sum up the whole of 
 religion in few words. When wishing to prove 
 that religion is no vain and shadowy thing, as the 
 world would have it — that the doubts of the 
 sceptic, the life of the ungodly professor, do not 
 aiFect the eternal truth of God ; "nevertheless," the 
 Apostle says — notwithstanding aay such cavils — 
 " the foundation of God standeth sure, having this 
 seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, 
 Let every one that nameth the name of Christ de- 
 part from iniquity." As in the foundation of an 
 earthly building is often deposited a stone en- 
 graven with the name of the builder, and the 
 purpose of the erection, so of the spiritual temple, 
 the great Builder is God, and His design is to 
 gather together "a chosen generation, a royal 
 
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." * 
 Or, to view it perhaps in a simpler light, as a 
 seal often bears on its sides a twofold inscription, 
 yet one only obvious to the eye, so of the divine 
 foundation the broad seal is sure — hidden and 
 concealed from the eye is the Lord's secret know- 
 ledge of His people, but evident to all, and clearly 
 legible is that personal holiness, which is the 
 reflected image of the Creator, the only authentic 
 and indisputable proof of a genuine work of grace 
 in the soul. 
 
 Such, then, is the figure used by the Apostle, 
 in reference to the Corinthian converts. If any 
 questioned or disparaged his authority, his answer 
 was at hand and ready, he could invite them to 
 look around, and behold sufiicient proof and evi- 
 dence that his commission was from heaven. He 
 could appeal to many souls, as his work in the 
 Lord, or, in other words, as the seals of his apos- 
 tleship : " They were to him what the king's seal 
 is to the ambassador ; signs that he speaks not for 
 himself, but for the king, his master." f 
 
 Now, in contemplating apostolic labour, we 
 may surely view it under a twofold aspect. We 
 may, on the one hand, consider St. Paul as 
 sending forth others to preach the word, com- 
 
 * See Parkhurst, and Doddridge in loc. 
 t Abp. Sumner's Commentary. 
 
 7 
 
8 
 
 mitting the good treasure into their hands, and 
 beseeching them not to neglect the gift that is 
 in them, but to make full proof of their ministry. 
 He finds one at Lystra, another at Antioch, 
 others at Philippi or at Rome, and when he sees 
 the work of grace advancing within them, and 
 that from energy, from zeal for souls and general 
 ability, they seem fitted for the work, then he 
 sets them apart as chosen instruments, and or- 
 dains them to the ministry of the word. Over 
 such how unfeignedly would he rejoice, — his own 
 sons in the faith, his fellow- workers and fellow- 
 helpers, — and, as he heard of their succfess in 
 winning souls, he would say, " The seal of mine 
 Apostleship are ye."' But, on the other hand, 
 we may contemplate him looking upon those, to 
 whom he had himself preached the message of 
 life, and to whose souls that message had been 
 blessed, dwelling on such as the signs and tokens 
 of his ministry. Of such he would say, " Though 
 ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ,, yet 
 have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I 
 have begotten you through the Gospel." 
 
 In such a double application, I propose to con- 
 sider the words. In reference to those about to 
 be ordained this morning by the solemn imposi- 
 tion of hands, I would humbly say, " The seal of 
 mine Apostleship are these," and then, enlarging 
 the field of view, summoning before the eye those 
 
gathered in by our preaching, by yours, my re- 
 verend brethren, or to be gathered in by those 
 sent forth by us, even after I may be called hence 
 by death, I would invite you to say vdth me, 
 " The seal of our Apostleship are ye." In the 
 former case, we have St, Paul in his special 
 apostolic office, rejoicing over faithful men, to 
 whom he intrusts the preaching of the word ; in 
 the other, we have him in his general ministerial 
 office, delighting, as every minister of God may 
 do, in the conversion of souls, to be to him at 
 the last day, for his "joy and crown of rejoicing." 
 
 i\llow then your thoughts, my beloved bre- 
 thren, to dwell on those about to be presented to 
 me, and now soliciting by my lips an interest in 
 your fervent prayers. They surely, in their dis- 
 tinctive and peculiar circumstances, afford proof 
 of the reality and character of that Apostleship, 
 to which, unworthy as I am of the least of his 
 mercies, the providence of God hath called me. 
 
 One of them appears before me, already well- 
 known and beloved by you all. * For it is a part 
 of the wisdom of our Church, in conformity with 
 scriptural rule and apostolic example, to demand 
 of her clergy a season of trial and probation, ere 
 she promote them to the fullest exercise of minis- 
 terial authority. The same individual therefore 
 who, as on this day last year, was in the pre- 
 * The Rev. J. Chapman, of the Middle Church. 
 
10 
 
 sence of many of you admitted to the lower 
 order of the ministry, stands before me to-day, 
 in order to obtain the highest authority which we 
 can bestow. You have fully known, Brethren, 
 his " conversation and manner of life and doc- 
 trine ;" and opportunity has been publicly afforded 
 you, and one other opportunity is afforded you 
 to-day, of declaring, if you know ought against 
 him. In the absence of this, we are justified in 
 supposing that he comes with " a good report of 
 them that are without," that he carries with him 
 your good wishes, and that you are here therefore, 
 not as uninterested spectators, but to join your 
 hearty and effectual prayers as for one, whose 
 profiting already appeareth to all. 
 
 Now he, brethren, carries my thoughts back- 
 wards, and connects me with a late beloved 
 flock,* over which I had only been recently 
 placed, when summoned by God to the spiritual 
 oversight of this diocese. Having laboured 
 with me in a subordinate sphere, he gladly and 
 cheerfully consented to share my triafs-and diffi- 
 culties, and to be associated with me once more, 
 promoted to the blessed work of the ministry. 
 To him, therefore, I would say. You connect 
 me with the scenes of home, and my last charge 
 there. You connect me also with that parochial 
 
 * All Saints Church, Derby, in which parish Mr. Chapman 
 was Scripture Reader. 
 
11 
 
 charge, as I may call it, in which God has 
 strengthened you to labour during the past year 
 affectionately and earnestly, and, as I trust the 
 last day will show, successfully. You have the 
 hearts of your people, I am well assured, and you 
 are breaking to them the bread of life. God is 
 fulfilling to you His own promises, that His word 
 shall take effect, and in some, over whose death- 
 beds you have watched and prayed during the 
 last twelve months, you have, unless human judg- 
 ment be mistaken, some seals — some jewels to be 
 placed hereafter in your Saviour's crown. If then 
 I felt confidence and pleasure in setting you apart 
 to the first order of the ministry, how much is 
 that confidence increased after a year's experience 
 of your zeal and energy, — after repeated personal 
 observation of the success of your ministerial 
 labour ! When I see you, I think of the land 
 whence we came together; I am reminded that 
 my commission and apostleship are derived from 
 that country, whose is the high privilege to send 
 the Gospel to the remotest nations of the earth. 
 
 But another on this occasion claims our sym- 
 pathy, although a comparative stranger.* He 
 would lead my thoughts into a very different 
 channel, and call upon me to reflect that, 
 though sent out to this far distant spot, it is not 
 
 * The Rev. W. H. Taylor late of Spaniard's Bay, New- 
 foundland, now of St. James's District, Assiniboiue. 
 
12 
 
 to a solitary, an isolated diocese, that I have 
 come ; that this is but one of the dioceses of 
 British North America, — that a close link ought 
 to bind together, — one spirit animate the whole 
 body. He comes to us to-day from Newfound- 
 land, bringing, according to early custom, " letters 
 of commendation " * from him whom God has 
 placed over that portion of His Church. This 
 ought to bring us into close and intimate con- 
 nexion with our brethren there. Long has been 
 his journey to reach this remote quarter. On his 
 way he has passed through those States which 
 owe their origin to our common mother, he has 
 seen something of that Church, which may be 
 termed the daughter of the Church of England, 
 and which is now stretching her roots far and 
 wide. He has brought letters from many of those 
 labouring in that- country; so with them too inter- 
 course is opened and friendship commenced ; for 
 what prevents a living friendship between those, 
 who have never seen each other in tbe flesh ff 
 
 * 'Eirio-ToXai crvcrTanKaL, 2 Cor. iii. 1. See Bingham's 
 Antiquities, Book II., chap, iv., sec. 5. 
 
 f I think it but due here to acknowledge the kindness with 
 which Mr. Taylor was brought on his way hither, especially 
 by the Rev. E. G. Gear, Chaplain at Fort SneUing. Through 
 him I received at that time various papers and documents 
 bearing on the Church of the United States, and, only two 
 days before the delivery of this Sermon, I received through 
 the same channel letters and charges from jfour bishops of 
 the American Church. 
 
13 
 
 To him then would I turn and address myself. 
 ' We will welcome you this day in the name of 
 the Lord, and bid you God speed. A district 
 in this portion of the Lord's vineyard will be 
 placed under your immediate pastoral superin- 
 tendence, — indeed in it you have already ex- 
 tended the ministrations of the Church to those 
 who were but seldom able to worship with us in 
 the sanctuary. Your labour will be among those 
 who have left their homes and settled here ; 
 among some, who have fought in the service of 
 their country and are now fixed with their fami- 
 lies around them in habitations of their own. 
 They will be your settled charge, and in labouring 
 there, you may perhaps do something for the poor 
 Indians who encamp among them, unwilling to 
 remove far from the graves of their fathers.* 
 Only be ready to seize any openings which may 
 present themselves ; and remember that the 
 charge this day committed to you is, " to seek for 
 Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for 
 His children who are in the midst of this naughty 
 world, that they may be saved through Christ for 
 ever.' "f 
 
 * There is in that quarter an Indian burjdng-ground. 
 After I had written the above, an Indian encamped there- 
 abouts, wiUing to build and settle, said to me it must be in 
 that direction, as his father's grave was there. 
 
 f Ordination Service. 
 
14 
 
 A third, however, presents himself, one who 
 will make this day remarkable in the history of 
 the Church in Rupert's Land. He will call 
 me off from the thought of the home I have left, 
 to this, the home and country of my adoption. 
 Elsewhere one might forget the mighty and en- 
 nobling thought of the number of the redeemed 
 people of God, — one might forget the extent of 
 the land to be subdued. But Christ reminds us, 
 •'.Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, 
 them also I must bring, and they shall hear my 
 voice." The Redeemer has sounded this in the 
 ears of many, and raised up those who, when His 
 voice has been heard saying, " Whom shall I 
 send, and who will go for us ?" have humbly and 
 tremblingly replied, " Here am I, send me." The 
 sight then of him before me, the duty and pri- 
 vilege to which I am now called in connexion 
 with him, would prove that Christ is gathering 
 out His sheep even here. The few sheep in 
 the wilderness, the little bands of Indians scat- 
 tered over the surface of this mighty land, are 
 not unnoticed by the Saviour. The same Be- 
 deemer who beholds the masses of the dense 
 population with which the mother-land teemS) 
 regards also with pity and compassion the rem- 
 nants it may be of a once larger po2)ulation thinly 
 scattered over the wilds of the West, and He has, 
 we trust, purposes of mercy, days of brightness 
 
15 
 
 yet in store for them.* This day is an earnest of 
 better things. One from among them is now be- 
 fore you, already blessed in turning many of his 
 countrymen to righteousness ; f and surely he has 
 thereby " purchased to himself a good degree and 
 great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus." 
 Is he not then a seal of mine Apostleship, if not 
 only believers are raised up, but ministers from 
 among them ? If the other cases prove that I 
 am sent from the Church of my home, — that I am 
 linked w^ith the Church in other dioceses — surely 
 he will prove that I am sent to the Indians in 
 Rupert's Land. "If I be not an Apostle to 
 others, yet doubtless I am to you," my Indian 
 brethren ; for from among yourselves one stands 
 forth to say, " Send me as a herald to my own 
 
 * The gradual melting away of the Indian tribes is we fear 
 too true : how blessed then if, as Europeans advance, they 
 can hold up among them the true lamp of life, and transmit it 
 to all future generations I 
 
 Augescunt alise gentes, alise minuuntur ; 
 Inque brevi spatio mutantur secla animantum, 
 Et, quasi cursores, vitai lampada tradunt. 
 
 Lucret. II. 76. 
 f Mr. Henry Budd, who as catechist prepared the way for 
 the Missionary Station at Cumberland. He was first sent 
 thither in 1840, and Mr. Smithurst, on his visit to the Station 
 in 1842, found no less than eighty-five candidates for baptism. 
 Since the arrival of the Rev. James Hunter in 1844, Mr. 
 Budd has been laboriously occupied there with his duties as 
 schoolmaster and catechist. 
 
16 
 
 kinsmeu according to the flesh, send me to be- 
 seech them in Christ's name, Be ye reconciled to 
 God." 
 
 Is there not here then proof in the sight of 
 men, and we trust to the joy of angels, that a 
 living branch of the Church of Christ is planted 
 in Rupert's Land, — that Indians partake of "the 
 root and fatness of the good olive tree ?" Is there 
 not proof that the prayer of the first minister of 
 God who visited this land is now answered? 
 You, my beloved brother, (for surely to day we 
 ought to recount the way by which God has led 
 and guided you,) can remember the day when the 
 hand of God found you, thirty years ago, a child 
 engaged at the time in your boyish sport. God's 
 servant asked you to follow him, God made your 
 youthful heart willing ; but it cost your mother a 
 heavy pang to part with you. She lives, how- 
 ever, to see this day, and surely has reason to re- 
 joice in the sacrifice which she then made.* The 
 first prayer taught you and your companion is re- 
 corded by that clergyman who from that hour 
 took and trained you. " Great Father, bless me 
 
 * Mrs. Budd is now very aged, and remembers, though in- 
 distinctly, the taking of York Factory by the French, under 
 La Perouse, in 1782. She understands very little of English; 
 how great then her gratification in hearing her son explain in 
 her own tongue the plan of salvation ! To carry this message 
 to others, she is willing to give him up veith little expectation 
 of ever seeing him again on earth. 
 
17 
 
 through Jesus Christ." Such were the simple 
 words in which he first taught you to approach 
 the throne of Grace, and after mentioning them, 
 he adds his own fervent petition, " May a gracious 
 God hear their cry, and raise them up as heralds 
 of His salvation in this benighted part of the 
 world.''* 
 
 To-day God has answered this prayer. The 
 lips which uttered the petition, and taught you 
 the prayer, are now sealed in death. Of the two 
 then committed to his charge, one is in active 
 secular employment in the country at this mo- 
 ment, and you are here, about to dedicate yourself 
 solemnly to the service of the sanctuary. The 
 respected clergyman whose name you bear, whose 
 kindness you have long experienced, and who 
 affectionately writes to you as a father to a son, — 
 he, I trust, still survives, and glad will he be to 
 hear, in his declining years, that his name will 
 now be associated with the first minister of native 
 birth in this land.f Is there not proof then 
 here that God hears and answers prayer ; that 
 " the bread cast upon the waters is found, though 
 after many days ?" The petitif^n was uttered 
 before any Church was yet raised to the glory of 
 God in this country, before the voice of any 
 minister had been heard in this settlement, and 
 
 * See the Journal of Rev. J. West, p. 16. 
 •|- See Appendix, No. I. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 now our eyes behold the fulfilment of it under 
 circumstances which ought to fill every heart and 
 mouth with praise. 
 
 " Go forth then, accompanied as you will be by 
 the prayers of many on your behalf. Gladly 
 would I have kept you here to minister by my 
 side, and assist me in intercourse with the Indians 
 around. Many would wish to retain you here,* 
 no one more so than myself ; but I know the 
 wants of that spot to which you go. 1 know the 
 desires of your countrymen there for the word of 
 life. Go then to your brethren, and may the 
 Spirit of the Lord go with you. Plead with 
 them in your Saviour's name affectionately and 
 earnestly ; bear with them patiently ; place before 
 them the joy of heaven, and the narrow path 
 which leads to it ; depict the terrors of hell, and 
 the broad way which conducts thither. Dwell 
 upon the constraining love of Christ in pitying 
 lost souls; dwell on the Spirit's quickening power 
 in renewing sin-stained hearts. Say to them, 
 when yearning for their eternal salvation. My 
 heart's desire and prayer to God is, that you 
 might be saved. I have great heaviness and con- 
 tinual sorrow in my heart for my brethren, my 
 kinsmen according to the flesh. Expect trials, for 
 Satan will be very active, and your countrymen 
 still in the chains of heathenism will employ every 
 * See Appendix, No. II. 
 
19 
 
 agency against you ; but take unto you the whole 
 armour of God, watch in all things, endure afflic- 
 tions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof 
 of thy ministry." * 
 
 But we must not limit our view to the minis- 
 tering servants of God. They may indeed naturally 
 occupy much of our thoughts this day, when, in 
 many a cathedral at home, a large band of priests 
 and deacons are being sent forth, and when in 
 many a colonial diocese, as here, a few labourers 
 are being set apart to gather in the fruit of fields, 
 alreadyi^white unto the harvest. If however we 
 rejoice over those ordained as seals ; if I can feel 
 the^humble confidence that those before me are 
 indeed men of God, men of faith and prayer, I 
 would regard them as means to an end, and would 
 seek to realise in my own mind, and to impress 
 upon yours, the mighty consequences which may 
 result, under the blessing of God, from their 
 ministerial labours. 
 
 Let us view then the Apostle, not no was send- 
 ing forth ministers of the word, but as himself the 
 unwearied preacher, — the highest pattern for us 
 all, my reverend brethren. Contemplate him re- 
 ceiving the call of God on his way to Damascus, 
 with that call renewed to him by the lips of 
 Ananias, and then afterwai-ds solemnly commis- 
 sioned by God, when kneeling and praying in the 
 
 * See Appendix, No. III. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 
 
 courts of His holy temple, as you have heard in 
 this morning's service * ; there told that Jerusa- 
 lem was not to be his appointed sphere, but that 
 to proclaim salvation to the Gentile world he was 
 now " the chosen vessel." From that hour how 
 mighty the Apostle in the power of the Spirit ! 
 To pass over those in Asia, at Antioch and 
 Ephesus, at Lystra and Derbe, and to take only 
 those in Europe, when the vision of the Mace- 
 donian man invited him to cross the narrow boun- 
 dary, saying, " Come over and help us," — how 
 many seals ! How many at Philippi, " in the 
 pure and lovely Church," f which he planted 
 there. How many among the Scripture-loving 
 disciples at Berea — how many among those 
 whom the Apostle so tenderly cherished, as a 
 " nurse doth her children," at Thessalonica — 
 how many even in profligate and luxurious 
 Corinth ! And where then is the secret of his 
 strength ? Is it not in the full persuasion that 
 an obligation from heaven was binding on his 
 soul; is it not given in the chapter of our text, 
 where he says, " Necessity is laid upon me, yea, 
 woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel ?" Was 
 it not that deep distrust of self which led him to 
 labour unremittingly, "lest, having preached to 
 
 * Acts xxii. 21. See Stanley's Sermons on the Apostolic 
 Age, p. 177. 
 
 f For the expression see Tate's Horse Paulinae, p. 32. 
 
21 
 
 others, he himself should be a castaway ? " Was 
 it not in this, combined with that firm depend- 
 ence on God, which led him to anticipate fresh 
 triumphs in every fresh field, and not to rest until 
 God had graciously given him some seals, some 
 crowns of rejoicing ? 
 
 And where then is the apostolic office in action 
 and vigorous exercise at the present time ? When 
 churches are multiplied, when believers are 
 strengthened and built up, when communicants 
 increase and sabbaths are highly prized : a 
 savour of holiness is then diffused around, and 
 many are led to say, " We will go with you, for 
 we have seen that God is with you." And if the 
 Apostleship be a missionary one, then must we 
 add, — when unbelivers are led to throw away their 
 arras of rebellion, and " falling down begin to 
 worship God, and own that God is with us of a 
 truth." 
 
 How blessed when the work and word of God 
 so advance and flourish ! Not that we are to 
 value ministerial labour by its success ; not that 
 we can calculate that a given amount of energy 
 will produce a certain effect, nor infer neces- 
 sarily, from want of success, that there must be 
 ministerial unfaithfulness. * With God, brethren, 
 
 * If God suffers even a holy pastor not presently to see 
 the fruits of his lahours, it is to convince him that the success 
 of his labours belongs to God ; and he ought to humble him- 
 
22 
 
 is the residue of the Spirit, and the Spirit alone 
 can breathe upon the slain that they may live. 
 But though He may keep the soul long wait- 
 ing, seldom does He withhold a blessing in the 
 end, when there is fervent faith and prayer. 
 And I cannot but think that, if we felt more of 
 St. Paul's yearning for souls, more of a similar 
 blessing would rest upon our labours. 
 
 For it has been well observed, that the Apostle's 
 test is one applicable to every succeeding age. 
 The ministers of God may not now " see revela* 
 tions, nor work miracles, nor hear a voice from 
 heaven calling to them, but all may have this seal, 
 a people converted to God." * When they see the 
 sinner reclaimed, the ungodly changed and renewed, 
 the man of the world become the devoted servant 
 of God, the man of pleasure become a man of 
 prayer, they behold the same sight which glad- 
 dened the Apostle's heart, and they ought to 
 thank God with him and say, " Such were some 
 of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, 
 but ye are justified in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." When they 
 see that what they preach is copied in the life, 
 the holiness which they enjoin transferred into the 
 daily conversation ; — yea, that the faith and de- 
 self, and pray much, and fear lest the fault should be in 
 himself. — Bishop Wilson, Sacra Privata, p. 103. 
 * Abp. Sumner's Commentary. 
 
23 
 
 votedness of some of their people almost outruu 
 their own descriptions of the believer's course, 
 the case is surely plain ; looking on such, no 
 language can be more suitable than the Apostle's, 
 when he says, " Ye are our epistles written in our 
 hearts, known and read of all men ; ye are mani- 
 festly declared to be the epistle of Christ minis- 
 tered by us, written not with ink, but with the 
 Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, 
 but in fleshy tables of the heart." 
 
 And what bond, brethren, can be closer than 
 that which binds the minister of God to his 
 spiritual children, what consciousness more enno- 
 bling than the thought that one has been blessed 
 to a single soul ! There is a satisfaction in bene- 
 fiting a fellow creature for time, relieving present 
 want and misery, and diffusing even temporary 
 comfort. But to feel the assurance, "Thou 
 owest unto me thine own self besides;" to be 
 instrumental in directing one perishing sinner to 
 the cross of Christ, and to look forward to meet- 
 ing him a ransomed saint, and joining with him 
 in the praises of the Lamb that was slain for ever 
 and ever, — what joy can compare with this ? It 
 is to multiply such joy that we send forth labourers 
 this day ; and, brethren, *' our joy is the joy of 
 you all ;" for hereunto we labour, " warning every 
 man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that 
 we may present every man perfect in Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
24 
 
 In conclusion, let me beseech you, my beloved 
 brethren about to be ordained, to take heed to 
 yourselves and to your doctrine, that you may 
 both save yourselves and them that hear you. Very 
 great is the responsibility of the office which you 
 undertake. " Fearful it is," as has been powerfully 
 said, " to be a man, as to man alone attaches re- 
 sponsibility. More fearful to be a minister, to 
 have intrusted to us not our own welfare only 
 but the welfare of others also. How fearful then 
 to be a a man and minister, and to be ministers 
 as well as men for life, tp have upon us a com- 
 mission which can never be revoked." But heavy 
 as is the responsibility of ministers, correspond- 
 ingly great are their comforts and enjoyments. 
 To be occupied with heaven more than with 
 earth, to be messengers of peace and reconcilia- 
 tion, to be sons of comfort to a sorrowing world, 
 this is your blessed calling. It is yours, to quote 
 again the words of the same living prelate, " to 
 bind up with balm from Calvary, the wounds that 
 have been opened at the foot of Sinai." Preach 
 then the law in its divine holiness and spirituality; 
 preach it in its condemning power, until you 
 bring the sinner as a lowly suppliant to the foot 
 of the Redeemer's cross. Make Christ and Him 
 crucified, the centre of your preaching, — Christ 
 "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and 
 sanctification, and redemption." And then raicse 
 
25 
 
 thereupon the superstructure of a holy and de- 
 voted life ; proclaim in the ears of all that vital 
 religion consists in regaining the image of God 
 now, to prepare us for His presence hereafter. 
 
 Let your standard be a high one ; and that it 
 may prove effectual, be yourselves examples of 
 the flock, and " never forget that he who would 
 be a blessing to others, is to begin by winning 
 spiritual blessings for himself." * 
 
 And let me affectionately ask you all, brethren, 
 whom I see here assembled from many different 
 congregations, to pray tor us. You behold to-day 
 all the clergy of this infant diocese, save two, who 
 are too distant to allow of their attendance. With 
 one united voice we beseech you, pray for us ; we 
 cast ourselves on your prayers ; our dependence 
 is on them ; our work thrives in exact proportion 
 to them. " We live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." 
 Pray for us, that an increased blessing may rest 
 upon our work ; pray for us all, but especially for 
 those about to be set apart to the ministry. There 
 will be during the service an interval of still and 
 solemn silence, when they will be commended to 
 your secret supplications. May every soul here 
 present send up then the earnest and heartfelt 
 
 * For the three passages here quoted, I am indebted to an 
 excellent Charge, by Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania, 1849, on 
 the Ministerial Office ; it is followed up by an admirable one, 
 J 850, on the ^Icthod and ]\Ianner of Ministerial Study. 
 
26 
 
 petition that tliey may go forth in the power of 
 the Spirit, and may be " as workmen that need 
 not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
 truth." 
 
 Nor imagine that it is for our own sakes that 
 we make this demand. We have spoken of 
 ministerial seals : what are these seals but your 
 souls ? The question for your own hearts is, — Am 
 I yet sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise? 
 Am I among the sealed ones of God ? Until their 
 number be completed, the voice from heaven 
 withholds the destroying angels saying, " Hurt not 
 the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we 
 have sealed the servants of our God in their fore- 
 heads." May God include us all in this happy 
 number, while time and opportunity are yet vouch- 
 safed : that when minister and people stand before 
 the throne, " we may be your rejoicing, even as 
 ye also shall be cur's, in the day of the Lord 
 Jesus." 
 
APPEl^DIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 The aged clergyman referred to is the Kev. Henry 
 Budd, of White Eoothing, Essex. Mr. West having been 
 his Curate before leaving England, gave his young charge 
 at baptism the name of Henry Budd. In the baptismal 
 Eegister it stands thus : — " July 21, 1822. Henry Budd, 
 an Indian boy, about ten years of age, taught in the 
 Missionary school, and now capable of reading the New 
 Testament, and repeating the Church of England Cate- 
 chism correctly. (Signed) John West." 
 
 To bear out what I have said of the interest which 
 this aged servant of God has ever since taken in him thus 
 named after him, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of 
 quoting from his last beautiful and touching letter, and I 
 hope I am not guilty of any breach of confidence in so 
 doing. 
 
 White Roothing, Essex, April 25, 1850. 
 
 My dear Henry Budd, 
 I cannot suffer another year, (it may be my last,) to 
 elapse without thanking you for your kind and affec- 
 tionate letter of last year, and sending you another back, 
 
28 
 
 as a memorial of affection to you. By this time pro- 
 bably you are a preacher of the everlasting Gospel, and 
 may you be able to say with my dear brother lately de- 
 parted, at 77 years of age, " I thank God that the object 
 of my sermons has ever been to bring sinners to Christ." I 
 am now very old, about 77 years, and our God has merci- 
 fully given me two hints of late, that my time of depar- 
 ture is at hand ; I have been suddenly deprived of one of 
 my senses, and dear Bickersteth, who used to call me his 
 father, is just gone before me. I cannot last long, but God 
 has given me to see a wonderful day, in which the day- 
 spring from on high has visited us, and we have seen about 
 fourteen Bishops sent out to our colonies, to bless the 
 churches there established. God Almighty be praised! and 
 one sent out to call you, I trust, into the ministry. I re- 
 joice greatly in that event, and am sorry that my age and 
 absence prevented my giving and receiving his blessing 
 before he left. May he and his fellow Bishops be a rich 
 blessing to the colonies, and the Lord give the word that 
 great may be the company of the preachers. 
 
 Perhaps this may be my last, as I am nearly the eldest 
 of my day. I have been honoured with the ministry of 
 our Saviour now nearly fifty-three years : God help me 
 and receive my poor exertions, and forgive me for my 
 dear Saviour's sake, in whom alone I desire to be found 
 and to be complete in Him. May God bless you and your 
 wife and children, and your Bishop, and bind us all up 
 in the bundle of life for his dear Son's sake ; so prays, 
 my dear Henry Budd, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 Henry Budd. 
 
•29 
 
 No. II. 
 
 As a proof of the feeling entertained towards Mr. Budd 
 by his brethren in the settlement, I may give the follow- 
 ing address presented to him at the close of his last 
 sermon, the day before he left the Ked Eiver, Jan. 5th, 
 1851. 
 
 Rev. Sir, 
 
 We, your countrymen and friends, sincerely congratu- 
 lating you as well on your present promotion as on the 
 prospects which lie before you ; and feeling anxious to 
 express our sympathy on your behalf, cannot allow you 
 to depart from us, now that you are about to enter into a 
 field assigned to you as your ministerial charge, without 
 accompanying you with some token of the sincerity of 
 our feelings and good wishes. 
 
 We feel indeed that our offerings are but small when 
 contrasted with the noble character of the cause to which 
 we contribute our mite, and when compared with the 
 vastness of the field in which you are called to labour. 
 Humbly trusting however that He, who did not overlook 
 the " two mites," will be pleased to vouchsafe His bles- 
 sing upon our humble efibrts, we beg you, in His name 
 to accept the following contributions, specially for your 
 station of missionary labour. And should they tend in 
 the least to aid and facilitate your labours, in endeavour- 
 ing to ameliorate the present wretched condition of our 
 poor and benighted brethren, we shall feel ourselves more 
 than amply rewarded. 
 
 With these we would add our humble but earnest 
 prayers for you and your family for your safety and for 
 
30 
 
 your success, and for better and brighter days to all 
 around you. 
 
 Here follow the signatures, with their promised offerings 
 of grain, clothing, and money, for his new station. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 The ordination of the first native minister in Rupert's 
 Land may recall to many the history of Eleazar Williams 
 among the Oneidas. A sketch of it may be found in the 
 history of the American Church, by Dr. Wilberforce, 
 Bishop of Oxford, pp. 348 — 360. It is there charac- 
 terized as " full of that romance by which Indian life is 
 so frequently distinguished." The account of his ordi- 
 nation is thus given in a Memoir of Bishop Hobart, 
 published at New York, 1831, a book, I believe, now 
 scarce. 
 
 "When the Bishop visited this interesting tribe of 
 Aborigines (the Oneidas) in the year 1826, he con- 
 firmed twenty-five of their number, and admitted theif 
 first lay-reader, Mr. Williams, to Deacons' Orders. In 
 a discourse to them, fraught with spiritual tenderness, 
 the Bishop, at every pause for the interpreter, called the 
 assembled group ' My children." After the Ordination 
 service, several of the chiefs advanced, each placed his 
 right hand on the right shoulder of the chief before him, 
 the right hand of the foremost resting on the right 
 shoulder of their minister. It was their characteristic 
 and expressive sign of concord. A petition was then 
 made to their ' Right Reverend Father ' by a party of 
 the natives, about to remove to the far distant region of 
 Green-Bay ; and they desired, with a grateful sense of 
 
31 
 
 'the blessings of his 'watchful providence," that he 
 would extend to their remote region his paternal care. 
 The touching answer given to this solicitation, and the 
 Bishop's glowing language to the duly ordained Indian 
 Herald of the Cross, will occupy some of the most 
 attractive pages in the mission-history of the New World." 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BT a. 3. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
CHILDREN INSTEAD OP FATHERS; 
 
 A CHEISTMAS 
 
 ORDINATION SERMON. 
 
CHILDREI^ mSTEAD OF FATHERS: 
 
 A CHEISTMAS 
 
 xkntim S>txmm, 
 
 PEEACHED AT 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RED RIVER, 
 On Sunday, December 25, 1853. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D., 
 
 LOKD BISUOP OP KDPERTS LAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1854. 
 3f 
 
LONDON : 
 G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
TO HIS GRACE 
 
 THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 My dear Lord Archbishop, 
 Indebted to your Grace's good opinion for the 
 position whicli I hold, I am anxious at once to 
 express my deep sense of personal obligation, 
 and also to give the fullest information of the 
 growth of our Church in this remote diocese. 
 There are, indeed, few duties which I am called 
 upon to perform in which I am not in some 
 way reminded of your Grace. In ordaining, I 
 cannot but think of the seasons at which I 
 was myself ordained deacon and piiest by your 
 Grace, and of the paternal counsel which, along 
 with many others, I received on those occa- 
 sions. In preparing my Triennial Charge I as 
 
VI 
 
 naturally revert to those well-weighed words of 
 wisdom to which I was accustomed to listen 
 when one of your Grace's clergy in the diocese 
 of Chester. And in reviewing my present re- 
 sponsibilities, I often endeavour to realise the 
 solemn scene when, in the Cathedral Church of 
 Canterbury, I was consecrated by your Grace for 
 the distant West, and a beloved brother sent forth 
 at the same time to the farthest East. 
 
 In the composition of- this Sermon, I have 
 availed myself of your Grace's words, written 
 and delivered many years ago, before your eleva- 
 tion to that Bench of which for nearly thirty years 
 you have been so bright an ornament. I met 
 with them for the first time when visiting our 
 most solitary station in the north last summer, and 
 they have dwelt upon my mind ever since. They 
 were heard with delight by all when quoted, and 
 especially by those engaged in the work of the 
 ministry, who could best feel their truth and 
 beauty. 
 
 The Sermon possesses nothing in itself to re- 
 
Vll 
 
 commend it ; the circumstances and associations 
 of the moment gave it an interest, and led perhaps 
 to the request from many that it should be pub- 
 lished. Such as it is, I humbly present it to 
 your Grace, in token of personal gratitude and 
 unfeigned esteem. That God may long preserve 
 a life so valuable to the Church of Christ, that 
 He may yet enable you to plant many more 
 churches in the remotest dependencies of Britain, 
 and that children instead of fathers may be raised 
 up in each and all of them, is the earnest and 
 heart-felt prayer of 
 
 Your Grace's devoted and humble servant. 
 
 David Rupert's Land. 
 
 St. John's, Red River, 
 January 2, 1854. 
 
Hunc Psalmum sicut Tobiscnm cum exultatione cantavimus, 
 ita nobiscum cum adtensione consideretis peto. Cantatur 
 enim de Sanctis nuptiis, de sponso et sponsa, de rege et plebe, 
 de Salvatore et de his qui salvandi sunt. 
 
 S. AuGUSTiN. in Psalm, Sermo ad Pleb. Carthag. 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou 
 mayest make princes in all the earth." — Ps. xlv. 16. 
 
 The wise men of the East brought, we are in- 
 formed, their choicest offerings to the infant 
 Saviour soon after His birth, their gold, and fran- 
 kincense, and myrrh. We, too, on this joyful 
 morning, would seek to bring our gifts, yet not 
 any offering of earthly treasure, but that which is 
 richer by far, to use the words of India's apostolic 
 prelate,* " the heart's adoration." In order, how- 
 ever, that this adoration may not pass away in 
 mere feeling and excitement, it must be fed and 
 cherished by something which may sustain the 
 flame. This, then, our Church would do, not by 
 any appeal to the senses, not by the exhibition to 
 
 * Bishop Heber, Hymn for the Epiphany. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 the eye of the great " mystery of godliness, God 
 manifest in the flesh," but by the presentation of 
 truth to the mind, combining those heavenly rays 
 scattered over the volume of God, so that they 
 may all unite in reflecting the glory of the 
 Saviour. 
 
 Now, if ever our Church seemed guided by 
 the Spirit of God, in making choice of portions of 
 His blessed word, adapted to any of our greater 
 festivals, this special wisdom can be traced in the 
 selection for this day. I hope it has produced its 
 effect upon some of us, while the passages fell 
 upon the ear, and, familiar as they have been to us 
 from childhood, I hope they appeared as sweet, as 
 cheering and heavenly as ever before. And yet, 
 to glance at them again may not be without use, 
 to keep alive the flame, and to make it burn 
 more intensely where it already exists ; and in the 
 case of others to lead them to feel that God, even 
 His glory, was in the midst of them, and they 
 knew it not. 
 
 To take the selection of the Psalms,* that 
 manual of devotion of the saints of old and the 
 saints under the Gospel ; in the first, we have the 
 Sun of righteousness, glorious in His works and 
 outward manifestation, yet more glorious as there 
 described in His word. In the second, we have 
 the warrior King, the mighty Conqueror; and, 
 * Ps. six., xlv., Ixxxv. 
 
changing the picture, we have the Bridegroom 
 and the Bride, and in the text the fruit of the 
 royal nuptials, the holy seed raised up in every 
 land. In the third, we have God returning to 
 Jerusalem with mercy, a hymn which we now 
 take up and use with joy, and in which, at a 
 future day, when the veil is taken from his eye, 
 the Jew may unite with us, and cry, " Lord, thou 
 hast been favourable unto thy land ; thou hast 
 brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast 
 forgiven the iniquity of thy people; thou hast 
 covered all their sin." It is thus prophetic of the 
 union of Jew and Gentile, when they shall sing 
 with one heart and voice, in one fold, under one 
 Shepherd. 
 
 The appointed Lessons * would carry us from 
 David's longing anticipations, when " the Spirit 
 of the Lord spake by him, and His word was in 
 his tongue," to the strains of the evangelical 
 prophet. Seven hundred years beforehand Isaiah 
 beholds in prophetic vision the dawn of the light; 
 he sees it arise on the people walking in dark- 
 ness, and dwelling in the land of the shadow of 
 death. He seems almost to approach the cradle, 
 and to gaze upon the babe, and to hail Him as 
 Judah's long expected hope, as he bursts out, 
 " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," 
 and then he would crown Him with many crowns, 
 * Is. ix. to V. 8 ; St. Luke ii. to v. 15. 
 
 B 2 
 
and spread over Him names of dignity and 
 honour, rising one above the other, " Wonderful, 
 Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting 
 Father, the Prince of Peace." Such is the 
 sublime attestation of the prophet, claiming for 
 the babe, born for us in the lowly manger, ■wis- 
 dom, and power, and deity, and a reign of peace. 
 The second Lesson takes us to the very scene, 
 marks out the events in the history of the world 
 which carried Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to 
 Bethlehem, and places us by the manger, that our 
 eyes may behold the holy child as an infant of 
 days. But while we gaze, with rapid transition it 
 introduces us to the angelic choir, the heavens are 
 opened over the heads of the watching shepherds, 
 and something of the excellent glory shines round 
 about them, and first it may be Gabriel, who de- 
 clared beforehand the times to Daniel, and who 
 had appeared to Zacharias when ministering in his 
 course in the temple, and again to Mary herself; 
 he, we may imagine, is selected to make also to 
 them the glad announcement, " Behold, I bring 
 you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to 
 all people." And then suddenly he is joined by a 
 multitude of the heavenly host, and all together 
 raise over Bethlehem's plains the anthem, the 
 echo of which has not yet died away, " Glory to 
 God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
 towards men." 
 
And now, brethren, all might seem to be over, 
 but not the least important, not the least beau- 
 tiful and impressive portion, still remains — a por- 
 tion which from the Ordination we lose to-day, but 
 without which our sketch would be incomplete. In 
 the Epistle* we have the sublime march of pro- 
 phecy, treading as it were on the high places of the 
 earth ; we have the long period of expectation, the 
 many varied voices, the lengthened note of prepara- 
 tion, and then the one voice as of the well-beloved.f 
 In solemnity few passages of Scripture surpass it. 
 " God who at sundry times and in divers manners 
 spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 
 hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son," 
 and the very word suggests other glorious attributes, 
 that if Son, He is also the Heir, the Creator and 
 Preserver of all things, the Brightness of the 
 Father's glory, and the express Image of His per- 
 son, the object of worship on earth, and among 
 the angels of heaven. And in the Gospel one 
 passes yet higher still, and beholds the Saviour 
 before prophecy had uttered a voice, before the 
 earth or the world was. The eagle-eyed Apostle 
 
 * The Epistle, Heb. i. 1—12. The Gospel, St. John i. 
 1 — 14. 
 
 t See Davison on Prophecy, and the remarkable saying of 
 Bossuet, " Dieu donna k la majeste de son Fils, de faire taire 
 les prophetes durant tout ce temps, pour tenir son peuple en 
 attente de celui, qui devait 6tre I'accomplissement de tous leurs 
 oracles." — Histoire Universelle. 
 
6 
 
 takes us into the past eternity, to view Him who 
 is from everlasting to everlasting. "In the begin- 
 ning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God," and then tracing Him 
 downwards we see Him as Life, as Light, as the 
 Light shining in darkness, yet shining full of com- 
 fort on some hearts, those who can say, " The 
 Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we 
 beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten 
 of the Father, full of grace and truth." 
 
 Such, my beloved brethren, is the light which 
 our Church casts around the infant Saviour, a 
 light brighter far than any earthly glare or splen- 
 dour, the light of the. Spirit which shines inward,* 
 and which will ever carry us the nearest to Him, 
 who dwells in the light which no man can ap- 
 proach unto. Reflect, then, on these united pas- 
 sages, and do not dismiss them from your minds ; 
 carry them with you to that feast of love to which 
 you are invited, and so shall your eyes behold 
 something of the King in His beauty. 
 
 From the whole, we have selected the verse of 
 the text, as that one which may perhaps best com- 
 bine our double subject, uniting that of the Ordi- 
 nation with the glad tidings of the day. As it 
 is not often that this festival falls on a Sunday, 
 
 * Milton's prayer : — 
 
 " So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, 
 Shine inward," &c 
 
 Par. Lost, Book iii. 
 
we thought it the more likely to render it a day of 
 joyful remembrance throughout our lives, to make 
 it also our day of Ordination, delaying the latter a 
 week beyond the usual and prescribed time. 
 And we have, for the same reason, invited those 
 of other congregations to join us, and would only 
 pray that the Holy Spirit might be present in the 
 abundance of His gifts ; that He might be im- 
 parted in His fulness to those on whom are about 
 to be laid a weightier responsibility and trust; 
 yea, that He might be graciously given to all, and 
 so reveal to us the Saviour that we may discern 
 Him in His birth,* discern Him in His word, dis- 
 cern Him at His table, and may feel our hearts 
 burn within us while He talks with us in our 
 pilgrimage, and opens to us the Scriptures. 
 
 Now the words of the text predict clearly a 
 mighty spread of the Gospel, a great addition to 
 the number of God's people. They are addressed 
 to the Bride, who is to forget her own people, 
 and her father's house, and to be joined in ever- 
 lasting espousals to the heavenly Bridegroom. 
 The progeny, it is declared, will be far more 
 numerous than the long line of ancestors in which 
 she gloried, " Instead of thy fathers shall be thy 
 children, whom thou mayest make princes in all 
 lands." 
 
 * See the beautiful passage of St. Augustine, " Pulcher 
 Deus, Verbum apud Deum . . . pulcher natus infans Verbum 
 .... pulcher in sepulcro, pulcher in ceelo." 
 
8 
 
 The call, then, of the Gentile Church, its dif- 
 ference from the Jewish in extent and univer- 
 sality seems here to be plainly prefigured. Very 
 limited was the Jewish Church even in its widest 
 influence. In Egypt the children of Israel may 
 have left behind some traces of the knowledge 
 of the true God. In Arabia some light may have 
 lingered, some seeds of promise may have been 
 scattered over the land, and the hope of a bright 
 Morning Star may thus have been kept alive. In 
 Babylon and the surrounding region prophecy 
 may have exerted some power, and those of the 
 captivity who never returned may have treasured 
 up some recollection of the appointed weeks. At 
 Rome, too, and other large cities, to prepare the 
 way of the Lord, there were at the period of the 
 Advent Jews carried abroad by the spirit of gain 
 and adventure. But still the people were solitary: 
 "they dwelt alone, and were not numbered among 
 the nations." How different the prospect un- 
 folded in the words before us, which declare that 
 her children shall reign in all lands! There is 
 no limit in them, nor is there in the announce- 
 ment of the angel, when he brings the good 
 tidings of great joy, and speaks of them as ex- 
 tending to all people. And with this had agreed 
 the whole tenor of prophetic song. More, Isaiah 
 had said, were to be " the children of the desolate 
 than the children of the married wife;" more than 
 
" the dew from the womb of the moraing will be 
 the dew of thy progeny," * had been the words of 
 David in a Psalm which the Saviour applies to 
 Himself; that is, "Thy children, begotten to 
 thee through the Gospel, shall exceed in number, 
 as well as brightness and beauty, the spangles of 
 early dew/'f Nor is it a little remarkable that 
 the two fullest prophetic descriptions of the cross, 
 and the agonies of the suffering Saviour, include 
 also the vision of the Redeemer's countless pro- 
 geny. The prospect is seen in the distance, re- 
 lieving the sorrowful picture of one Psalm, " All 
 the ends of the world shall remember and turn 
 unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the na- 
 tions shall worship before Thee; — a seed shall 
 serve Him." And in Isaiah, in almost similar 
 words, " He shall see His seed, He shall prolong 
 His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
 prosper in His hand." Thus were the heathen to 
 be the inheritance of the Redeemer, when exalted 
 to the right hand of power on the holy hill of 
 Zion, and " the uttermost parts of the earth were 
 to be His possession." 
 
 Hath not God, then, fulfilled His promise, " In- 
 stead of thy fathers thou shalt have children, 
 princes in all lands ?" Was it not so in the early 
 Church ? Was not Peter, the Apostle of the Cir- 
 
 * Bishop Luvrth's translation. 
 ■f Bishop Home on Psalm ex. 
 
10 
 
 cumcision, a Jew? was not Paul a Hebrew of 
 the Hebrews, and brought up after the straitest 
 sect of his religion? was not John living and 
 worshipping as a Jew until called by the Re- 
 deemer to forsake all and follow Him ? But the 
 time had arrived when the things which had been 
 gain to them, those they counted loss for Christ. 
 The Jewish ancestry was to be forgotten, the 
 long line of patriarchs and prophets was to merge 
 in the brighter line of Apostles and Martyrs,* 
 who carried the truth abroad, and watered the 
 seed often with their blood. 
 
 So far had it spread even in the lifetime of St. 
 Paul (and how much farther before the death of 
 St. John?) that we find him dwelling on Old Tes- 
 tament prophecy, and so interpreting it, and 
 pointing out its fulfilment to the darkened eyes 
 of his countrymen. He quotes Hosea as unfold- 
 ing this purpose of God, " I will call them my 
 people which were not my people, and her beloved 
 which was not beloved, and in the place where it 
 was said to them, Ye are not my people, there 
 shall ye be called the children of the living God." 
 He then enters upon the subject, and comments 
 
 * This is well expressed in Merrick's poetical version : — 
 
 " No more the patriarchs of thy line 
 In time's long records chief shall shine ; 
 Thy greater sons, to empire born. 
 Its future annals shall adorn." 
 
11 
 
 upon it at greater length, and claims for tlie 
 Gentile a portion in the paternal love and mercy 
 of God, which the Jew would restrict to himself, 
 "The same Lord over all is rich unto all that 
 call upon Him, for whosoever shall call on the 
 name of the Lord shall be saved." Anticipating 
 every possible objection, he himself proposes the 
 question, " Have they not heard ?" to which his 
 immediate reply is, " Yes, verily, their sound 
 went into all the earth, and their words unto the 
 ends of the world." Such, then, was the spread of 
 the Gospel even in Apostolic times. They could 
 thank God who " always caused them to triumph 
 in Christ, and made manifest the savour of his 
 knowledge by them in every place." A seed was 
 raised up from the very bosom of the Jewish 
 Church to propagate salvation to the limits of the 
 then known world. 
 
 But, brethren, advance a step, and the founders 
 of the early Church are taken away. As wise 
 master builders they had laid the foundation, some 
 of them cut down, like the first martyr Stephen, by 
 a premature and cruel death; some spared for a 
 longer season, like Paul the aged, and passing 
 through many vicissitudes in many lands ; a few, 
 like John, tarrying on earth to more than the 
 usual limit of man's existence, and perhaps ending 
 life in calmness and an atmosphere of holy love. 
 But, having served their day and generation, they 
 
12 
 
 one after another fell asleep, and of them the next 
 race might say, as they gazed upon their empty 
 seats, " Our fathers where are they, and the pro- 
 phets do they live for ever ?" They were removed 
 from the scene of their earthly labours, but in 
 their stead were raised up others to be made 
 princes in all lauds. There was one, who as a 
 son with a father had laboured with Paul in the 
 Gospel, and when the great Apostle had finished 
 his course, his own son in the faith was ready to 
 continue the work, and hand down the light. 
 And long after St. John was taken away, the recol- 
 lection of his words and lessons was treasured up, 
 and was fruitful among the nations. " I can de- 
 scribe," says one, " the very spot in which Poly- 
 carp sat and expounded, and his going out and 
 coming in, and the very manner of his life, and 
 the figure of his body, and the sermons which he 
 preached to the multitude, and how he related to 
 us his converse with John, and with the rest of 
 those who had seen the Lord, how he mentioned 
 their particular expressions, and what things he 
 had heard from them of the Lord, and of his 
 miracles and of his doctrine." * Thus writes 
 Irenseus regarding St. John and Polycarp, de- 
 lighting to treasure up the past in his memory, 
 and to live his youth over again, for, according to 
 his own beautiful expression, " The instructions 
 * Iren. Epist. ad. Florin., quoted by Miluer. 
 
13 
 
 of our childhood grow with our growth, and ad- 
 here to us most closely." And where was he pro- 
 claiming the tidings of the Gospel ? Not, bre- 
 thren, at Ephesus, or Smyrna, or any of the fa- 
 voured seats of civilization, but in Gaul. History 
 tells us that "though versed in Grecian literature, 
 he acquired the ruder dialect of Gaul, conformed 
 himself to the rustic manners of an illiterate 
 people, renounced the politeness and elegance of 
 his own country for the love of souls." Such 
 were his labours in life, until after many tor- 
 tures, he sealed his testimony to the truth by a 
 cruel martyrdom, when the streets of Lyons flowed 
 with blood. And as in Gaul and at Lyons, so 
 among the other nations God carried on His own 
 work, raising up instruments and fitting them for 
 His service. Instead of the early founders a 
 spiritual progeny was raised up to occupy their 
 places, and to extend the boundaries of the Re- 
 deemer's kingdom. Nor was this done alone by 
 those who were called to the public ministry : 
 many were those who in private life helped in the 
 Gospel, many who became fellow-workers in the 
 blessed cause. The various providences of God 
 scattered the seed — persecution carried it to fresh 
 regions, and the tide of war and the captive slave 
 became at times the heralds of the Cross. And at 
 last kings were the nursing fathers and queens 
 the nursing mothers of the Church. The counte- 
 
14 
 
 nance of the world was extended to the profes- 
 sors of the Gospel, and although grace might not 
 always touch the heart, yet outward homage and 
 respect were paid to the Christian name. The 
 spiritual seed was multiplied, and believers became 
 centres of light. 
 
 Age after age, however, rolled on ; some cen- 
 turies of darkness intervened, during which little 
 was done for the extension of the kingdom, and 
 Christians regarded but little the stewardship com- 
 mitted to them. And even, after the world awoke 
 from its long sleep, when God unlocked His word, 
 and opened to the view also a new hemisphere, 
 still the efforts were only scanty which were made 
 for other lands. There is something very solemn 
 in the succession of generations, earth changing 
 her tenants, at least those who are occupied in the 
 busy scene, one generation coming and another 
 going, yet the earth abiding the same. And as 
 the earth continues, so does the Church of the 
 living God ; in the darkest ages He has some who 
 do not bow the knee to Baal, even under the 
 veil of a corrupt system. He has still some who 
 rise above it and serve Him acceptably, and He 
 ever knoweth them that are His. But there are 
 special seasons when His arm seems bared, and 
 His own finger appears to lead His people on to 
 fresh triumphs. Such, few would doubt, was the 
 case at the Reformation, but while at that time the 
 
15 
 
 Church was purified, there was no mighty and 
 vigorous effort made to carry to the heathen world 
 the message of salvation. Is not, however, the 
 providential preparation plain in the present cen- 
 tury? The desire to spread the Gospel is first 
 enkindled by the Spirit at home, and then, as 
 many rise up filled with zeal and love for souls, 
 the kingdoms open, the most distant are brought 
 near, and man is dispersed over the solitary 
 places of the earth. Has not God appeared to 
 give a fresh charge to His people. Go and occupy 
 the nations ; or rather, we might say, has He not 
 given fresh energy in the fulfilment of a long neg- 
 lected duty? Many were sent forth to plant and 
 to spread ; some in the ordinary ofiices of the 
 ministry, as Marsden and Martyn; some in the 
 higher offices of the Church, as Heber, and Wil- 
 son, and Selwyn ; some labouring successively in 
 each, as the apostolic Stewart of Quebec, the de- 
 voted Corrie of Madras, and Gobat, formerly of 
 Abyssinia, now Bishop of Jerusalem ; some have 
 died in the field of their labours, offered on the 
 sacrifice and service of the faith, and their bones, 
 like those of Heber, lie in a foreign soil ; others, 
 like Broughton, are permitted to return, and lie 
 buried in the very spot where they may have wor- 
 shipped in childhood.* 
 
 * W. Grant Broughton, D.D., Bishop of Sydney, educated 
 
16 
 
 But wherever their ashes may lie, their seed 
 remains : " A nation of Pagans converted to the 
 faith, another Christian people added to the family 
 of God,"* this, the fruit of the labours of Mars- 
 den ; the living word in another tongue, that the 
 imperishable seed left by Martyn; a native minis- 
 try at Calcutta and Madras, here the proof, at the 
 present hour, that Heber and Corrie neither ran 
 nor laboured in vain. The law of the kingdom 
 was still seen to be the same, " Instead of thy 
 fathers thou shalt have children." If strong in 
 faith and in reliance on the Divine promises, they 
 forsook their home and earthly kindred, God gave 
 them as their recompense a spiritual seed. " They 
 have found the fulfilment of the paradoxical pro- 
 mise, manifold more in this present time. The 
 delightful intercourse of earthly friends has been 
 denied them, but they have enjoyed the presence 
 of God. He has come unto them, and made His 
 abode with them. They have borne the burden 
 and heat of the day, but they have realised the 
 promise, that as their day was, so should their 
 strength be. In the midst of their usefulness, 
 
 at the King's School, Canterhury, died in that city while on a 
 visit home, and was interred in the Cathedral there. See the 
 sermon preached the Sunday after by Archdeacon Harrison, 
 "The Church's sons brought back to Her from far." 
 
 * The testimony of Bishop Selwyn on his first arrival in 
 New Zealand. 
 
17 
 
 death has intercepted their labours, but their hope 
 has been full of immortality." * And when them- 
 selves called away, they have left behind many 
 children to perpetuate the work, and to spread it 
 even more widely. 
 
 View, brethren, the promise in what light you 
 will, turn it in each fresh direction, and cheering 
 and comforting thoughts arise out of it, laws per- 
 vading the spiritual household and economy of 
 God, deduced from the nearest and closest rela- 
 tionship of the earthly family. Children instead 
 of fathers ; the believing parent, father of believing 
 children. Not that grace is always hereditary, not 
 that the parent can claim it as a right from God, 
 not that we always see the chain unbroken, and 
 yet the fault and sin are certainly with man, for 
 the promise is sure, and the charter runs, " Unto 
 you and unto your children," and if pleaded in 
 strong and earnest faith, God will fulfil it to those 
 who humbly trust in Him. " The children of 
 His servants shall continue, and their seed shall 
 stand fast in His sight." Exceptions to this are 
 noted in Scripture for our warning, and are often 
 quoted by the world for our reproach ; the count- 
 
 * The words are extracted from a passage, giving a beauti- 
 ful description of the peculiar trials and consolations of mis- 
 sionary life, in a sermon preached before the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society in 1825, by the Rev. J. B. Sumner, now 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 less examples of the rule are not written in any 
 earthly record, and will only be fully known by 
 the opening of the Lamb's book of life. 
 
 Children instead of fathers — here, too, the law 
 of increase, which would hold in measure in the 
 spiritual as in the natural family of God. Take 
 the believing parent, surrounded with children, 
 growing up in the fear of God, and, in another 
 generation, a second or a third, what a seed would 
 there be to replenish the earth ! How many the 
 progeny of Jacob when Israel came out of Egypt ! 
 how many they who but for sin and the destroyer 
 might, by a short and easy path, have entered 
 into the land of promise ! And if through in- 
 crease of faith the spiritual seed of believers mul- 
 tiplied as the temporal, how glorious the prospect 
 opened up ! How soon would the prophecy be- 
 come history, and "a little one become a thou- 
 sand, and a small one a strong nation." 
 
 Now views of this description afford us, bre- 
 thren, humble confidence, and something of a 
 chastened joy, from the recurrence of such sea- 
 sons as the present. The fathers and founders of 
 our Church are mostly taken from us ; one only 
 entitled to the name still remains, and whom that 
 very pre-eminence would mark out as the one 
 best fitted by years and usefulness for the office to 
 which he is to be raised this week.* But their 
 * The Rev. W. Cockran, now Archdeacon. 
 
19 
 
 eWldren occupy their places ; to two of those 
 before me the name applies, — to the one without 
 a figure, to both, I trust, in spiritual meaning. 
 We hope that the day affords some token that the 
 roots of the native Church are deepening in the 
 land. The supply of European labourers must 
 always be fluctuating and uncertain, but should 
 they fail, we look to such as you, my brother,* not 
 to forget your kinsfolk, but to labour for their 
 immortal weal. We want such links between 
 the Indian and ourselves. With the Bible in our 
 hands, and our hearts yearning over their souls, 
 and with the interpreter by our side, we are still 
 powerless, comparatively, to declare the things of 
 our God. The words falter on the lip, the sen- 
 tences are broken and interrupted. But no such 
 difficulty or backwardness need paralyse your 
 tongue. Trained in our own schools, you are 
 familiar with our thoughts and feelings, and in- 
 structed in the compass of Scripture, and familiar, 
 too, with the thoughts and feelings of the Indian, 
 you bring salvation near to him, looking back on 
 the method by which God enlightened your own 
 soul. You can sit in friendly intercourse with 
 them, as I have seen you by the Lake, you can 
 dissipate some of their difficulties, and, in effect, 
 preach Jesus unto them. You can offer up the 
 
 * Mr. James Settee, Native Catechist, then to be ordained 
 Deacon. 
 
 c2 
 
20 
 
 prayer, as I have often heard you, in words which 
 carry their hearts upward to the throne of God. 
 Our motive in ordaining you would be the felt 
 confidence that you gain influence over the In- 
 dian mind, and that you use that influence in en- 
 deavouring to lead him to the Saviour, I know 
 that you have sought guidance whence strength 
 alone can come, and that it is in the deep sense 
 of your own insufiiciency, "in weakness, and fear, 
 and in much trembling," that you undertake this 
 ofiice ; and I would only pray that, while we look 
 to you as our mouth to the Indian, the Most 
 High God may be to you for a mouth and 
 wisdom. 
 
 And what a value does the day stamp upon our 
 schools! How little did you imagine when you 
 first trod the opposite creek, that after the lapse 
 of twenty-nine years you would be set apart here 
 to the service of the sanctuary. He who re- 
 ceived and welcomed you on arrival, he who placed 
 and taught you in the school, and subsequently 
 baptized you, is long since dead ; you are called to 
 honour, but he is not here to know of it,* and, after 
 having laboured for a few short hours in the vine- 
 yard, you may meet him above with some saved 
 souls. Of ten baptized with you, when you stood 
 forth to witness a good confession, f only three 
 
 * The Eev. D, T. Jones. 
 
 t It was then the rule not to baptize any of those taught 
 
21 
 
 survive with yourself. How marvellous will thus 
 be the disclosures of that day, how wonderful the 
 path by which God leads ! 
 
 And to turn to those to be admitted to the 
 higher orders of the ministry, you too, my bro- 
 ther,* would be a proof of the responsibility con- 
 nected with the training of the young. Reared 
 in early years in the very school over which God 
 has now placed you, with the recollection that he 
 also who taught you was himself cut down in the 
 vigour of life,f you need no other voice to tell 
 you, that eternity must try our work, and that the 
 best instruction is that which links most closely 
 heavenly wisdom with every branch of earthly 
 knowledge. View, then, those committed to you 
 as children now, but as those who are to be fathers 
 in Israel hereafter, and may many of them be in- 
 deed " trees of righteousness, the planting of the 
 Lord, that He may be glorified." Some will be- 
 come teachers, a few, it may be, ministers of God; 
 nearly all will be scattered over this wide land ; 
 who can calculate the mighty influence to be 
 exerted by them? 
 
 Nor is the link wanting to-day as in our Ordi- 
 
 in the school until they could repeat the Catechism, and at least 
 a chapter of Scripture. 
 
 * The Kev. Thos. Cockran, B.A., Master of St. John's 
 College School. 
 
 t The Rev. J. Macallum. 
 
22 
 
 nation in 1850, to connect us with the sister 
 churches. You, my brother,* left your home and 
 kindred, thinking to labour in Canada in the midst 
 of a crowded population, and with all the com- 
 forts of civilized life. When looking to mini- 
 sterial work there, God called you to depart, and 
 to undertake a toilsome journey, and He has, I 
 hope, cast your lot in the wilderness for good. 
 Your sphere will possess but little of the attrac- 
 tions presented by a favoured congregation at 
 home, but your reward will be as great, may we 
 not say greater, if we preach Christ where He 
 is the most wanted, and build not on another 
 man's foundation. And you will connect us with 
 the. mother Church by more than the circumstance 
 of your birth. Your district bears the name of 
 one of her parishes,! into which God would seem 
 to have breathed the spirit of missionary love, and 
 you have the comforting assurance that you have 
 an interest in their prayers, while they so gladly 
 minister to you of their earthly substance. 
 
 Having thus noticed the -running fulfilment of 
 the words from age to age, and brought them 
 down to our own day, and so near to our own 
 hearts and bosoms, I am anxious that our attention 
 should dwell yet more minutely on the agency by 
 
 * The Eev. G. O. Corbett, Colonial Church Society, late of 
 Montreal. 
 t Headingley, near Leeds. 
 
23 
 
 which God carries on these great designs, and the 
 method in which His counsels are gradually de- 
 veloped. 
 
 If it be asked, How is the glorious promise 
 of the text accomplished ? We can have no 
 hesitation in saying, chiefly by the word of God. 
 What else would be the weapon of Him who 
 goes forth conquering and to conquer? When 
 it is said in our Psalm, " Gird thy sword upon thy 
 thigh, most Mighty, and in thy majesty ride 
 prosperously," what shall we pronounce the sword 
 to be but that of the Spirit, which is the word of 
 God, the same which is said by the Apostle to be 
 " living and powerful, and sharper than any two- 
 edged sword?" What are the arrows which it 
 describes as sharp in the heart of the King's 
 enemies, but arrows of conviction,* drawn at a 
 venture, but taken from the true quiver, and 
 piercing so as to lay bare the thoughts and in- 
 tents of the heart? And so, too, when in our 
 other Psalm the all-prevailing power of the Sun of 
 righteousness is set forth, when He is described 
 as "rejoicing as a strong man to run a race;" 
 
 * In preparing this sermon I had forgotten to turn to the 
 four striking sermons of Bishop Horsley on the Psalm. On 
 referring to them since^ I find that the Bishop makes the sword 
 and the arrow emblems of one and the same thing, of the word 
 of God, in its different effects, " the word of terror is the 
 sword girt upon the Messiah's thigh ; the word of persuasion 
 is the arrow shot from his how." 
 
24 
 
 when it is said that " His going forth is from the 
 end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends 
 of it, and that there is nothing hid from the heat 
 thereof;" of what is it that David would speak? 
 Is not all emblematic of that word of which he 
 subjoins the features and effects, that " law which 
 is perfect, converting the soul, that testimony 
 which is sure, making wise the simple ?" Is not 
 that, to use the figure of another of the undoubted 
 Messianic psalms, and another of our Christmas 
 portions,* the rod of Christ's strength which the 
 Lord sends out of Zion, and by which the Re- 
 deemer is to rule in the midst of His enemies. 
 The living proof of this we have before our eyes. 
 The nation which most honours the word, God 
 has raised and exalted on high, and made her as 
 queen among the nations. Her language seems 
 destined at this hour to almost an universal sway, 
 and the noblest monument of the language is the 
 translation of God's own word, by which she 
 speaks already to those of almost every country, 
 and kindred, and clime. 
 
 Connected, however, with the word, and in sub- 
 ordination to it, we would mention the ministers 
 of God, placing them in the very order which, as 
 we have lately seen, they so beautifully occupy in 
 the Collects for the sacred season through which 
 * Psalm ex., for Christmas evening. 
 
25 
 
 we have just passed.* For, without limiting and 
 confining the passage, or interpreting the word 
 princes as of ecclesiastical rulers alone, few would 
 deny that the primary application would be to the 
 ministering servants of God. Who are those 
 especially sent forth to bring in the Gentile world, 
 the leaders of the children of God ? who are they 
 who receive the charge, as you, my brethren, will 
 this morning, to seek Christ's sheep that are dis- 
 persed abroad? who are they of whom the Apostle 
 tells us, that the weapons of their warfare are not 
 carnal, but effectual to the pulling down of strong- 
 holds ? Are they not the ministers of God ? Yes, 
 brethren, theirs is, if we view it soberly and 
 calmly, an engine of mighty power; to address 
 the human soul one day in seven, when the mind 
 is solemnised and somewhat withdrawn from the 
 world, on the day which man connects more with 
 heaven than earth, to have the privilege of access, 
 when the heart is the most tender from affliction 
 or bereavement. They are especially as princes 
 in all lands, for what is all the power of this 
 world compared to sway over the soul? what is 
 victory over the hosts of earth compared to vic- 
 tory, through God aiding us, over Satan, when we 
 are enabled to cast him out from one soul which he 
 held in chains ? Oh ! may we ever use that power 
 for God's glory and seize the golden opportunities 
 * Second and third Sundays in Advent. 
 
26 
 
 which it places within our reach ; may we use it 
 as faithful stewards, not "as being lords over 
 God's heritage, but as being ensamples to the 
 flock." 
 
 By this twofold agency, the word and the 
 ministry, or, in a simpler form, by the ministry of 
 the word, it pleases God to extend the kingdom 
 of grace. The effects and blessed results are 
 churches called out of heathen darkness, and in- 
 dividual souls begotten again unto a lively hope. 
 An allegorical picture of this of exquisite beauty 
 is given us in this Psalm.* The daughter of Tyre 
 approaches with her gift and offering, and in her 
 train there is a band of attendant virgins, all pay- 
 ing honour to the royal Bridegroom. In them we 
 may recognize types and figures of the various 
 Gentile churches, and, as comprised under them, 
 individual souls. The variety of raiment has even 
 been explained to betoken the difference of lan- 
 guage and country of the churches, yet though 
 there is variety in outward appearance, there is^ 
 but one gold, an essential unity of faith and doc- 
 trine, a participation of one Spirit.f They are 
 
 * Matthew Henry has quaintly but truly said of the Psalm 
 that " it is all over Gospel." 
 
 t As St. Augustine, " Alia lingua Afra, alia Syra, alia 
 Grseca, alia Hebrsea, alia ilia et ilia; faciunt istse linguae 
 varietatem vestis reginae Imjus. Quselibet sit varietas lin- 
 guarum, unum aurum prsedicatur : non diversum aurum, sed 
 varietas de auro. Varietas in Unguis, aurum in sententiis." 
 
27 
 
 the many churches into which the people of God 
 are divided here below, yet together forming the 
 one Church of the Redeemed, the Bride of the 
 Lamb. With gladness and rejoicing they are 
 brought and enter into the King's palace, the tem- 
 ple of the living God, no longer " strangers and 
 foreigners, they are fellow-citizens with the saints 
 and of the household of God," and in this it is 
 seen that children instead of fathers are raised up 
 to the Church. For the words, we doubt not, 
 admit of this meaning in their most extended signi- 
 fication. They would embrace all who are among 
 the Redeemer's true followers, to whom He gives 
 power to become the sons of God, and who are 
 even now called to be kings and priests, a chosen 
 generation, a royal priesthood. They are the 
 true Israel of God, and by the energy of fervent 
 and importunate prayer, as princes (for the word 
 is the same) they have power with God, and do 
 prevail. 
 
 The only additional result, which we can men- 
 tion, is the personal and growing holiness of be- 
 lievers so united to the Saviour. The Psalm 
 speaks much of the adornment of the Lamb's 
 Bride, the beauty of her clothing, the brilliancy 
 and costliness of the apparel in which she is 
 decked. But the Spirit leaves us not in doubt re- 
 Such a passage comes peculiarly home to our heart, amid the 
 many tongues of this land. 
 
28 
 
 garding the secret meaning. He would teach 
 expressly, that the true ornaments of the believer 
 must be something more precious than gold of 
 Ophir, something hidden from human eye. The 
 King's daughter is described as all.glorious within, 
 as well as arrayed in clothing of wrought gold. 
 Here is that inward purity, which the Spirit can 
 alone create, and in which alone He will deign to 
 dwell, and flowing forth from it, as from a pure 
 fountain, there is that outward holiness which 
 shines in the life, and attracts with magnetic 
 power. Or, perhaps, in even closer accordance 
 with the harmony of Scripture, the former would 
 be the work of the Spirit within, restoring the lost 
 image of God ; the latter, the raiment of wrought 
 gold, that which the Redeemer offers to the 
 churches, that which He has wrought out by His 
 obedience and righteousness, and in which He 
 will "present His bride unto Himself a glorious 
 church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such 
 thing, but holy and without blemish." 
 
 What, then, my beloved brethren, has the sub- 
 ject taught us, as its grand and leading lessons ? 
 
 The Redeemer's joy, if I mistake not, over the 
 gathering in of the children of God. There is 
 little betokening joy to the Redeemer Himself in 
 the view of Him presented to us this day. The 
 stable and the manger rather tell us of Him who 
 on earth had not where to lay His head, who came 
 
29 
 
 unto His own and His own received Him not, who 
 emptied Himself of His glory, and became instead 
 a man of sorrows. But while we commemorate 
 His birth, and more and more, as each generation 
 rolls on, we are invited to think of those whom 
 He is not ashamed to call brethren, and of the 
 addition to their ranks, until they shall become 
 the mighty multitude that no man can number in 
 the day of His appearing. Now over such the 
 Redeemer rejoices ; "He greatly desires their 
 beauty," to use the very words of the Spirit in 
 this Psalm, because they reflect His glory, and will 
 ere long share His throne, and receive from His 
 own hand their crowns. Nor do we find diifer- 
 ence and distinction among those whom the King 
 so delighteth to honour; they are all called to 
 sonship here, to be kings and priests unto God. 
 " He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and 
 lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set 
 them among princes, and to make them inherit 
 thrones of glory." The souls of all are alike pre- 
 cious in the Redeemer's sight, and His joy is in 
 their rescue from eternal death ; this one was 
 dead and is alive again, was lost and is found. 
 Some that were first shall be last, and the last 
 first, and some of the children of the wilderness, 
 brought in at the eleventh hour, may sit very near 
 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 
 heaven. 
 
30 
 
 And the subject teaches us also very beautifully 
 the ministerial office and message. What more 
 afFecting, and at the same time more elevating,, 
 view of our office can be furnished than that it is 
 like that of Eliezer of Damascus of old, to seek 
 a bride for our master, the Lord of heaven and 
 earth? Very toucbingly is this brought forward 
 in our own service, where we are enjoined to say 
 to those to be ordained priests, " Have always 
 therefore printed in your remembrance, how great 
 a treasure is committed to your charge. For they 
 are the sheep of Christ, which He bought with His 
 death, and for whom He shed His blood. The 
 church and congregation whom you must serve 
 is His spouse and His body." And, again, as if to 
 impress it more deeply upon all, "Consider, 
 therefore, with yourselves the end of your mini- 
 stry towards the children of God, towards the 
 spouse and body of Christ." And if this be our 
 office, have we not here our very message also ? 
 Oh! what do we long to say to every son and 
 daughter of Adam, every child of sin and sorrow 
 still in darkness — what but this ? — " My heart 
 overfloweth (bubbleth up) with a good matter : I 
 speak of the things which I have made touching 
 the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready 
 writer." What do we covet for you who are to 
 be sent forth, and for ourselves who minister at 
 God's altar, beyond these two things — a heart full 
 
31 
 
 of redeeming love, and a ready tongue to proclaim 
 its preciousness ? If ever -we want a theme, we 
 have only to recur to this Psalm, and speak yet 
 once again of the things touching the King. Life 
 will have closed upon us, and our tongues have 
 become feeble and powerless, long before we have 
 exhausted our subject, and fully set forth His 
 glory. 
 
 And lastly, brethren, we are all taught that the 
 tie which binds the saved soul to the Redeemer 
 is none other than the marriage covenant or bond, 
 to be consummated and completed only in the 
 world beyond the grave. Listen to it, in the 
 words of God by a prophet already quoted, " I 
 will betroth thee unto me for ever ; yea, I will 
 betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in 
 judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies ; 
 I will even betroth thee unto me 'in faithfulness, 
 and thou shalt know the Lord." Our Psalm is but 
 the nuptial hymn celebrating the espousal; a song 
 for the beloved one, or a song of loves, as the title 
 goes ; and the Song of Songs, that of Solomon, 
 only carries out the same view in deeper and more 
 mysterious strains.* Listeu to it again, in the 
 words of the Redeemer himself on the day of His. 
 
 * The close resemblance between these two portions of 
 Scripture has been noticed by many. There is, I well re- 
 member, a comparison instituted between them, with some 
 beautiful remarks on our Psalm, in Bishop Lowth's Praelec- 
 tiones de Sacri Poesi Heb. ; but unfortunately I have not my 
 copy of that work with me here, and from the circumstances 
 
32 
 
 last visit to His earthly temple, " The kingdom of 
 heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a 
 marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants 
 to call them that were bidden to the wedding." 
 Oh! remember that it is the God of heaven and 
 earth making a marriage for His own dear Son, 
 who left His throne to bleed and die, and can it 
 be that they would not come ? When yet pressed 
 farther with the invitation, " All things are ready, 
 come unto the marriage," can they still refuse ? 
 Yes ; the Redeemer has said it, and our eyes be- 
 hold it ; men make light of it, and go their way. 
 With one consent they begin to make excuse ; but 
 heaven shall not want inhabitants, nor the banquet 
 be unfurnished with guests. We go at oiir Lord's 
 bidding into the highways and byways — ^into the 
 waste untrodden wilderness, but when we have 
 done all, our encouragement is, " Yet there is 
 room." Yes, there is room in a Saviour's love ; 
 there is room in the many mansions of our Father's 
 house; room for the poor outcast Indians scat- 
 tered over this wide land. There is room for all 
 who may be gathered in by the labours of those 
 now to be sent forth. Oh ! pray that a great door 
 and effectual may be opened for each one of them 
 for the proclamation of God's truth ! 
 
 of the country, I should look for it in vain within many hun- 
 dred miles in any direction. 
 
 LONDON : G. J. PALMEB, SAVOT STREET, STRAND. 
 
THE WINNER OF SOULS: 
 
 A NEW -YEAR 
 
 Akate Sam0ii, 
 
 PREACHED AT 
 
 SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH, RED RIVER, 
 
 ON TUESDAY, JANUARY ], 1856. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 I.OKD BISHOP OF EUPERT'S LAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 1856. 
 
LONDON : 
 Printed by G Barclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
Ji fito-fwr mtxmi 
 
 TO THOSE OF 
 
 CUE OWN OEDINATION, 
 
 WITH THE EARNEST AND HEARTFELT PRAYER, 
 
 THAT THEY ALL 
 
 MAY EACH YEAR BECOME WISER 
 
 IN WINNING SOULS. 
 
 a2 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 "He that winneth souls is wise." — Prov. xi. 30. 
 
 There is something very touching in those salu- 
 tations, which are tendered by so many thousand 
 voices to-day. However chequered and full of 
 trial may have been the past year, there is the 
 universal expression of the wish that happiness 
 may mark the present. In an old and. decaying 
 world, the very term New Year speaks of freshness, 
 and vigour, and youth. Even to those who have 
 passed the meridian of life it would breathe the 
 atmosphere of hope, and seem to whisper that 
 they are spared yet a little, that they might 
 "recover their strength before they go hence 
 and are no more seen." To ourselves, the re- 
 currence of the season, the seventh among you, 
 is associated with a feeling of deeper interest, 
 because the present year, as it rolls along, may 
 separate between us for a time : we are together 
 at its commencement ; we may, in the providence 
 of God, be far apart at its close. We are anxious, 
 therefore, to gather around it all the solemnity 
 
8 
 
 experience the blessedness of such wisdom, but 
 feel that it is something in which all may engage, 
 and all prove in measure successful. Gird your» 
 selves for the duty of each passing day, with this 
 assurance deeply engraven on your heart, that 
 "He that winneth souls," and he alone, '^ is wise." 
 Now, before approaching the words more 
 closely, something may be gained in point of 
 impressiveness, by contrasting for a moment the 
 opposite picture. The course of wisdom is here 
 presented to us — the wise man is the winner 
 of souls. Contrast with this the state of him 
 who loseth his soul. How shall we describe 
 his wretched folly, his fatal blindness? The 
 words of man are weak and powerless to do so. 
 But He who created the world and knows what 
 it contains, He who made the soul and can 
 estimate its matchless worth, He hath placed 
 the matter before us in the awful and thrilling 
 question, " What shall it profit a man, if he shall 
 gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? or 
 what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? " 
 How pitiably foolish, then, the conduct of him 
 who loseth that for which a world would be a 
 poor exchange! And if to lose be foolish, to 
 neglect is miserable trifling. And yet, are there 
 none of you, brethren, who are in this way foolish, 
 and dangerously rash ? Have none toiled through 
 the days and months of another year, and lived 
 without a comfort higher than the vanities of 
 this perishing world ; and when they review the 
 
9 
 
 year, and weigh it in the balance of the sanctuary, 
 it is but to feel the folly and wretchedness of a 
 neglected soul!* 
 
 But we have not yet fully sketched the 
 opposite picture : we have only viewed the con- 
 dition of him who, in the full light of blessed 
 and glorious promise, loseth his own soul. There 
 is a folly of deeper dye, which would form the 
 exact counterpart to the words of our text. Very 
 uncommon is the case of one who loseth only his 
 own soul. Sin is but seldom single, and it is 
 because sinners "encourage themselves in mis- 
 chief," that Satan's kingdom grows apace. We 
 have, then, to think of the awful state of him who 
 destroyeth souls : oh, surely folly is too light a 
 word to characterise such sin. Here, again, we 
 want words adequately to describe it ; and yet 
 how common is it, how sure the downward course, 
 commencing in the neglect of the soul, and 
 passing on to the ruin and destruction of the 
 souls of others! There may, then, be some 
 before me who have thus neglected the one 
 thing needful, the concern of their souls ; and if 
 that be so, I feel very confident that they have 
 also injured, more or less, the souls of their 
 fellow-creatures. May God convince them, ere 
 it be too late, of their awful folly! 
 
 * It is not a little remarkable that the expression, 
 universally employed by the Indian, when speaking of one 
 who refuses to embrace Christianity, is, " He is too foolish, 
 — Oosam kakepatissu." 
 
10 
 
 In looking thus at the picture of him who 
 loseth his own soul, and who beyond that destroys 
 the souls of others, you feel, brethren, as if you 
 were looking down into the gulf, — the lake 
 which burns with brimstone and with fire. You 
 recognise that the seeds of eternal death are sown 
 by the sinner upon earth. His conscience, when 
 he allows it to speak, would tell him that the 
 years are not really gone, but only their records 
 sealed up against the day of judgment. And, 
 after this gaze into the depth below, we may 
 perhaps the better arise to breathe a purer air, 
 and comprehend the full force and blessedness of 
 the happier path which the text unfolds. 
 
 We are now the better pi:epared to consider 
 what it is that we are invited to win. It is 
 the soul, which originally came from God, when 
 He breathed into man the breath of life — that 
 which was at first in the image and likeness of 
 God; that part of man which is most akin to God 
 and which thus possesses the capacity of endless 
 existence.* It is, however, this soul defaced and 
 marred, bearing but little trace of its high glory, 
 the soul under condemnation and the curse, — it 
 is this soul that we are to win. Its value we 
 best learn by the price paid for it; each soul 
 
 * On the subject of the Soul, we know not any works 
 more worthy of general recommendation than two by living 
 clergymen of our Church : " The History of the Soul," by 
 the Eev. J. Hambleton; and "The Soul's Life," by the 
 Rev. E. Garbett. 
 
11 
 
 is the purchase of the Redeemer's bitter agony, 
 the travail of His souL Over each, so. saved, 
 He would say, " Deliver it from going down into 
 the pit ; I have found a ransom." And each one 
 becomes then a jewel in the Saviour's crown : 
 " They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day 
 when I make up my jewels." Over them and 
 with them He will rejoice through the countless 
 ages of eternity. With such a view of the soul 
 in its original essence, in its ruin, its recovery' 
 and high destiny, how absorbing ought to be 
 man's eagerness to save his soul ; and, when once 
 secure of his own salvation, and possessed of the 
 glorious liberty of the children of God, how 
 intense ought to be his desire to save others ! 
 Can he remain unconcerned while others float 
 down the tide unawakened ? can he behold them 
 rush heedlessly to the brink of the precipice, and 
 not stretch out the helping hand? The joy of 
 having, under God, saved one soul, who can 
 estimate? The parent knows the feeling who 
 has rejoiced over a wandering child brought 
 back to Grod; and the youthful minister, when 
 the first case of a blessing having rested on the 
 feeble words of his lips is brought to his ears, 
 feels a thrill of unwonted pleasure, a new and 
 peculiar emotion, which more than repays all 
 past labour. But we need not limit expectation 
 to a single soul ; very encouraging is the fulness 
 of the text, and we need not rest in that gush of 
 feeling, which arises on the first felt consciousness 
 
12 
 
 of usefulness under God. To win souls is our 
 high endeavour. The parent looks around, and 
 while he sees any of his children without the 
 evidence of grace, he would adopt the language 
 of the Patriarch and say, " I will not let thee go 
 except thou bless" them. He brings yet another 
 and another before the throne, until God gra- 
 ciously gives him the souls of all of them as his 
 reward. And so, in a larger and more extended 
 sphere, the minister of God marks the weak, the 
 tempted, the erring, and seeks to bring them 
 into the fold ; and the changed life would prove 
 the converted heart, the peaceful death-bed give 
 token of ripeness for glory. Pass, then, beyond, 
 and here are souls, not single ones, added to the 
 throng of the redeemed — voices to swell the eternal 
 song. To contribute to this, however feebly, is 
 surely worthy of our highest ambition ; it is 
 worth living for, and is not confined to any, but 
 open in measure to all. It would sweeten earth 
 by the way, and would add to the very joy of 
 heaven, when " they that be wise shall shine as 
 the brightness of the firmament, and they that 
 turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever 
 and ever." 
 
 The difficulty, however, of the task has not 
 yet sufficiently appeared ; and recent events 
 would prove that victory may be long delayed, 
 and success itself endangered, by not duly con- 
 sidering the difficulties in the way, and neglecting 
 in consequence the necessary preparation. We 
 
13 
 
 must, therefore, notice from whose grasp we are to 
 rescue and deliver the soul, and then the arduous 
 nature of the entire enterprise will be obvious. 
 
 It is from Satan that we are to wrest the 
 soul. As he tempted our first parents, so will 
 he continue to tempt until the last saint is trans- 
 lated from earth to heaven. Now, the amount 
 of his power may be seen, if we view his awful 
 ravages from the hour of the fall. A deceiver, 
 a destroyer of souls, a murderer from the be- 
 ginning, six thousand years have not weakened 
 his power, nor led him to cease from his work of 
 ruin. His power may be seen in the many mil- 
 lions on the face of the earth, still held by him 
 in cruel bondage, in darkness, and the shadow 
 of death, without God and without hope. It 
 may be seen, even where the Gospel reigns. 
 Among nations the most favoured with light, 
 how many are still his willing slaves ! Against 
 one then so mighty we have to enter the lists, 
 and to contend, not in open or solitary combat, 
 but in a dark and subtle warfare with him, 
 assisted by the hosts of evil, the lost spirits, who 
 own him as their chief and head. Fearful, the 
 conflict even with that " spirit which worketh 
 in the children of disobedience;" but, besides 
 him, there are those whose name is Legion, with 
 one and all of whom we have to wrestle, — " the 
 principalities and powers, the rulers of the dark- 
 ness of this world, the wicked spirits (marg.) in 
 high places." 
 
14 
 
 What a host — if our eyes, like those of the 
 prophet's servant, were opened to behold them — 
 all contending for the soul ! If glory is to be 
 measured by those engaged in the strife and 
 the issues at stake, how noble the ambition to 
 join in this warfare ! While we feel that " we 
 have no might against this great company that 
 Cometh against us,'' our confidence would be 
 that " the battle is not ours, but God's." We 
 see Satan vanquished by the Lord of life, and we 
 behold herein the pledge, that the humblest 
 child of God may overcome, if only strong in 
 faith he say, " Get thee behind me, Satan." 
 We have the cheering promise of ultimate vic- 
 tory, that " the captives of the mighty shall be 
 taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be 
 delivered.'' We trace a commencement of wan- 
 ing power from the Redeemer's words, '' I beheld 
 Satan, like lightning, fall from heaven ;" and we 
 can perceive ever since a crumbling and shaking 
 of his kingdom throughout the world. To win 
 a soul, then, is to assist in wresting it from the 
 god of this world, and translating it from the 
 kingdom of Satan into that of God's own dear 
 Son, 
 
 But there is yet difiiculty beyond; there is 
 an ally strong and powerful, from whom also we 
 have to rescue the soul. Satan has those who 
 are willing to aid and abet him in his assaults, 
 ready to deliver up and betray the citadel. The 
 human heart, and all its corrupt desires, are in 
 
15 
 
 league with him. Sin is an additional enemy 
 on his side, enthroned within ; and of this we 
 have the evidence of the common language and 
 confession of the world. How often do we hear 
 it said, that such a man is his own worst enemy 
 — the foe of his own peace — his higher interests 
 — his eternal well-heing ! And thus Satan slays 
 his thousands, and Sin his tens of thousands ; 
 and we are called to weep over lost and ruined 
 souls. The minister of God is too often re- 
 garded as an enemy, because he tells the truth, 
 while the real enemy is within, and the arch- 
 enemy of souls is exulting over his victim, and 
 holding him in galling chains. How arduous, 
 then, when Self and Satan are ranged together ! 
 But even for this we prepare ourselves. We en- 
 deavour to strip sin of its deceitful covering, to 
 unmask the man to himself, and show him the 
 serpent he cherishes in his bosom, the poison 
 which is preying on his vitals, and the promise 
 which sustains us in the assurance of our God, 
 " that he which converteth a sinner from the 
 error of his way shall save a soul from death, 
 and shall hide a multitude of sins." 
 
 And this brings us to the further thought, 
 which nerves us for any endurance in the 
 struggle. It is from Sin and Satan that we 
 would save the soul now, but it is from Eternal 
 Death hereafter. The cup of intoxication is 
 sweetened to the taste, but there is death in it ; 
 the path of pleasure is flowery, but it leads to 
 
16 
 
 the abodes of darkness ; "the way seemeth 
 right unto a man, but the end thereof are the 
 ways of death." And very awful is the declara* 
 tion, that " wide is the gate and broad is the 
 way that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
 be which go in thereat." Now, surely, it were 
 a blessed task to proclaim deliverance to those 
 ready to die, to go forth in the name of our God, 
 and cry to the perishing, *' Turn ye, turn ye ; 
 why will ye die ?" and to lead them to the city 
 of refuge. To rescue one from the bondage of 
 sin and Satan, and from the place of everlasting 
 torment, — what a mighty work ! what a delight 
 to the soul to think of here ! what a matter of 
 joyful reflection through eternity! " For what 
 is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are 
 not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ at his coming ? " 
 
 If such, then, be the difficulty of the task — 
 such the great enemy of souls and his well-mar- 
 shalled hosts — such the ever-active allies, on 
 whose ready co-operation he can count, — if it be 
 to rescue the soul from that everlasting misery 
 prepared for the wicked and all who forget God, 
 so as to be able to say of each, " Is not this a 
 brand plucked from the burning?" — how, we 
 may surely ask, can these things be, since any 
 power or might of man must be as powerless as 
 were the lamps and pitchers of Gideon, or the 
 withes with which Samson was bound ? Now, 
 it might be sufficient to say, that if God has 
 
17 
 
 told us, " He that winneth souls is wise," He 
 will give to those who essay it in His strength a 
 wisdom which all their adversaries shall not be 
 able to gainsay or resist. If Christ has said, " I 
 will make you fishers of men," He will see that 
 we neither run nor labour in vain. But having 
 set in array the battle that is against us, we 
 ought perhaps, on this day, when a year, with 
 all its trials, its joys, and sorrows, lies before 
 us, — a year, with all its opportunities for ga- 
 thering in souls into the fold of the Lord, — we 
 ought, from this height and vantage-ground, to 
 review, for our encouragement, the forces that 
 are on our side, that we may have a lively con- 
 fidence that " those that be with us are more 
 than they that be with them." 
 
 How, then, we ask, can we expect to win 
 souls ? And we hesitate not to answer, By the 
 Spirit. " Not by might, nor by power, but by 
 my Spirit, saith the Lord." The only power 
 that can resist and subdue the evil spirit is the 
 Spirit of God ; the only power that can expel 
 the strong man armed is the stronger than he ; 
 the only power that can rescue the soul from the 
 fire prepared for the devil and his angels is the 
 Spirit that can make us the children of God, and 
 heirs of heaven. It is the Spirit alone that can 
 bless the means employed, and make them efi"ec- 
 tual " to the pulling down of strongholds, and 
 every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of God." Apart from it the earth 
 
lies in desolation, and sin and Satan hold an un- 
 disputed sway, " until the Spirit be poured upon 
 us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful 
 field.'' The Spirit of the Lord, then, must work 
 with us, and by us, if we are to win souls. It is 
 for this reason that the question is proposed in 
 our Service to those about to be ordained, — "Do 
 you trust that you are inwardly moved by the 
 Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and 
 ministration, to serve God, for the promoting of 
 His glory, and the edifying of His people ? " It 
 is for this reason that, in the case of all those to 
 be admitted to the higher office of the ministry, 
 we earnestly pray that they might •' receive, the 
 Holy Ghost, for the office and work of a priest 
 in the Church of God." It is because we trust 
 that you have pondered over this, that your 
 desire would be to serve God in the ministry of 
 His Son, to be men of God, " full of the Holy 
 Ghost and of faith," like Barnabas, ready to say 
 with Paul, '' Yet not I, but the grace of God 
 that is in me," that we regard with hope and 
 joyful anticipation the services of this day. If 
 on all of us, my Reverend Brethren, the Spirit 
 of the Lord were to come mightily, as on Sam- 
 son of old, then, as workers together with God, 
 what might we not accomplish? As ambas- 
 sadors, we have our message, to pray men *' in 
 Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God;" as 
 stewards, we have our treasure, our portion of 
 food to distribute to each ; as preachers, we have 
 
19 
 
 the oracles of the living God to unfold, in demon- 
 stration of the Spirit and in power. 
 
 And this would bring out to view another 
 agency, by which many souls are irresistibly 
 overcome — an agency to which thousands and 
 tens of thousands of those in glory shall through 
 eternity trace the first seeds of grace — we mean, 
 the Word of the living God. It was the weapon 
 by which the evil one was foiled by the Re- 
 deemer, and it is the weapon by which the Spirit 
 still acts in robbing Satan of his spoils. It is 
 described as " quick and powerful, and sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, piercing to the di- 
 viding asunder of the joints and marrow." It 
 pierces the soul to the very quick, but into the 
 wound so opened it pours the oil and balm of 
 heavenly consolation. It then feeds the soul 
 with food convenient for it ; it comforts under 
 every sorrow, builds up and establishes in the 
 faith ; it is a word in season to guide and direct 
 in every varying circumstance. It becomes "pro- 
 fitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
 for instruction in righteousness, that the man of 
 God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto 
 all good works." It is the armoury from which 
 we draw our spiritual weapons ; it is the wisdom 
 of God, which makes foolish the wisdom of this 
 world. 
 
 But, besides the Spirit and the Word, there 
 is a human agency of mighty power, through the 
 
 B 2 
 
20 
 
 blessing of God, in winning souls. Small in 
 itself and mean, and oftentimes despised, it is 
 the instrument to which God has attached pre- 
 cious promises, and to which He would give 
 distinguished honour. When we think of the 
 asrents and the effects which follow, we can only 
 ascribe the glory to Grod, and feel that the ex- 
 cellency of the power must be of Him, and not 
 of us. We can only say, " Even so. Father, for 
 so it seemeth good in thy sight ; it hath pleased 
 thee, by the foolishness of preaching, to save 
 them that believe." There is, however, a mar- 
 vellous adaptation here, which commends itself 
 to our finer feelings and our calmer judgment, 
 and which, if duly contemplated, ought to lead 
 us to the most untiring energy. Who should 
 better preach salvation than the saved ? Who 
 should better warn the tempted than they who 
 have suffered under temptation ? Who should 
 better declare the terrors of judgment than they 
 who have felt the powers of the world to come ? 
 Who should better lead to the foot of the cross 
 than those who have found there " joy and peace 
 in believing ?" 
 
 What a blessed view of Preaching this, that 
 it is God's ordinance to win souls ! How 
 anxious ought the preacher to be " to find out 
 acceptable words," even words of delight (marg.). 
 There are some admirable sermons, of two cen- 
 turies back, which bear the title " Words to 
 
21 
 
 Win Souls : " * now let us remember, that this is 
 but the definition of what all sermons should be, 
 words to win souls. It is the exhibition of the 
 Saviour, His love, His pity for lost souls, His 
 death, His intercession, His glory in and with 
 His people through eternity : it is this which 
 wins souls. He that does this with most of 
 unction and persuasive power, wins gently, as 
 " with cords of a man and bands of love ; " 
 attracted in his own heart to the cross, he acts as 
 a magnet to attract others. It was told me by 
 more than one of him with whom I first laboured 
 in the Gospel,t that it was his winning and loving 
 exhibition of divine truth which first led them to 
 the cross ; and it is, I believe, this affectionate 
 tenderness, this yearning for souls, breathed from 
 lips touched by the Spirit, which is most eminently 
 blessed by God. Yet let us remember that it is 
 the whole counsel of God which is to win souls ; 
 we are to mingle the terrors of the Lord with the 
 gentler entreaty ; we are to imitate the Saviour, 
 one while weeping over Jerusalem, at another 
 moment boldly rebuking the Jews ; we are to 
 copy the Apostle, with his milk for babes and 
 stronger meat for the more matured, becoming 
 " all things to all men, that he might by all means 
 save some." 
 
 * " Words to Win Souls." Twelve Sermons, preached 
 1620-1650. Edited by the Kev. T. S. Millington. 
 
 t The Rev. John Jones, for thirty-five years minister 
 of St. Andrew's Church, Liverpool; now Archdeacon of 
 Liverpool. 
 
22 
 
 Study then, beloved brethren, this heavenly 
 art of winning souls, for it alone is true wisdom. 
 Wise, surely, it is to have the Lord on our side, 
 to be engaged in doing battle for him against the 
 hosts of evil ; wise to labour for eternity rather 
 than time ; wise to lead another to cast his crown 
 at the Kedeemer's feet, to secure thus another 
 and another partaker of endless joy ; wise, God 
 aiding us, to diminish the number of the wretched 
 and those eternally lost, and fill heaven with wor- 
 shippers from redeemed and saved souls. 
 
 In conclusion, remember that this, brethren, 
 is incumbent in measure on all ; for example is 
 very winning, as well as the exhortation of the 
 pulpit. Let others see that you have been with 
 Jesus by the graces of a holy life, and you will 
 soon be made the blessed instrument of winning 
 some soul. Enter, then, on this blessed course, 
 and make it a growing principle of your renewed 
 life. If all who bear the name of the Lord Jesus 
 regarded it as their high privilege, how many 
 would be added to the number of God's believing 
 people in a single year ! Let, then, parental ex- 
 ample become a living power, active and energetic 
 for the Lord ; let friendship be more than a bare 
 name, let its highest pleasure be to bring others 
 to the Redeemer; and then the present year might 
 be one of holy endeavour, and we doubt not of 
 sure success. Then our hope and ambition would 
 centre not on the objects with which we are 
 encompassed here, but on those unfading glories 
 
which are at God's right hand. We should be 
 laying up treasures in heaven, and each year 
 would only carry us nearer to the land where our 
 heart and affections are already fixed. 
 
 In the past year you may have experienced 
 losses. Such is the case with many ; they look 
 back, and, though surrounded with unnumbered 
 blessings, they cannot banish the thought that 
 one is not, that their little circle has been lessened, 
 a familiar face wanting. Such is the lesson and 
 warning of each year, teaching us better than the 
 preacher's voice the wisdom of saving our own 
 souls, and seeking to win, if God permit, the 
 souls of others. 
 
 Each year proves how uncertain are both the 
 time and the manner of death. The last gathered 
 into this churchyard was a little one, whose cheer- 
 ful face had gladdened us but a short time, who 
 had been brought hither in the fond hope that 
 his strength might be renewed by his native air, 
 and yet a few weeks' illness carries him off.* 
 And you surely have not forgotten how, during 
 the course of the year, the swift messenger of 
 death, which might have overtaken any of us, 
 took one away on the evening of God's blessed 
 day, who had learned, with eagerness, his hymn 
 that morning, and then joined in the worship of 
 the sanctuary with God's people. In a moment 
 his spirit was called home,t and, in the interval 
 
 « See Appendix B (1). t See Appendix B (2). 
 
24 
 
 between these deaths, our feelings of Christian 
 sympathy were awakened by the loss of one, 
 coming to settle in this land on an errand of 
 mercv, anxious to cast in her lot with those who 
 forsake all for Christ, borne in safety over the 
 perils of the mighty deep, and yet, within but an 
 hour of reaching the spot where one . was anxi- 
 ously waiting to take her the final stage of her 
 journey, the hand of death arrests her. As in 
 the former case the lightning, so here the tem- 
 pest, the strong gale at sunrise, carries her away, 
 and her body lies in the lake until that hour 
 when the sea is to give up the dead that are 
 in it.* 
 
 These cases we mention, because in each we 
 may believe that death was gain ; their souls, we 
 humbly trust, are saved, and there is hope, yea, 
 abundant consolation in their death. But surely 
 these cases would teach us, as we enter on a new 
 year, that in it the youngest present to-day may 
 be the first taken, that in such an hour as we 
 think not the call of death may come to any. 
 
 But, while it is incumbent on all to win souls, 
 and to be as epistles of Christ, known and read 
 of all men, it is, brethren beloved, who are about 
 to bind yourselves to the service of the sanctuary 
 — it is your very calling, the element of your 
 daily life. May the prayer of the excellent 
 writer on the Christian Ministry be imprinted on 
 
 * See Appendix B (3). 
 
25 
 
 your memories, and fulfilled in your experience : 
 '' God grant that no minister of Christ may spend 
 a day without labouring to win at least one soul 
 for heaven I " 
 
 We send you forth, then, to win souls ; how 
 many may be given to each of you we cannot tell ; 
 Lord, thou knowest. Much of your future 
 success may depend on your earnest and effectual 
 prayers this day. Let your cry be for many to 
 that Saviour, who sees in them of the fruit of the 
 travail of His soul and is satisfied. Let the 
 return of each new year be a period of solemn 
 reckoning. You cannot forget the day on which 
 you pledged yourself to the work of winning 
 souls ; each anniversary will force itself on your 
 recollection, and perhaps the words of our text 
 may arise up before you, and suggest the question, 
 Where are the souls won ? Can I point to them 
 on earth, the seals and tokens of my ministry — 
 can I point to them in heaven, gone before to the 
 rest of the Lord ? 
 
 To each of you there is a separate sphere. 
 We send you forth again, beloved brother, to 
 your own countrymen, and God Almighty give 
 you favour in their sight.* We send you forth 
 with a higher commission, and more adequately 
 furnished with a larger portion of God's word to 
 lay before them. Twice you have endeavoured 
 to fix and plant yourself, and twice the effort has 
 
 * See Appendix C (1). 
 
2f) 
 
 proved unsuccessful. Now there may be a pro- 
 vidence in this ; God may be carrying you about 
 to bear testimony in each spot. He may yet be 
 unvsrilling to chain you down, and if so we fetter 
 you not ; but as you go, preach to each and all 
 saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
 
 To you again, my beloved brother, who, after 
 a year of faithful and laborious occupation, come 
 before us for deserved promotion to-day, a dou- 
 ble vineyard is intrusted.* Your contact with 
 souls is unceasing. With the little ones in the 
 week, with those of every age, and rank, and 
 condition on the Sabbath ; blessed opportunities 
 of scattering the good seed ! I cannot doubt that 
 in so large a school, the affectionate explanation 
 of the first principles of divine truth, the breaking 
 the bread of life into fragments as they are able 
 to bear it, will win some of them, who will at the 
 last day arise to call you blessed. Nor is there a 
 better preparation for usefulness in the pulpit, 
 than that necessary simplicity forced upon you 
 through the week. Those are often found the 
 most effective preachers, whose experience has 
 been much drawn from intercourse with the 
 young. 
 
 More solemn still is the occasion for you, my 
 younger brother. You lay hold for the first time 
 to-day of the ark of the living God ; you go to 
 a new, but not altogether an untried work.t 
 
 * See Appendix C (2). f See Appendix C (3). 
 
27 
 
 Follow out the method already adopted this 
 winter. On arriving at the Saskatchewan, an 
 Indian parish will be before you, the means and 
 appliances ready to your hand, — the church, the 
 school, the lively oracles. Others have laboured, 
 you will enter into their labours. Lest it should 
 weigh too heavily on you, you will be associated 
 ' for a time with one of long experience and full 
 knowledge of his countrymen. Your great work 
 will be to build up the living stones, as a spiritual 
 temple. You have inherited a certain amount of 
 medical knowledge and skill; regard that as a 
 special gift, for you will be many hundred miles 
 from any physician. The knowledge has been of 
 signal use, especially in the Chinese missions ; it 
 has opened the way to many hearts, and it is not 
 too much to say, that instrumentally it has led 
 to the winning of souls. Be it so in your case. 
 Labour, however, for the body only with a view 
 to the soul ; promote the temporal good of the 
 poor Indian in every way, but let the condition 
 of his soul through the long ages of eternity be 
 the one thought lying nearest to your heart. 
 
 And now, beloved, when we all go hence 
 from the house of God to our respective duties, 
 let us feel that we have one common work, one 
 contest in which each and all may obtain victory. 
 It is because of this warfare that God still spares 
 our earth, and adds one year after another to its 
 duration, that some souls may yet be gathered in 
 
28 
 
 before the great day of final judgment. May, 
 then, the Lord bless and keep you through the 
 present year ; and may He sanctify you, body, 
 soul, and spirit. May He give you in it in- 
 creasing happiness in Himself, and of worldly 
 happiness what He sees expedient, so that all 
 things may work together for your present and 
 everlasting good. 
 
 In vain, however, have our words been spoken 
 this morning, unless they lead you to pray very 
 earnestly for yourselves, for us, and for those still 
 in darkness. Watch over the pearl of inestimable 
 value committed to your keeping. Is your own 
 soul safe ? If not, let there be no delay ; let 
 the opening year arouse you to give attention to 
 the one thing needful ; and rest not, until you 
 have made "your calling and election sure." But, 
 if this is already your great concern, pray for a 
 large increase of grace, that you may live 
 adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour, and 
 reflecting His glory ; so that, whenever death 
 may come, your soul may be found without spot 
 and blemish at the day of His appearance. And 
 pray for us, for a heavier weight is laid upon us, 
 for we watch for your souls as those that must 
 give account ; we have to save ourselves and 
 those who hear us. But, if you are feUow- 
 workers with us, our burden is lightened, and 
 the pleasure of the Lord prospers in our hands. 
 Pray also for the heathen, for the time is short 
 
29 
 
 during which their souls can be won ; let us be 
 more active to win than Satan to destroy ; and 
 let us think of that blessed time, when, with 
 some saved souls, we hope to enter for ever into 
 the joy of the Lord. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A, page 7. 
 
 The following passage from a sermon preached in 
 London during the earlier part of the year, describes 
 in very forcible language that which may be termed the 
 characteristic of the year, and on which we had dwelt in 
 anticipation at its commencement : — 
 
 " God has given to us, in the present day, opportu- 
 nities which would have filled the minds of the Apostles 
 with praise and wonder. The day may be characterised 
 as the age of openings ; for never since the creation have 
 there been openings so manifold, or so magnificent, as 
 in this year 1855. Vast continents which, a few years 
 ago, were sealed against the Gospel, are now open to it. 
 It is scarcely fifty years ago that Wilberforce was called 
 to contend for liberty to send missions forth to India; 
 but now nearly the whole of those vast dominions, with 
 the Punjaub and Burmah, are open without impediment. 
 It is scarcely ten years ago that China was sealed against 
 us; but now old barriers seem rapidly to be breaking, 
 if not already broken, and the Chinese Wall is no longer 
 able to exclude the Bible. Even Turkey seems to be 
 giving way; and we begin to see as one result of our 
 present anxieties, that the whole Ottoman empire is 
 being rapidly laid open to missionary effort." — Gifts of 
 the Kingdom, Lect. x., Rev. E. Hoaee. 
 
31 
 
 B, page 23. 
 
 1. John, youngest son of John Swans ton. Esq , Chief 
 Factor, Hudson's Bay Company, Fort Garry. He had 
 only arrived in the Red River in October, and had 
 scarcely attended the Collegiate School a week when he 
 was seized with severe illness, which carried him off in 
 less than a month. 
 
 2. George Horsfall, a young Indian boy of great 
 promise, from Fort Pelly. He had lived on the estab- 
 lishment for upwards of a year; and was on his way 
 from St. John's to my own house, when he was struck 
 by lightning on the footpath below St. Cross, on the 
 evening of Sunday, July 15th. He appeared to have 
 died instantaneously, and was only slightly scorched 
 along the breast. A picket of the adjoining fence, within 
 a couple of yards of him, bore the marks of fire having 
 passed oiev it. 
 
 3. Miss Greenleaf, sister-in-law of the Rev. W. 
 Stagg. She had come out to join and assist her sister 
 by the Prince of Wales, and had reached York Factory 
 in safety. On her passage thence, when crossing Lake 
 Winnipeg, within an hour of meeting her brother-in-law, 
 who was waiting to convey her to Fairford, she was 
 drowned by the upsetting of the boat on the sandy bar 
 off Berens River. Her body never rose to the surface, 
 and every effort to recover it proved at the time in- 
 effectual. The lake then setting fast, the search was 
 necessarily abandoned ; and it was not until six months 
 after the delivery of this sermon, and nearly nine after 
 its immersion in the water, that the body was found by 
 an Indian, and brought to Mr. Cummings the post- 
 master, who carefully interred it for the time in the 
 
32 
 
 small burymg-ground near the Fort. It was com- 
 paratively but little changed, having been preserved 
 during this long period by the intense frost and the low 
 temperature of the water. 
 
 C, page 25. 
 
 1. The Rev. James Settee, admitted to Priest's orders. 
 He had been first appointed to commence a station on 
 the Red- deer's River, but the height of the water 
 rendered this impracticable. He then attempted to 
 settle near Shoal River, but the Indians did not gather 
 around, so as to give sufficient encouragement. He is 
 now placed at Fairford as his head-quarters, from which 
 he is to itinerate, and undertake missionary tours to 
 Berens River, Shoal River, and Fort Pelly. 
 
 2. The Rev. W. West Kirkby, formerly of the 
 Metropolitan Training College, Highbury, ordained 
 Priest. He is master of the Church Missionary Society's 
 Model Training School, and assistant minister of St. 
 Andrew's Church, Red River. 
 
 3. The Rev. H. George, son of Henry George, Esq., 
 Sui-geon, Kensington, ordained Deacon. While pre- 
 paring for orders, he laboured as a catechist at Fort 
 Alexander. Owing to my approaching departure from 
 the diocese, he was subsequently ordained Priest on 
 June 1st. He then proceeded at once to take charge 
 of the Indian Station at Christ Church, Cumberland, 
 where he is for a time associated with the Rev. Henry 
 Budd. 
 
 London :—PriutC!<J by G. Barclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
THE HEART GIVEN TO GOD 
 AND THE WORK: 
 
 ^rlrmafe ^^rm0it, 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD, 
 
 ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1856. 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LO-KD BISHOP OF RUPEKl's LAND. 
 
 |MbIigl^«b bg isqucst. 
 
 LONDON: 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 1857. 
 
LONDON: 
 Printed by G. 13akclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
TO THE EIGHT EEVEKEND 
 
 SAMUEL, 
 
 tOKD BISHOP OF OXFORD, LOED HIGH ALMONER TO THE QUEEN, 
 
 CHANCELLOR OF THE ORDER OF THE GAETER, 
 
 AND TO THOSE 
 
 ORDAINED PEIESTS AND DEACONS 
 
 IN THE CATHEDRAL OF CHEIST CHURCH, OXFORD, 
 
 ON SUNDAY, DEC. 21, 1856, 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY ONE 
 
 WHO OFTEN, WHEN AFAE OFF, 
 
 THINKS UPON OXFORD AND THE PAST. 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 "My son, give me thine heart." — Prov. xxiii. 26. 
 
 Of the four appointed Ordination Seasons, the 
 one which follows Whitsunday, and that which 
 precedes Christmas, are, from their attendant 
 circumstances, the most impressive. And even, 
 if the former possesses its feature of distin- 
 guishing interest from being associated with the 
 outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early 
 Church, yet, viewed in every light, the latter 
 has, perhaps, a larger number of recommenda- 
 tions peculiarly its own. We have preceding it 
 the three striking preparatory Collects ; the one, 
 which, with the opening of the Ecclesiastical 
 year, places us in the attitude of an expectant 
 Church, looking out for the rapidly approaching 
 Advent of our Lord ; the second, which pleads 
 for the fuller and deeper comprehension of that 
 Word, which is the Church's peculiar treasure ; 
 and the third, which prays for a larger and more 
 extended blessing on the Ministers of Grod. 
 And then comes this intervening Sunday, set 
 
apart with such suitable preparation for or- 
 daining the heralds of the Cross. They go forth 
 on. their work and errand, to commence their 
 labours, and open their high commission, with 
 that which was the burden of the angelic an- 
 nouncement, " Glory to God in the highest, on 
 earth peace, good will towards men." 
 
 Whatever, too, is gained by numbers, asso- 
 ciated together with the same object and at the 
 same time, is secured. It is the season most 
 universally selected for the purpose over the face 
 of England. In almost every cathedral the same 
 solemn work is advancing this morning, and very 
 large will be the multitude of preachers sent 
 forth to-day, added to the number of those who 
 are already witnesses for the Redeemer.* If, 
 then, there be any efficacy in united prayer — in 
 many voices urging the same entreaty on the ear 
 of the Most High ; if, even when two or three 
 agree together as touching any petition that they 
 present, there is a corresponding promise of an 
 answer from above, then have we every reason 
 to expect that some blessing may be poured out 
 upon us in answer to the supplications offered, 
 not only by those ordained, but by those con- 
 nected with them, by family ties, or friendship, 
 or ministerial bonds. 
 
 * By the returns of the week, the number reported was 
 293. Allowing for some omissions and including a few 
 ordinations on the preceding Sundays and those abroad, the 
 total would amount to more than 400. 
 
7 
 
 Beyond this, in the providence of God, it is 
 now permitted us to extend the range of our 
 thoughts. Not only is it a season so closely 
 linked with the welfare of each Diocese at home, 
 it is that most commonly observed also over the 
 widely extending field of labour abroad.* There, 
 too, are others joining with us to-day, and could 
 we bring into one view their position as similarly 
 engaged, from the distant East to the remotest 
 West, it would present the animating spectacle 
 of simultaneous prayer for one common end — 
 prayer for those who so deeply need it, the am- 
 bassadors of the Saviour throughout every region 
 of a fallen world. 
 
 Now, besides these peculiar advantages of the 
 present season, there is one which our ordina- 
 tions in general possess, and which is almost 
 limited to our own communion, the blending 
 together of the two services for the different 
 orders of the ministry. It is a matter of no little 
 interest to find assembled together those who, 
 for the first time, and it may be with trembUng 
 anxiety, lay hold of the Ark of the Lord ; it is 
 
 * We have ourselves held seven ordinations in the seven 
 years at this season ; five of them as on this very Sunday ; 
 in 1853, for other reasons the ordination took place on 
 Christmas Day ; and our last vras necessarily deferred for 
 one week, until the opening day of the new year. In this 
 way it has been our privilege, in the providence of God, to 
 hold our ordination at the Red Eiver on January 1, 1856, 
 ^nd on December 21 of the same year to preach the ordina- 
 tion sermon within the walls of our own University. 
 
surely for their encouragement that others are 
 presented along with them, who have put their 
 hand to the plough, and would still go forward — 
 who have essayed the work, and, after a period 
 of trial, would now appear to testify that they 
 serve a good and gracious Master — that they 
 have felt enjoyment in His service, and are 
 anxious to devote to it their lives. There ought 
 to be something cheering to the very youngest, 
 in the presence of others who come to renew 
 and ratify their former pledges, while a sympathy 
 must surely be felt by such as have purchased to 
 themselves a good degree towards those who step 
 in to occupy their places, and to fill up the pro- 
 bationary rank which our Church has so wisely 
 retained. 
 
 The combination may, it is true, increase a 
 little the difficulty of the preacher, in selecting 
 his topics of address and making it exactly 
 suitable for those at the very outset of their 
 ministry, and those who have already tasted of 
 its pleasantness, and, I must add, of its weighty 
 responsibilities. Yet to both I trust that the 
 words chosen may not be without profit. To all 
 men, indeed, without any distinction of class, the 
 voice of God appeals through the wise king, 
 " My son, give me thine heart;" but if there be 
 any whose portion is peculiarly the Lord, and 
 who are in measure removed from the cares and 
 business of life and separated to the sanctuary, 
 to them surely the words of the royal preacher 
 
9 
 
 would pre-eminently apply. May the good Spirit 
 of God aid us in contemplating from the passage, 
 the heart given to God and to the work, as the 
 great foundation of ministerial usefulness. 
 
 The first and leading subject of thought thus 
 presented would be the necessity of the heart 
 being given to God by all who would labour with 
 success in winning souls. 
 
 Now this would take us into a hidden sphere, 
 and carry us deeper than anything which man 
 can fully discover. The ministry is in its very 
 nature a spiritual work ; its object is to exert an 
 influence upon the human soul and produce a 
 change within ; and before one can thus act 
 upon another, before there can be any sufficient 
 or adequate motive to lead one to plead with a 
 fellow-creature regarding his eternal welfare, the 
 heart must be entirely and unreservedly given 
 to God. While there is much that is encou- 
 raging to-day in the circumstances with which 
 you are sent forth — much that is calculated to 
 fill your mind with deep and lively emotion, and 
 on which you may reflect with advantage to your 
 latest hour, there is beforehand a secret matter 
 between you and your God — a preliminary ques- 
 tion into which no previous examination can 
 fully enter, which no friend, however familiar, 
 can decide for you, but which you have, we trust, 
 settled with your God. It has its appropriate 
 prominence in our services. After all has been 
 done during the week in the way of examination. 
 
10 
 
 and of affectionate and earnest exhortation, the 
 first question to be proposed this morning is 
 couched in those searching and penetrating 
 words, " Do you trust that you are inwardly 
 moved by the Holy Ghost ?" or as, with equal so- 
 lemnity, and more closely bearing on our subject, 
 to those to be ordained Priests, " Do you think 
 in your hearts that you be truly called ? " Here, 
 then, is the direct appeal to your hearts in the 
 presence of the heart-searching God. 
 
 The unchanged heart can surel)', then, have 
 no place here. It can only be the heart, con- 
 verted by Divine grace and at peace with God 
 through the blood of the Saviour, that can go 
 forth in humble reliance on the promised aid of 
 the Spirit. God may, indeed, vouchsafe to bless 
 where all is otherwise, and the unworthiness of 
 the minister does not, we are encouraged to 
 think, restrain the operation of His free Spirit ; 
 yet how little claim can he have to expect a 
 blessing from above, who has trifled with God 
 at so solemn a crisis, and professed with the lip 
 a dedication to God — an inward call of the 
 Spirit, of which the heart was scarcely con- 
 scious ? 
 
 Nor can the undecided heart advance with 
 that filial trust, which can lead us to feel that 
 our strength is in God. If the heart is still 
 wavering between God and the world, the hesi- 
 tation and uncertainty will soon appear in our 
 actions and in our counsels. There will be a 
 
11 
 
 want of definiteness and decision in our aim, and 
 we shall run uncertainly as those who beat the 
 air. Nothing great will be attempted, because 
 the expectation will be small ; and nothing great 
 will probably be effected, from want of suffi- 
 cient dependence on the one source of spiritual 
 blessing. 
 
 It is thus the entire surrender of the heart 
 which can alone secure for us the favour of God, 
 and undeviating happiness in our own consciences, 
 and in the various duties to which we may be 
 called. If duly sensible of the glorious liberty 
 of the children of God, we shall realise the en- 
 couragement which St. Paul gave to the youth- 
 ful Timothy, when he reminded him that " God 
 hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, 
 and of love, and of a sound mind." And the 
 whole course of our ministry will take its tone 
 and complexion from that which marks its out- 
 set. How smoothly and successfully will your 
 ministry proceed, though it may be with tempo- 
 rary trials and difficulties ; yet how surely will 
 it be blessed in its end, if you can each one of 
 you listen to the voice which cries, " My son, 
 give me thine heart," and make the uncondi- 
 tional surrender. Then, although you have 
 *' the treasure in earthen vessels, the excellency 
 of the power will be of God." 
 
 But this would bring me to pass, by a natu- 
 ral and easy transition, from the heart so given 
 to God to the heart given to the work. Now 
 
12 
 
 the ministerial work is a life, demanding the 
 whole man, even to the end, if we are to make 
 full proof of our ministry, and therefore it is 
 very difficult to analyze the work, and break it 
 up into its component parts. Nor do our limits 
 allow of our examining this life in detail. It 
 may be sufficient to trace the action of the heart 
 in the work, as called forth in study, in the house 
 of God, and in parochial visitation. 
 
 We place even in the forefront the heart in 
 study, because in this misapprehension is too 
 often prevalent. It is sometimes imagined, that 
 after the severer studies of the University are 
 over, the necessity for such study has ceased. 
 Aild yet, how different is the true state of the 
 case ! You are only furnished with the needful 
 preparation, with the weapons with which you 
 are to go forth and contend. The theory of 
 our University system would be, that the pre- 
 vious period is devoted to storing the mind with 
 the various branches of subsidiary knowledge, 
 vrhich now you are to direct to one great end. 
 The languages of antiquity have been studied 
 for the improvement of your taste, the sciences 
 have been mastered with a view to accuracy of 
 thought and reasoning, and the stores and trea- 
 sures of theology have been opened ; but as yet 
 you have only entered the porch and gateway 
 of the great master-science. It cannot be com- 
 prised within the narrow limits of a University 
 course, nor grasped with the as yet undeveloped 
 
13 
 
 faculties of the youthful mind. But a founda- 
 tion has heen laid, and on it you are invited and 
 expected to build through life. 
 
 As then many of you have, we doubt not, en- 
 tered with intense energy and full devotion of 
 heart into the studies through which you have 
 passed, and, perhaps, at the sacrifice sometimes 
 of health and strength, been absorbed and car- 
 ried away by them, so we affectionately ask of 
 you a corresponding energy and devotion of 
 heart in the yet nobler field which lies before 
 you. Nor can you be at any loss to know what 
 this field is. It would be the Bible and the 
 heart of man. And this the services of the day 
 would beautifully press upon you. It is the 
 Bible — the Scriptures of the New Testament, or 
 the full and complete volume of God — which is 
 solemnly committed to each one of you ; and in 
 the address to those of you called to the Priest- 
 hood, you are earnestly exhorted to draw all 
 your cares and studies this way : in the ques- 
 tions proposed you are asked, " Whether you will 
 be diligent in reading the Holy Scriptures, and 
 in such studies as help to the knowledge of the 
 same ?" 
 
 We cannot, then, imagine a devoted minister 
 who is not an earnest student, growing in the 
 knowledge of the word as in grace. And how 
 vast the field! the word of God in all its parts — 
 each separate book in its fulness and in its con- 
 nexion with the rest of Scripture ! This to be 
 
14 
 
 a matter of daily study, of deep and prayerful 
 consideration, so that you may bring out of your 
 treasures things new and old. This word, too, 
 in its infinitely diversified points of contact with 
 the human heart, studying it continually as the 
 physician would the various medicines adapted 
 to each form of disease. Now a certain portion 
 of well-planned study from the first will accom- 
 plish far more than even a longer period of mere 
 desultory reading. If each were induced to 
 commence on system from to-morrow's dawn, the 
 amount of knowledge gained might astonish you 
 at the year's end. But what I want to press 
 upon you is, that you have only reached the 
 starting-point; you have laid up something, 
 which you are now to use and turn to account. 
 In order to do so with effect, you must be ever 
 replenishing the stores, and going to the great 
 storehouse. And this is equally incumbent on 
 you, whether your sphere be one of seclusion 
 in the retirement of a lonely parish, or whether 
 your intellectual powers are called out by the 
 demands of a more refined congregation. In 
 the one case, labour is necessary to meet the 
 simplicity of the humble believer with the food 
 convenient for him ; in the other, toil and en- 
 deavour are no less needful to vary that which 
 is presented, and yet to intermingle the great 
 theme with every subordinate subject, to make 
 Christ and Him crucified prominent through- 
 out, yet to draw your teaching from the cere- 
 
15 
 
 monies of the law, the foreshadowing of type and 
 prophecy, or the fully developed lessons of the 
 Gospel. At all events, the injunction of the 
 Spirit by the mouth of the Apostle is one from 
 which none can escape, — "Give attendance to 
 reading;" and again, "Meditate upon these 
 things, give thyself wholly to them, that thy 
 profiting may appear unto aU." 
 
 If fed thus in study by communion with 
 Grod and his Word — if the heart is ever getting 
 fresh life from the fountain, it wiU manifest itself 
 unequivocally in the house of God. 
 
 In prayer — in offering up and leading the 
 worship of the congregation, there will be the 
 breathing and outpouring of the heart. For this 
 few rules are necessary ; as few, indeed, can be 
 given. In earthly things, we know the manner 
 of the tender and affectionate child, repairing in 
 full confidence to a parent's bosom ; and if we 
 take off all that there is of human infirmity, and 
 elevate our ideas to the throne of our heavenly 
 Father, deigning to accept the prayers of those 
 who are children of want, inviting them to pray, 
 and promising unto them the Spirit of prayer 
 and supplication, then may we arrive at the 
 proper conception of what ought to be our 
 manner of approach to God. That would be to 
 our minds the highest excellence of the minister 
 — his greatest praise, if all were led to pro- 
 nounce of him that he prays from the heart. 
 And what more fitted to call forth its highest 
 
16 
 
 emotions than when a congregation unites toge- 
 ther in the lowly confessions and earnest inter- 
 cessions of the Litany, or in the exalted praise 
 and adoration of the thanksgiving, and we feel 
 that many hearts are all in unison with the 
 expression of our lips — all sending the same 
 incense heavenward ! 
 
 How suitable this introduction of heartfelt 
 prayer for that which follows, in which we stand 
 alone ; a single voice pleading with man for 
 God ! And here we have arrived at that in 
 which the purest affections of the heart, and the 
 noblest powers of the mind, have their highest 
 development. Must there not be the heart in 
 the pulpit, if by manifestation of the truth we 
 are to commend ourselves to every man's con- 
 science in the sight of God ? Why is it that God 
 has committed the ministry of reconciliation to 
 men rather than to angels ? Is it not because the 
 finer sympathies of our nature link more closely 
 the hearts of those who speak with the hearts of 
 those who hear ? 
 
 Very far are we, therefore, from admitting 
 the truth of the proposition sometimes advanced, 
 that other professions present nobler fields for 
 eloquence than that in which you now embark. 
 We can never allow, that the interests of a fellow- 
 creature connected with this passing life — his 
 position, when he stands arraigned before an 
 earthly tribunal with the one awful alternative at 
 stake, can vie in importance with that issue, in 
 
17 
 
 which is involved an eternity of .happiness or 
 misery heyond the grave, and his acceptance or 
 rejection before the appointed Judge of quick 
 and dead. Nor ought the events, however 
 critical, which hear upon the rise and fall of the 
 kingdoms of this world, the vicissitudes of war 
 and peace, the fluctuations of wealth and com- 
 merce, to stir so deeply the fountains of the heart, 
 as that which bears on the advancement of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom, and the extension of the 
 religion of peace among the millions now in dark- 
 ness and the shadow of death. 
 
 We may fall beneath our subject; through 
 the weakness of our nature and the mightiness of 
 the task committed to us, we may not rise to the 
 height of our great argument, but in the propor- 
 tion of eternity to time, and the value of the soul 
 in the world beyond to its shadowy existcince 
 here, must the great theme which is our treasure 
 outweigh any other which earth can present. 
 The constant familiarity with it may sometimes 
 deaden our sensibilities, the repeated appeal may 
 lose something of its effect on our own heart as 
 well as upon that of the hearer : but against this 
 we must strive as a temptation ; and whenever 
 we prepare for the pulpit, — whenever we stand 
 up before the congregation, we must try to bring 
 before our minds the thought of that coming day 
 when we shall meet before our God. 
 
 An additional temptation, very naturally con- 
 nected with this spot, may be the inducement to 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 merge the appeal to the affections in the closely- 
 reasoned address to the intellectual powers. The 
 abstract studies of the place gain an almost 
 undue prominence, and, perhaps, acquire too 
 great an ascendancy, even when the sacred day 
 of rest comes round. And yet it is, if we mis- 
 take not, acknowledged by many, that the mind, 
 which has been so fully strung during the week, 
 and exercised in more abstruse speculations, 
 hails with delight the recurrence of God's day, in 
 order that it may be unbent, and welcomes any- 
 thing which calls into lively play the warmer 
 affections of the heart. 
 
 And what a range of subjects is offered to 
 the preacher's choice ! The soul, its being in 
 time, its blessedness or misery through eternity ; 
 
 — the Saviour, His love in its length, and 
 breadth, and depth, and height, — His glory with 
 the Father, His agony on the cross, His joy over 
 the redeemed ; — Creation, its fair aspect as seen 
 in Paradise, its marred condition since the fall, 
 the future beauty of a regenerate world ; — Satan, 
 the author of misery in the world, the tempter of 
 our first parents, the destroyer of man ever since; 
 
 — the Holy Spirit, the source of new life in the 
 soul, the Comforter of the children of God, the 
 earnest and foretaste of heaven's eternal joy. 
 What an exhaustless store of subjects to be 
 applied to the heart of each one entrusted to 
 your care — to be tasted first in their power and 
 sweetness by yourselves, and then out of the 
 
19 
 
 abundance of the heart to be imparted to others ! 
 Oh, surely coldness and the dryness of mere in- 
 tellectual argument must here be insufficient, if 
 we feel for others, having first felt for ourselves ! 
 
 But the heart has yet one remaining sphere 
 on which we can only touch for a moment. The 
 word received on the Sabbath is to take effect 
 through the week ; if mixed with faith* in those 
 who hear it, it is to assimilate with our nature, 
 and tinge our whole life. And the minister who 
 has thus spoken with tender affection from the 
 pulpit, would pass with the same emotions of 
 the heart to his parochial visitation. He would 
 watch how the Gospel may be penetrating the 
 life, and becoming visible in the daily conver- 
 sation of his flock, how the leaven may be leaven- 
 ing the whole mass. 
 
 There must be an identity, a correspondence 
 not to be mistaken, between the exhortations of 
 the pulpit and the exhibitions of character, as 
 witnessed by the people in the intercourse of the 
 week. The conduct must be such as to give 
 the impression of transparent sincerity! that we 
 preach, not because the duty lies upon us, but 
 because we long for souls ; that we seek to lead 
 
 * SuyxsKgaftEvo; rji' vltrra. The metaphor, according to 
 some of the best commentators, is taken from the process of 
 the digestion of food ; the spiritual being compared to the 
 natural digestion. 
 
 I E/A(xg('v£<«. For the meaning and derivation of this 
 beautiful word, see Trench on the Study of Words. " He 
 who to that Greek word which signifies ' that which will 
 
^0 
 
 men to God, not because it is our calling, but 
 because we wish their truest well-being. A 
 cheerfulness of Christian demeanour is therefore 
 all-essential, such a cheerfulness as shall convey- 
 to others the undoubted persuasion that we are 
 ourselves possessed of inward happiness, that we 
 have succeeded in obtaining that joy and peace 
 in believing, which we do not hesitate to re- 
 commend from our own experience. The in- 
 fluence of such an habitual serenity, in winning 
 and attracting the weary and heavy laden, we 
 can scarcely overrate. 
 
 And take the heart in other scenes of paro- 
 chial life. How common the case of the burdened 
 conscience, bowed down under the weight of 
 depression, yet unable to find rest in God ! This 
 in many different forms, resulting at times from 
 intellectual doubts, at others from the remem- 
 brance of cherished sin, now from the temptations 
 of our great adversary, and then, it may be, from 
 the temporary hidings of God's face ; how 
 diflScult to discern each separate case, and dis- 
 tinguish by subtle analysis the cause and the 
 appropriate cure ! Yet here, the heart that has 
 known its own bitterness, its own besetting sin, 
 
 endure to be held up to and judged by the sunlight,' gave 
 first its ethical signification of sincere, truthful, or, as we 
 sometimes say, transparent, can we deny to him the poet's 
 feeUng and eye ?" Carry up the idea to Him " whose eyes 
 are as a flame of fire, whose countenance is as Ihe sun 
 shining in his strength," and "what manner of persons 
 ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" 
 
SI 
 
 that watches the operations of the Spirit on itself 
 and others, is in measure prepared for each case ; 
 and, if we may say so with reverence, is able, 
 from having been tempted, to succour those that 
 are tempted. 
 
 And only, again, take the grand test and 
 touchstone of what we preach. The visit Las 
 to be paid to the bed of the sick and dying; 
 to this you must be called at once, immediately 
 on your passage into the ministry.* How vain to 
 trust here to books or the labour of others ! how 
 trying your position, unless you have fully con- 
 templated death and feel that it is disarmed of 
 its sting, and the grave of its victory ! But with 
 the heart engaged in the work, how delightful to 
 pass to the bedside, and find that the word spoken 
 has not been in vain, and that the patient only 
 requires the same affectionate attention a little 
 longer, the same voice to bring forth the promises 
 which are adapted to the suffering and the 
 afflicted, and to offer up the petitions which may 
 prepare for entering the swellings of Jordan ! 
 How delightful to have been the instrument in 
 guiding a fellow-creature to the Good Shepherd, 
 and to be able to commit him in sure trust to 
 that Shepherd, as he passes through the vaUey of 
 
 * This expression is a solemn and important one, and as 
 such is dwelt upon in an "Address to the Graduating Class 
 of the General Theological Seminary, New York," by Bishop 
 Burgess of Maine, in which are many valuable and striking 
 thoughts. See " The Passage into the Ministry." New York, 
 1850. 
 
2^ 
 
 the shadow of death, fearing no evil ! Far dif- 
 ferent, however, at times are such scenes,— a sick- 
 bed without any of the comforts of the Saviour, 
 a deathbed only full of the terrors of the world to 
 come ! And what shall enable you to bear up at 
 such moments ? what but the heart which draws 
 its fulness of tenderness and love, as John did, 
 from the Kedeemer's bosom, and trusts that He, 
 who welcomed the penitent thief in his expiring 
 hour, may stand by us and give to us a word in 
 season, which may prove, even in death, a word 
 of life to the soul ? 
 
 What then, in conclusion, is the consequence, 
 the reward, when the heart is thus given to God 
 and the work? It acts as a magnet to attract 
 others, and, by a beautiful law of our spiritual 
 nature, the minister becomes the heart and centre 
 of operation. Look abroad in this way on many 
 a parochial sphere, whether in town or country, 
 and does not the life seem to gather around the 
 minister, and every plan for active and energetic 
 good to emanate from him? As this happy 
 influence extends, the same zeal spreads, and is 
 communicated to others, and he finds many 
 helpers, many who are impelled by the contagion 
 of example. To be thus the heart and centre of 
 life of a parish, how rich a reward for any toil ; 
 but if the influence grow as has been described, 
 who shall estimate the responsibility under which 
 we lie, the power which we may possibly wield ? 
 
 But before some whom I address a different 
 
23 
 
 sphere lies open. You may go hence, not to 
 enter at once on the cares and duties of parochial 
 life, but to continue within the walls of the 
 University, to instruct, either here or elsewhere, 
 those who are to instruct others. Although, 
 however, thus differing in sphere, your reward 
 would be very similar to what has been described. 
 Deficient, indeed, must be the teacher whose 
 whole heart is not in the task, and who is not 
 filled with enthusiasm in prosecuting his work. 
 If labouring with such ardour, you will also soon 
 become centres of life and influence. You will 
 have the formation of character in your hands, 
 the training of the Christian layman, the mould- 
 ing of many a minister of God. Does not the 
 school or the college often reflect thus one leading 
 mind, which becomes the heart and centre around 
 which all seems to revolve ? To such an influence 
 you may look, to such an ascendancy over those 
 committed t6 you. Nay, we should rather say, 
 from it you cannot escape, it is a very condition 
 of your being ; and if so, it involves also a respon- 
 sibility, under which the very boldest may tremble. 
 Blessed be God, your sufficiency is in Him. 
 
 And, rising yet another step, is not this 
 University a heart of this mighty land, whose 
 pulses beat and are felt to its remotest corner? She 
 draws the youth of England to herself, and sends 
 them forth again, filled with the life, and learning, 
 and character acquired here. If, in this very 
 book of Scripture, we are told to " keep the heart 
 
24 
 
 with all diligence, for out bf it are the issues of 
 life," how diligently should we watch, how care- 
 fully pray, that the streams which flow from this 
 centre might he such as to fertilise and hless the 
 whole land ! Nor it alone : the vast majority of 
 her sons will of course pass to occupy fields of 
 genial lahour at home, but some few will have 
 their duty in other climes ; they will have to 
 plant the standard of the Cross in the wilderness, 
 amid the ancient superstitions of India, or the 
 rapidly peopling islands of the South. And how 
 pleasant, after some years of solitary wandering, 
 to revisit the much-loved spot, to be greeted 
 with kind and cordial welcome, and to find warm 
 and youthful hearts ready to buckle on their 
 armour and to do battle for the Lord I Not, 
 therefore, as a stranger, but as one trained and 
 nurtured among you, as one who remembers with 
 gratitude the instruction of bygone years, would 
 I ask you, beloved brethren, to give to God to- 
 day that which alone you can, — the only thing 
 which God will receive, — give to Him the affec- 
 tions of your hearts, the service of your lives. And 
 may God grant the abundant outpouring of His 
 Spirit, not only to you, but to all this day ordained, 
 that labouring with hearts given to God, and 
 hearts wholly in the work, you may have fruit of 
 your ministry even on earth, and may have ever- 
 lasting cause of joy and rejoicing, in looking back 
 on that which you this day commence. 
 
 London :— Printed by 6. Baeolat, Castle St. Loicester Sq. 
 
THE TRUTH AND THE CONSCIENCE 
 
 rJriiiE&n ^txmm, 
 
 PREACHED AT 
 
 ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, RED RIVER, 
 
 ON SUNDAY, JULY 21, 1861. 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF BCPERT'S LAITD. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HATCHARD AND CO. 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 1861. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 Stkakgewayb & Waldek, Printers, 28 Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
MEMORY or THOSE WHO LABOUEED, 
 
 AND ARE NOW AT REST, 
 
 AND INTO WHOSE 
 
 LABOURS WE HAVE ENTBRKD, 
 
 REAPING WHERE THEY SOWED. 
 
This Sermon links together forty years, our 
 Church's duration in this Wilderness. The 
 solitary One of 1821 has become Twenty-Five 
 in 1861. This is its only claim on attention. 
 In this view it is a stone and pillar of memorial, 
 and tells of the loving-kindness of the Lord. 
 The founders are some of them gone ; their 
 work remains. Who can look forward other 
 forty years, or penetrate into the mysteries of 
 another Century ? Be it ours still to sow 
 beside all waters — to occupy till Christ shall 
 come. 
 
•:, - -i-i '' 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 " By manifestation of the truth commending ouTselves to 
 every man's conscience in the sight of God." — 2 Cor. iv. 2. 
 
 The circumstances under which we meet 
 together are of a solemn and impressive cha- 
 racter to all of us — solemn especially to myself, 
 for I cannot shake off the recollection of the 
 words of the Apostle — the charge of the Spirit 
 to me, through him — "Lay hands suddenly on 
 no man" — solemn, surely, also, to those to he 
 ordained : voluntarily and of their own free 
 choice they undertake to-day an office and 
 responsibility which will continue and cleave 
 to them through life; but, when the step is 
 once taken, " necessity is laid upon them, and 
 woe is unto them if they preach not the 
 Gospel;" and solemn to all of you here present, 
 as those now to be set apart to the ministry 
 would, through my lips, appeal to you and say, 
 " Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the 
 Lord may have free course, and be glorified, 
 even as it is with you ;" and, in proportion to 
 
the depth and earnestness of your supplications 
 at the Throne of Grace on their behalf, may 
 be the success of their labours on earth, the 
 brightness of their crown of rejoicing in 
 eternity. 
 
 The service would at once remind us of 
 the past and of similar occasions of the kind, 
 here or elsewhere. It would bring vividly 
 before us the Ordination held in this church, 
 when the waters of the- previous flood were 
 abating, and we addressed you from the words, 
 " They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." 
 Nine years have rolled along — once more the 
 waters have overspread the land — again are we 
 emerging frpm a flood, not of equal sevgrity 
 with the preceding one, yet perhaps even more 
 crushing, as coming the more unexpectedly 
 after so short an interval, and blighting the 
 fair hopes which had been cherished of a more 
 prosperous future about to dawn on the land. 
 Again we are compelled to sow in tears. May 
 the lesson of dependence and submission be 
 more thoroughly engrafted on the hearts of all, 
 so that the fruit may be more apparent! — so 
 that, though now " we go on our way weeping, 
 we may come again with rejoicing, bringing 
 the sheaves with us." The service, too, would 
 remind us, by contrast, of the Ordination this 
 same month last year,* not in the settlement, 
 
 * The Ordination at Moose, July 11, 1860, when the 
 Rev. T. H. Fleming, C.M.S., was ordained Priest, and 
 Mr. Thos. Vincent, Catechist, Deacon. 
 
9 
 
 or before a large and crowded cGrigregation, as 
 to-day,, but wben more tban a thousand miles 
 distant from you, where the Indian work is 
 vigorously and successfully carried on, in the 
 simjjle and uiipretending Mission Church on 
 the shore of the Eastern Bay. 
 
 ; By associations almost as natural would our 
 thoughts .pass to the future. Now the number 
 to be presented this morning appears, at first 
 sight, considerable ; and, when we reflect that 
 we shall then be five-and-twenty devoted to the 
 ■ministry of souls in the land, we are tempted 
 to look upon it as a fair and goodly band ; and 
 we thank and bless God for the number, in 
 comparison of the past. But, though now the 
 tenth Bishop in the British possessions from sea 
 to sea, our own surface and territory remains 
 still so mighty, so impracticable, that we can 
 only lie low in the very- dust, while we hear 
 the voice of the Lord saying to us, as unto 
 Joshua of old, " There remaineth yet very 
 much land to be possessed." Each station 
 occupied only brings to light many surrounding 
 spots calling loudly for help ; and the appeals 
 from Fort Simpson and Moose, from Stanley 
 and Westbourne, are still as urgent as ever for 
 additional labourers in the vineyard. 
 
 ,But, abandoning all thoughts of the past 
 and anticipations of the future, let our minds 
 dwell on present realities — on the scene imme- 
 diately before us. We are about to send forth 
 some on a high and holy errand. What is the 
 
10 
 
 treasure to be entrusted to their keeping— ^the 
 good thing to be committed unto them ? That, 
 brethren, which in your sight we shall place 
 within their hands — the law and the testimony, 
 the Gospel of the blessed God, " the truth as 
 it is in Jesus." We send them on a diflScult 
 and arduous warfare — to assail and storm the 
 citadel of the human heart, to grapple with the 
 consciences of men. And if it be asked whether 
 there be any link which connects the message 
 and the heart, any hidden adaptation of the 
 truth to the wants of the conscience, the text 
 comes forward to assure us that, if we handle 
 not the Word deceitfully, if we bring forth in 
 its life and love and purity the heavenly record, 
 we shall then " by manifestation of the truth 
 commend ourselves to .every man's conscience 
 in the sight of God." 
 
 Such is our subject — that the truth, if rightly 
 divided, carries with it evidence and power to 
 the human conscience. Time will only admit 
 of our noticing some of the simpler elements 
 of that truth, connecting each as we pass with 
 the conscience, to whose most crying wants it 
 is adapted by infallible wisdom. 
 
 We turn, then, to the sacred volume, and 
 what is the hue and colouring which tinges 
 the whole? In its opening pages there is a 
 Paradise, but a Paradise soon forfeited and 
 lost; and from that moment there is sin, the 
 curse, and death. In the closing chapters there 
 is a Paradise restored and regained, access once 
 
11 
 
 more to the tree of life, with the blessed assur- 
 ance, " There shall be no more curse." But, 
 between these limits, it is the history of a sin- 
 stained, sorrow-stricken world. In patriarchal 
 times, before the Flood, we are told that, when 
 the heart-searching eye of God was turned on 
 man, " every imagination of the thoughts of his 
 heart was only evil continually." When the 
 Holy Land was. rising to its highest glory, in 
 the reign of David, the confession is still the 
 same — " There is none righteous, no not one;" 
 and every organ of man's varied frame is 
 referred to as steeped in sin and employed in 
 the service of iniquity : and when the great 
 Apostle of the Gentiles would send the glad 
 tidings of salvation to the centre and metropolis 
 of the civilised world, the commencement of his 
 Epistle to Rome, when she had only just passed 
 the zenith of her greatness, is suflSciently hum- 
 bling to man's pride and highest wisdom. He 
 lays the foundation broad and deep : he first 
 arraigns the GentUe world before the bar of 
 God, and adduces the black and awful cata- 
 logue of their sins; then, passing to the more 
 highly-favoured Jews, he proves them alike 
 inexcusable, though under brighter light. He 
 draws from the survey the sweeping and in- 
 evitable conclusion that all, Jew and Gentile, 
 " have sinned, and come short of the glory of 
 God," so that " every mouth is stopped, and all 
 the world is become guilty before (subject to 
 the judgment of, marg.) God." Nor are they 
 
12 
 
 mere outward actions which thus stamp the 
 character in the sight of the Most High : the 
 Saviour, who spake knowing what was in man, 
 ascends at once to the source and polluted 
 fountain-head, and tells us, "out of the heart 
 proceed evil thoughts," and after enumerating 
 the deeds of darkness which have their origin 
 there, adds, " These are the things which defile 
 the man." In the Sermon on the Mount,, too. 
 He brings forward the outward prohibitions of 
 the law, but He reveals at the same time a new 
 and .higher commandment, which would forbid 
 not the act alone, but the thought, the look of 
 sin. To point only to one other summary of 
 the oflFspring of the natural heart, St. Paul sets 
 before us the works of the flesh, which are, he 
 says, manifest and open to the eye of all; and 
 among them he specifies both what man is 
 accustomed to term the more flagrant offences, 
 and sins of temper, thought, and belief. 
 
 Does, then, the conscience of man endorse 
 this verdict? — when we adduce this picture,. is 
 the portraiture acknowledged to be correct? 
 We think so. After thought and reflection, 
 man is forced to bow, and to cry out with the 
 leper, " Unclean, unclean ! " Not always at 
 fir^t, it is allowed. In approaching the heathen, 
 how difficult at the outset to convince of sin ! 
 There is the deep incrustation of ages of fal&e 
 worship, the superstitious usages received by 
 tradition from their fathers— there is the caUous 
 conscience, seared as with a hot iron. All this 
 
13 
 
 is difficult to penetrate, so as to pierce to the 
 very quick. Yet despair not ; introduce the 
 light of truth ; do not heal the hurt and wound 
 too slightly, saying, " Peace when there is no 
 peace;" but probe the sore with steady and 
 unflinching hand, bring out the abominations 
 which lie concealed in the depths of the cham- 
 bers of imagery ; and, though there may be 
 some delay, there will be soon a felt uneasi- 
 ness under the condemning power of the law. 
 Pricked in their hearts, as at the preaching of 
 Peter, their consciences accusing them before 
 a holy God, -they will cry out, " What shall we 
 do?" They will say, with Job, "I abhor my- 
 self, and repent in dust and ashes," or, with the 
 publican, " God be merciful to me, a sinner ! " 
 
 On this dark background how bright and 
 lovely appear the lineaments of the Sinner's 
 Friend ! — how cheering to hear the voice which 
 says, " I am come to call, not the righteous, 
 but sinners to repentance." We have now the 
 manifestation, not of man in the depth of his 
 degradation and corruption, but of God in all 
 the riches of His Divine perfection. 
 
 And how, then^ shall this glory be revealed ? 
 To gaze upon it in the dazzling effulgence of 
 Heaven would be too overpowering for the 
 creature ; but all can see and adore, when God 
 spares not His Son — when the well-beloved of 
 the Father, in His bosom from all eternity, 
 stoops from His Throne to take man's nature, 
 to bear man's load of sin. The rays of the 
 
14 
 
 Godhead, mellowed and subdued in mercy to 
 man's infirmity, shine with unspeakable grace 
 in the Saviour, who is " the brightness of His 
 Father's glory, and the express image of His 
 person." In Him, and in Him alone, we behold 
 a life without spot or taint of sin, and a love 
 which, in its length and breadth and depth and 
 height, passeth human knowledge. How near 
 is the Redeemer brought to the despairing 
 sinner, " made sin for us, though He knew no 
 sin " — how near is the returning prodigal 
 brought to God, when, in the affecting language 
 of the parable, the command is given, " Bring 
 forth the best robe, and put it on him," and we 
 are made "the righteousness of God in him!" 
 And is there not a melting tenderness of appeal 
 in this revelation, which perhaps no other way 
 of salvation could have had, when, in contem- 
 plating the agony of the garden or the unknown 
 sufferings of the cross, we so view all as to say, 
 " He loved me and gave Himself for me : surely 
 He hath borne my griefs and carried my sor- 
 rows-; the chastisement of my peace was upon 
 Him, and by His stripes I am healed ? " 
 
 Has not, then, this message, when unfolded 
 in its simplicity, an acknowledged power to 
 subdue the stony heart? Ought not this to 
 be our highest aim, to " preach not ourselves, 
 but Christ Jesus the Lord?" — our one deter- 
 mination, " to know nothing among our people 
 but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified?" Here 
 would be the one all-sufficient answer, when 
 
15 
 
 the heathen, smittea under sin like the Philip- 
 pian gaoler, would come to us, saying, " What 
 must we do to be saved?" — "Believe in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." But when they further 
 cry, with the blind man of old, " Who is He, 
 that I might believe on Him?" let us take care 
 that we display, as with tongues touched with 
 a live coal from the altar, the full grace and 
 glory of the Saviour, so that we do not darken 
 or cloud the Sun of Eighteousness when ready 
 to arise with healing on His wings. Oh, what 
 a task, to set forth aright to the benighted 
 mind of the heathen the full character of 
 "Emmanuel, God with us" — the beauty and 
 attractiveness of Him who is " the chiefest 
 among, ten thousand, and altogether lovely ! " 
 Has He never suflFered (I speak now to those 
 of us who have laboured long in His service) 
 at our hands, through the imperfect outline 
 which we have given of His ineffable love? 
 
 But, blessed be God, we are not left alone. 
 We are to declare, also, that power which can 
 draw to the Saviour, and apply the blood of 
 sprinkling to the heart and conscience ; we are 
 to manifest the reality of that new creation, 
 which is the sure effect of the reception of the 
 tidings of redemption. " If any man be in 
 Christ, he is a new crieature ; " and this creation 
 advances by the Spirit's power, as order and 
 beauty and harmony uprose at first through 
 His life-giving energy. As we gaze upon the 
 Saviour, the Spirit acts upon the soul with 
 
16 
 
 quickening and transforming effect. Such is 
 the Apostle's reasoning, as he proceeds to illus- 
 trate our text — "God, who commanded the 
 light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in 
 our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge 
 of the glory of Crod in the face of Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
 Now, however man may be disposed to 
 cavil at and question ' any such action of the 
 Spirit -- however the unbelieving may^ deny 
 " the life of God in the .soul," yet- does not the 
 manifestation of this truth commend itself to 
 man's conscience? Is it not a mattei* beyond 
 doubt that there are many who rise to a higher 
 Christian level than the mass of an unthinking 
 world ---that there are many who seem to live 
 in order to follow the Saviour in doing good, 
 who exhibit in rich abundaBCse ' some of those 
 fruits of the Spirit which the Apostle enume^ 
 rates? Are there; not some who, according to 
 his expressive words^ are " the Epistles of 
 Christ known and read of all men?" Has not 
 Christianity, raised and, elevated thousands who 
 have lived an<l died in itsi faith; whereas man's 
 highest wisdom and philosophy left him power- 
 less, without clear hope in ' the future; withodi? 
 any adequate motive to holiness in the present 
 life? The springs of nature remained un- 
 touched, the fountain still polluted. And. 
 whence, then, the energy which quickens those 
 dead in trespasses and sins? The answer of 
 the inspired record would be. It is " the Spirit 
 
17 
 
 poured from on high;" and the language of the 
 soul which has experienced the change re- 
 echoes the confession, " One thing I know, that 
 whereas I was blind, now I see." And where, 
 if not in the domain of heathenism, shall we see 
 the extent and reality of this transformation, 
 this new creation of the soul? Is it not so, 
 when "the wilderness becomes as Eden, and 
 the desert as the -garden of the Lord ?" — • 
 when the drum and the conjuror are aban- 
 doned, and the voice of prayer and praise are 
 in the tent and dwelling ? 
 
 Yet often the voice is unheeded, and we 
 marvel that the prisoner prefers bondage to 
 freedom, and seems even to hug his chains. 
 The reproach is taken up and sounded in our 
 ears, that the story of the cross has lost its 
 efficacy, and that we must resort to some other 
 means. Not so ; we fall back upon God's word, 
 and have another truth ready to manifest, and 
 challenge the unbeliever to gainsay it. When 
 the heathen close the ear, and turn away the 
 shoulder, and reject the praying father and the 
 way of peace, we Only see how true is the 
 declaration of the Apostle following our text, 
 that " the god of this world hath blinded their 
 minds, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of 
 Christ, who is the image of God, should shine 
 unto them." Yes ; " if our Gospel be hid, it is 
 hid to them that are lost," and it is Satan's 
 work. We sow the seed, but, ever as we sow, 
 an enemy sows the tares. 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 Here, then, is a range of truth to develope 
 and reveal, the agency of Satan, his empire and 
 kingdom, his power over the poor heathen, his 
 hold of the human heart. We are to set him 
 forth as " the spirit that now worketh in the 
 children of disobedience ;" to show the sinner 
 whose slave he is while he boasts his freedom, 
 with whom he is closely allied here, with whom 
 he will, except he repent, be eternally allied 
 hereafter. 
 
 And I know not any doctrine which has a 
 readier echo within than this. The systems of 
 false worship, the fears of the heathen, all 
 proclaim a spirit from beneath, whom they 
 serve while they dread his power. While, 
 then, with Paul we declare the nature and 
 attributes of the true God, and say, " Whom ye 
 ignorantly worship, him declare we unto you," 
 so let us fully disclose to them the power and 
 subtlety and malice of that spirit, whom they 
 fear from the depth of their soul, whom they 
 propitiate by a thousand varied offerings, whom 
 they have even in some places enthroned as an 
 object of worship.* Oh ! if we faithfully laid 
 bare to the view of the deluded votary Satan's 
 true character, should we not, more frequently 
 than we do, take away " the prey from the 
 mighty," deliver the spoiled from the cruel 
 oppressor, and bring home many a convert to 
 the fold of the Good Shepherd ? 
 
 * >See Appendix, No. I. 
 
19 
 
 Have we not one other truth besides, bre- 
 thren, to manifest to all ? As Scripture closes 
 with the Revelation, have we no power to lift 
 the veil, no knowledge of the secrets of the 
 other world to impart ? Is there not the simple 
 disclosure of a day, which will include within it 
 the history of our lives, a day in which all the 
 apparent irregularities of earth will be done 
 away, and " God will judge the world in 
 righteousness by that man whom he hath 
 ordained," In these three chapters, that of our 
 text and the two which follow, which describe 
 so fully the minister's work and service, his 
 message, his trial and reward, St. Paul omits 
 not this. It is as " knowing the terrors of the 
 Lord that we persuade men," remembering that 
 "we must all appear before the judgment-seat 
 of Christ, that every one may receive the things 
 done in his body, whether they be good or 
 bad." To the sinner it is the day of wrath and 
 revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; 
 to the believer it is the judgment-seat of Christ, 
 to whom he has looked for pardon, for right- 
 eousness and acceptance. 
 
 And has not the world ever anticipated such 
 a judgment,* though groping in darkness for a 
 vray of escape ? To die would be accepted by 
 many as a happy release, but " after death the 
 judgment" plants th^ thorn in the dying pil- 
 low, disturbs the worldling in the midst of his 
 
 * Appendix, No. TI. 
 
20 
 
 mirth and pleasure, as he sees the writing on 
 the wall, " Weighed in the balances and found 
 wanting." Let this be your lever to shake the 
 sinner from the sleep of death ; fix it deep 
 within, and give him no rest till "justified by 
 faith he has peace with God," and can joyfully 
 anticipate the sight of the Eedeemer's face, the 
 sound of His voice welcoming him, and saying, 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the beginning 
 of the world." 
 
 Such is a very imperfect outline of the truth 
 which you are to unfold, — sin in its deformity, 
 and the sinner's Friend, God manifest in the 
 flesh ; the new creation and the power of the 
 Spirit ; the kingdom and agency of the god of 
 this world; and beyond the grave the judg- 
 ment, with its awful issues ; an eternity of 
 blessedness in the mansions of our Father's 
 house with Christ and the redeemed, or exclu- 
 sion from God's presence, companionship with 
 the lost, which is Hell for evermore. It is this 
 message which, spoken in love, in demonstra- 
 tion of the Spirit, and in power, will commend 
 itself to the consciences of allj or, as it has been 
 more closely rendered^* to every conscience of 
 men — to every varied phase and complexion xff 
 the universal conscience — to the sinner in the 
 towns or crowded haunts of civilisation, as well 
 as to the wanderer of the.lonely wilderness — to 
 
 * Appendix, No. III. 
 
21 
 
 those immersed in the subtle disputations of 
 Eastern philosophy, like the Chinese or the 
 Brahmin, as well as to the unlearned and un- 
 inquiring Indian of our land, who, in his idea 
 of a Supreme Being, rises at times but little 
 above the powers of nature, by which he is 
 surrounded. 
 
 In application let me first address a few 
 reflections to you all. 
 
 What an evidence. Brethren, of the Divine 
 origin of God's word, that it should thus speak 
 to those of every country, kindred, and clime ? 
 What other book or volume can thus assimilate 
 itself to the varying condition of the creature, 
 and, translated into every language, still retain 
 the same irresistible, all-subduing power, com- 
 mending itself* to every human heart ? How 
 awful to reject a message bearing such creden- 
 tials of authority from heaven ! 
 
 Again, how simple the procedure of the 
 judgment of the great day ! God has given 
 you a two-fold guide, — a voice, a monitor 
 within, his vicegerent in the soul, — a guide 
 without, the record of inspiration. The former 
 partakes of the infirmity of man ; it has lost its 
 acuteness and sensibility, and is liable to be 
 darkened and perverted ever, since man's fall, 
 but the external guide is infallible. Conscience 
 may err and prove unfaithful, but God's truth 
 is unchangeable. Remember, then, that the 
 
 * Appendix, No. IV. 
 
22 
 
 Word is the ultimate and superior rule,* whicii 
 is to find its way to the heart, and commend 
 itself to the enlightened conscience. But both 
 will judge you at the last day ; the words that 
 Christ hath spoken, the Gospel which He hath 
 ofifered you, and your conscience will then bear 
 witness, your thoughts accusing or else ex- 
 cusing you in the day when God shall judge the 
 secrets of inen by Jesus Christ according to our 
 Gospel. 
 
 And only once more, has the truth yet 
 found its way to your heart, has the bow 
 drawn at a venture carried the arrow of con- 
 viction right home ? Have you ever trembled 
 like Felix on hearing of righteousness, tem- 
 perance, and judgment to come, and yet put the 
 subject oflF to a more convenient season ? If 
 your heart condemn you for thus trifling with 
 His message, God is greater than your heart 
 and knoweth all things. But if sin has driven 
 you to the Saviour for pardon and forgiveness, 
 and the Spirit, shining on the word and work 
 of Christ, has filled you with joy and peace in 
 believing, then God's ministering servants "by 
 manifestation of the truth have commended 
 themselves to your conscience," and, as you 
 think of the human instrument that first led 
 you to the Saviour, you can unhesitatingly say, 
 " By this we know that he is a man of God, 
 and that the word of the Lord in his mouth 
 was truth." 
 
 ^ Appendix, No. V. 
 
23 
 
 And, now, to address myself more imme- 
 diately to those about to be ordained. 
 
 Isolated and separated from the congrega- 
 tion, you are about to receive individually your 
 high commission, and to each of you indivi- 
 dually would we say a few words. For this we 
 might almost claim apostolical example and 
 precedent. As we have Epistles addressed by 
 the great Apostle of the Gentiles to churches, 
 to those called to be saints in various spots, as 
 Ephesus, and Rome, and Corinth, so have we 
 Epistles addressed by him with tender and 
 yearning affection, with solemn and searching 
 power, to individual pastors and ministers, as 
 Timothy and Titus. Thrice over he addresses 
 Timothy, as if standing solitary before him to 
 receive the sacred admonition — thrice in almost 
 the same thrilling words he says, " I charge 
 thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who shall judge the quick and dead at His 
 appearing and His kingdom, preach the word." 
 Far be it from us to place ourselves by the side 
 of the Apostle, or to claim for ourselves any 
 thing of the like authority and power. Yet, as 
 in the sight of the same God and the same 
 gracious Saviour, who will bring ministers and 
 people into His presence, would we charge each 
 of you, " Preach the word." 
 
 To you, my beloved brother,* who are only 
 to be advanced a step in the ministry this 
 
 • Rev. T. Thistlethwaite Smith, C.M.S., appointed to 
 relieve the Eev. Robert Hunt, at Stanley, English River, 
 
24 
 
 morning, it is painful to say farewell. Painful, 
 after having gained tlie affections of young and 
 old, parents and children, to have you sepa- 
 rated from my own flock. Painful, for me to 
 lose you myself, after you have for a year 
 served with me " as a son with a father" in the 
 bonds of the Gospel. But we are few of us 
 entirely free to act or to choose for ourselves 
 or others. Few less free than a Bishop, for he 
 must seek not his own things, but the good and 
 welfare of the churches at large. Here the 
 way of God is plain, and were I to detain you 
 among us, it would be an injustice to him, 
 whom you go to relieve, after a period of long 
 and arduous service. 
 
 You go to a double work — to labour among 
 two tribes, the Chippewyan and the Cree. I 
 place the former first, for though sent to both, 
 I would regard you as in a more especial 
 manner the Apostle of the former. The Cree 
 work is so far matured by publications and 
 translational labour, that all is in a measure 
 ready to your hand. Should you be able by 
 God's grace to lay as secure a foundation— to 
 reduce as fully to form and symmetry the Chip- 
 pewyan tongue, you will have achieved a great 
 work, and secured for yourself the gratitude of 
 thousands yet unborn. You go then with your 
 earthly happiness completed, and with the affec- 
 tionate and hearty prayers of those among whom 
 you have broken the bread of life ; may God 
 guard you from all harm and danger by the 
 
25 
 
 way, may He incline to you the hearts of many, 
 and give you a rich harvest of souls in the day 
 of Christ's coming. 
 
 More solemn, if possible, on your part and 
 more anxious on mine, my dear brother,* is 
 your first step into the sacred office. You are 
 to " put your hand to the plough," and never 
 again to look back ;- you are to be " an example 
 to the believers in word, in conversation, in 
 charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." You 
 have, however, had some experience and ac- 
 quaintance with the work. From a child, with 
 almost your earliest recollections, you witnessed 
 the planting and growth of the Indian settle- 
 ment which your late father aided much in pro- 
 moting, labouring in the instruction of the 
 young, and in the settlement of the early con- 
 verts for more than fifteen years. In the same 
 quarter you afterwards took part yourself in 
 training the little ones of the flock, and very 
 many of these personally attached to you, and 
 we may presume benefited by your instructions, 
 are here to-day to be your witnesses, to hear 
 your vows, and follow you with their prayers. 
 Some among them remonstrated with me when 
 I moved you hence, and thought, as they ex- 
 pressed it, that their good was being sacrificed 
 to the welfare of smaller stations abroad. You 
 went forth, however, cheerfully when called on 
 to do so, and for some years have carried on the 
 
 * Mr. Thos. Cook, Catechist, Cumberland House. 
 
26 
 
 good work in the Indian field. It was thought' 
 that your father was attempting much, when 
 lajdng the foundation of an infant church here ; 
 is it not a mark of progress that you should 
 endeavour to do the same five hundred miles to 
 the north and west? Your sphere, would be 
 Cumberland and Carlton, spots of growing in- 
 terest, the latter especially, we feel assured, 
 destined to play a more conspicuous part in the 
 future history of this land. While others go to 
 that neighbourhood in pursuit of perishable 
 treasure, led thither by the gold that glitters 
 and soon comes to an end, you go to gather up 
 some jewels to place in the Redeemer's crown. 
 Oh ! be faithful to that Saviour who places this 
 honour upon you, be earnest and zealous for 
 souls, be faithful onwards unto death, and then 
 you will receive the crown of life. 
 
 And what shall I say to you, my dear young 
 friend,* to whose ordination and ministry I have 
 looked forward with only too fond a hope ? No 
 anxiety do I feel about your fitness for the work 
 before you, as regards intellectual acquirement 
 or spiritual experience. It is only the delicacy 
 of your earthly frame which causes me any 
 solicitude, — the spirit is ripe and willing, but 
 the flesh is weak. But we rest assured that 
 God has His work to efiect by you, and it is 
 not for us to measure the length of ministry 
 which may be allotted to you. If, however, its 
 
 * Mr. Henry Budd, Jan., of the Church Missionary 
 College, Islington, 
 
27 
 
 span may be the shorter, " be instant in season 
 and out of season," preach not only by the lip 
 in the pulpit, but also in private, by unfolding 
 the comfort wherewith Christ hath comforted 
 and sustained you. Bring out the treasures of 
 your own experience ; Christ may lead others 
 to Himself by their seeing you " patient in 
 tribulation, rejoicing in hope, and ever serving 
 the Lord." 
 
 It is a day longed for and often humbly 
 prayed for, anticipated for many a year, and, 
 though it comes not exactly as we looked for it, 
 let us not doubt that it comes charged with the 
 Divine blessing. As I ordained your father, 
 the seal in a peculiar sense and first-fruits of 
 my apostleship ten years ago, it is no ordinary 
 privilege to be spared and permitted to ordain 
 his son. How many, who have watched over 
 your growth, are here to-day to witness your 
 self-consecration to the Lord ! Your father, 
 who gave you to God in infancy, and permitted 
 you to go to a distant land with the eager 
 expectation of receiving you thence fitted and 
 qualified to be an ambassador of the cross. 
 The Archdeacon,* under whom and in whose 
 school you gathered up the first lessons of 
 sacred truth, and lisped your first prayers and 
 hymns. More I cannot add, except that, as it 
 was my happiness to train your opening mind 
 and educate you as one of my own children, so 
 
 * Archdeacon Hunter, then in charge of Christ Church, 
 Cumberland. 
 
28 
 
 now it must be one of tlie greatest pleasures of 
 my life to give you to the service of the sanc- 
 tuary. Should the shadows of Heaven gather 
 prematurely around you, we feel still that the 
 words dropped from your lips in the interval 
 may be only the more precious, the more fruitful 
 in winning souls. We grudge you not an earlier 
 entrance into Heaven's rest, should God so ap- 
 point, for we know that " to depart and be with 
 Christ is far better,'' but we would earnestly 
 pray to-day that God may restore you to bodily 
 health and strength, and that years of usefulness 
 may be granted you in the earthly vineyard. 
 With our prayers on the spot would be mingled 
 those of others, your companions and associates, 
 to whom you were endeared in that school of 
 the prophets, the Missionary College at Islington. " 
 Those who were over you there will hear with 
 pleasure the tidings of this day, and those with 
 whom you took sweet counsel, now scattered in 
 their fields of labour in Asia Minor and India, 
 in Africa and British Columbia, will delight to 
 bear you in their hearts at that hour, when by 
 mutual consent you join, though parted, in 
 intercessory prayer for a blessing on your 
 common work. 
 
 Nor is it a little remarkable, that the day of 
 your father's baptism is that of your own Ordi- 
 nation. Thirty -nine years ago to-day* did 
 Mr. West, the first clergyman in the land, 
 
 * July 21, 1822, when the Eev. H. Budd believes that 
 he may have been about seven or eight years old. 
 
29 
 
 baptize your father, after hearing from his lips 
 a simple confession of his faith. On this same 
 day, this sacred Anniversary, marked and 
 hallowed by this recollection, after having re- 
 ceived your solemn profession, would I send you 
 forth. May God in His great mercy recruit 
 your strength; may He make His grace suffi- 
 cient for you ; may He perfect His strength in 
 your weakness. " God be gracious unto thee, 
 my son." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 While preparing this Sermon we noticed what appeared 
 to be a striking illustration of this statement in a speech 
 made last Christmas by an influential chief of the Oneida 
 Indians, in the diocese of Bp. Kemper, "Wisconsin. This 
 man, six years ago, was a most determined enemy of the 
 mission and missionary. He then declared that he never 
 would enter the Mission Church. He is now a staunch 
 friend of both, and a devout communicant. After divine 
 service on Christmas day he invited all to his house, and, 
 in an address to the missionary and those assembled, 
 said : " I am glad we have met together here as Christ- 
 ians, on this birthday of Christ. I thank God that we 
 have been taught the doctrines of Christianity. We are 
 much more happy than our forefathers. Our fathers 
 died without a knowledge of a Saviour. We have the 
 Gospel of the Saviour preached to us. Many of us love 
 the Saviour. Many try to obey the Saviour. We all 
 wish to be saved in heaven at last. Still we are ignorant, 
 and sinful, and foolish. We are stiU in darkness. The 
 white man's knowledge is like the clear, bright light of 
 midday. The Indian's knowledge is like the uncertain 
 light of daybreak. A few years ago we were in the 
 black darkness of midnight. We now begin to see the 
 small light of morning. The Gospel of Christ has led 
 us so far towards the clear light. We go on slowly 
 
32 
 
 towards the light. I see for myself that we go forward 
 a little every year. I hope that we shall soon reach the 
 light of midday. Christianity Las done all for us that 
 has been done. Christianity is able to raise us to the 
 same height to which it has raised the white man, I 
 thank God for His goodness to us. I thank all men 
 who have helped us to learn so much as we have learned. 
 A few years ago, when we made a feast, we danced 
 wicked dances, and did many other wicked things., 
 Then we woeshippeb the Devil. To-day we have been 
 to Church — we have worshipped the true God to-day. 
 We have thanked our great Father in heaven to-day, for 
 sending His only Son into this world to be our Saviour. 
 So we are now Christians and not heathens. We are 
 not perfect Christians, but we are much better than 
 heathens. This is all I have to say." — Spirit of Missionst 
 June, 1861. 
 
 No. II, 
 
 " There is awakened by the conscience a sense of guilt 
 — a sentiment no less strongly impressed on man's mind 
 than a sense of merit. It is by it, too, that there is 
 raised up that fear of a supernatural power, and of 
 coming judgments, which is felt at times at least by all 
 savage tribes, indeed by all mankind, except in so far as 
 it may be suppressed by speculative unbelief or artificial 
 means. The feeling of reproach as to the past, and of 
 apprehension as to the future, is one of the characteristics 
 of humanity, and he who overlooks it has lost sight of 
 one of the most striking qualities in our nature, and 
 must have in consequence a very imperfect, nay, a 
 positively erroneous view of man's moral condition. It 
 is this sentiment which, more than anything else, has 
 
33 
 
 retS'ined the idea of God — in some cases very vaguely 
 — among all nations; it is upon it that the Christian 
 missionary seeks to operate in addressing heathen nations ; 
 it is this same feeling which constrains all men to feel, at 
 least on certain occasions, that they need a religion. The 
 moral monitor in man closes all its proclamations by 
 pointing to God as a judge, and to a day of righteous 
 retribution." — Method of Divine Govei-nment, M'Cosh, 
 p. 341. 
 
 On the subject of the human conscience, its disorders, 
 the restraints upon it in the present world, and its awful 
 development when these are withdrawn hereafter, we 
 know nothing superior to Book III. chap. 2 of this work. 
 It ought to be read by every student as a necessary 
 supplement to what has been written on the point by 
 Butler and Chalmers. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Dean Alford, in loo. "Every conscience of men, 
 i.e. every possible variety of the human conscience ; im- 
 plying there is no conscience but will inwardly acknow- 
 ledge this, however loth some may be outwardly to 
 confess it." He quotes the words of Chrysostom, with 
 which we sympathise more than he does, Ou 'imtoTs fi6vov, 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Most readers must be familiar with the very able and 
 intellectual sermon by Dr. Caird on our text, in which 
 
 C 
 
34 
 
 he starts by meeting the objection which might naturally 
 suggest itself to the mind, that, if the truths of revelation 
 commend themselves to the conscience or consciousness 
 of man, it might be thought that man, by the unaided 
 exercise of his consciousness, could have discovered them. 
 To all such questions, the obvious answer as he states 
 would be, " that the power to recognise truth when pre- 
 sented to us, does not by any means imply the power to 
 find out or originate the same truth." 
 
 No. V. 
 
 It would appear to be one of the leading delusions of 
 the day, one of the errors pervading the " Essays and 
 Reviews," to " put conscience between us and the Bible, 
 to make conscience the supreme interpreter." — See Essays, 
 Dr. Temple, p. 51. This seems well met and refuted in 
 the following passage : — 
 
 " It is only a perverse ingenuity and an unwise 
 delusion which would make man's own conscience the 
 
 highest appeal in matters of right and wrong As 
 
 man now is, the Bible declares, and reason assents to the 
 declaration, that the law of God is our rule of right and 
 wrong, and that the transgression of that law is sin. 
 Let conscience hold its proper place and do its proper 
 work in our moral life. It is the witness of the law of 
 God. It bears witness, true or false, according as we 
 use it, and we are responsible if it leads us astray. It is 
 capable of judging aright, it can and does recognise that 
 which is right, and true, and beautiful; it knows the 
 voice of God when He speaks to it, and is bound to give 
 His message to our hearts. The Apostle confidently 
 appeals to it ; ' by manifestation of the truth commend- 
 
35 
 
 ing himself to every man's conscience in the sight of 
 God.' Even the heathen have this inward witness to an 
 established law, and will be judged according to it. As 
 a measure of right in this secondary sense, and as the 
 exponent of the will of God, conscience admits of various 
 
 degrees of accuracy But in general, and in every 
 
 particular case, it is the positive law of God, read by us 
 in the acts of His providence and in the word of His 
 revelation, and interpreted to our hearts by His own 
 Spirit, which determines the right and the wrong." — 
 Confirmation Sermons, by Dr. Pears, p. 34. So also. 
 Dr. M' Cosh, p. 325 : "Taking into account the circum- 
 stance that man's conscience is perverted, we believe it 
 to be absolutely necessary, in order to its rectification, to 
 have a revealed law acting the same part as the dial, 
 when it is used to set to right the disordered timepiece. 
 . . . . It is one of the most beneficent of the effects of 
 the law of God written in the Bible, that it rectifies the 
 conscience, which has become deranged, and bewildered 
 in its derangement, and so needs a hand to guide it back 
 to its right position. It is another of its beneficent effects 
 that, being used as an instrument for this purpose by a 
 higher power, it restores to the conscience its primitive 
 discernment and sensibility, when it becomes a constant 
 monitor against evil, and a means of prompting to all 
 excellence." 
 
 London : -Printed by StrakQEWATS & Walden, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
BRITAIN'S ANSWER TO THE NATIONS. 
 
 tssmnarj mxmm, 
 
 PREACHED 
 
 IN SAINT PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, 
 
 ON SUNDAY, MAY 3, 1857. 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID ANDERSON, D.D. 
 
 LOBD BISHOP OP EHPEEl's LAND. 
 
 PUBLISHED BT REQUEST. 
 
 LONDON: 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 A. NEWLING, LIVEEPOOL. 
 1857. 
 
LONDON 
 Printed by G. Babclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
TO 
 THE EIGHT HONOURABLE AND EIGHT EEVEKEND 
 
 ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF LONDON. 
 
 My DEAR Lord, 
 
 It was one of my greatest pleasures on 
 reaching England to hear of your Lordship's 
 deserved appointment to the high and exalted 
 station which you occupy, and afterwards to be. 
 present at your Lordship's Consecration, and to 
 mingle my prayers with those of so many others 
 on that solemn occasion. I could not but think 
 at the time of the days of boyhood spent together, 
 of intercourse so happily commenced at the outset 
 of life, and friendship continued without inter- 
 ruption, save by distance from each other, for 
 more than two-and-thirty years. 
 
 Nor could it be a small gratification to be 
 invited, through the kindness of your Lordship, 
 
 a2 
 
IV 
 
 to represent the case of my far-distant Diocese, 
 the wants of the Indian of the wilderness, in the 
 centre of light and civilization. How different 
 the circumstances of the Church from the time 
 when sermons were preached by Eidley and 
 Jewel at Paul's Cross ! It is, if I mistake not, 
 instead of them, that your Lordship has now the 
 appointment of the Morning Preacher in the 
 Cathedral ; and this has given you the oppor- 
 tunity, so happily seized, of combining within its 
 walls the voices from the East and from the 
 West in the compass of a single month. Our 
 beloved Church would now be in act, what your 
 Cathedral is in type and figure) an overshadow- 
 ing mother, embracing under her wing many 
 Churches, and stretching her boughs unto the 
 sea and her branches unto the river. 
 
 Does it not afford a proof of the vast extent 
 and energy of the Church of the present day, 
 that in my remotest boundary I find those who 
 bear the license of your Lordship's predecessor 
 — that in Vancouver's Island our Dioceses meet ? 
 It will be matter of deep thankfulness if I am 
 ever permitted to visit that spot, and carry out 
 in any measure your Lordship's wishes there. 
 And the happiest day of my life, in anticipation, 
 would be that on which, if health and strength be 
 
granted, I may gaze on the distant Pacific, and 
 feel that I have traversed the land from sea to sea. 
 It is, I am sure, needless to ask for myself 
 and my land a casual remembrance in your Lord- 
 ship's prayers ; and it is, I trust, equally un- 
 necessary to assure you, that from the West our 
 hearts will often revert to the centre whence we 
 were sent forth, and our prayers will ascend for 
 him to whom, in an especial manner, the care of 
 the Missionary Churches of Britain is entrusted. 
 That your Lordship may be abundantly strength- 
 ened by God's Spirit, in the overpowering charge 
 committed to you ; that you may ever possess, 
 what you have already so largely gained, the 
 affection and esteem of an attached Clergy ; that 
 many days of health may be given you on earth, 
 and many souls, at the great day of the Lord, 
 prove vour joy and crown of rejoicing, is the 
 sincere and earnest prayer of 
 
 Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 David Rupert's Land. 
 
 London, May 25, 1857. 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 " What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? 
 That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his 
 people shall trust in (marg. betake themselves into) it." 
 — IsA. xiv. 32. 
 
 The stream of time is ever presenting a suc- 
 cession of similar events. Historical parallels 
 are found to recur in ages and countries the 
 most remote from each other. For one such 
 parallel we have the highest authority, that of 
 inspiration. Linked as the two portions of the 
 volume of God are together, we cannot douht that 
 the historical record of the Old Testament is in 
 some way to he reproduced under the New. The 
 Spirit hy the Apostle has told us that all things 
 which happened to the Israelites happened unto 
 them for ensamples, and are written for our ad- 
 monition. And so, casting off Jewish peculiarities, 
 and that which marked out the dispensation as 
 only for an isolated people, and for a passing 
 season, we can always draw from what we read of 
 them some saving instruction for ourselves. 
 
Now, in the earlier portion of the chapter 
 of our text, we have, you will remember, the 
 thrilling and magnificent prediction of the over- 
 throw of the King of Babylon, and the deliver- 
 ance of the people of the Lord. We have the 
 haughty monarch represented in bold imagery, 
 as welcomed by his compeers in the unseen 
 world, — his pomp brought down to the grave, 
 the worm spread under him and the worms 
 covering him. As a pledge of the fulfilment 
 of the more distant subject, the Prophet adduces 
 the destruction of the host of the Assyrians, 
 the army of Sennacherib, almost at the very 
 gates of Jerusalem. And then he passes to 
 notice events nearer at hand. Under Uzziah 
 the Philistines had sufi^jred severely and been 
 brought low, but during the reign of Ahaz 
 their courage had revived, and on the accession 
 of Hezekiah they still hoped to be able to carry 
 out successfully their plans and projects. 
 
 The Prophet is commissioned to declare that 
 it will be even worse for every enemy of Jerusalem 
 under Hezekiah ; that under him the power of 
 God's people will only be more confirmed ; and 
 that if any come to sue for peace, or to inquire 
 regarding the wonders and deliverances wrought 
 for Judah by God's arm, they are to be told " that 
 the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of 
 his people shall trust in it." May not, then, 
 this message of comfort to Jerusalem prove one 
 of comfort to ourselves ? Ages have passed away 
 
since these words were written, and yet, enlarging 
 our field of view, and changing our standing- 
 point, we may perhaps be guided into some profit- 
 able and suggestive reflections by theans of them. 
 We would contemplate, — The Question which 
 seems implied in the words, — The Answer con- 
 tained in them, and, — The Ingathering of the 
 poor into the Zion of the living God. 
 
 To view then, first, the Question of the text, 
 and the analogous and corresponding question, 
 proposed by many around us at the present day. 
 
 The messengers in the case before us were 
 those sent by a small tribe, or if, with some 
 commentators,* we admit the word to be a plural 
 noun (nations), they were those sent by a few 
 of the surrounding tribes, to inquire regarding 
 the actual position and true strength of Judah 
 and Jerusalem. Now the nation to which the 
 appeal was made, measured in the balance of 
 earthly kingdoms, was but a small one, insig- 
 nificant when compared with Babylon the golden 
 city, or with the power of the proud Assyrian ; 
 and yet, there was a might on the side of this 
 despised people which proved that God was with 
 them. What a miracle and marvel Jerusalem 
 must thus have appeared to the nations dweUing 
 on the earth, to the messengers of the nations 
 who came to inquire regarding her ! They visit 
 a country of narrow and confined limits, they find 
 
 * The Septuagint has the plural, and this Vitringa also 
 prefers. 
 
10 
 
 within it inhabitants scarcely known beyond their 
 own borders ; but they approach Jerusalem, and 
 they are told that this is the city of the living 
 God. They see the outward glory and splendour 
 of the Temple, and they hear of its hidden, its 
 inner magnificence, its holy and holy of holies. 
 They go about Zion and mark her bulwarks, 
 and, as they retire, they feel that her protection 
 must be from heaven. And to the messengers, 
 whatever their errand or object, whether from 
 Babylon or Assyria, from the Philistines or any 
 of the nations around, the one answer to be 
 returned by the command of God is the same, 
 "The Lord hath founded Zion." 
 
 Where, then, is there anything corresponding 
 to this at the present hour ? There is, surely, a 
 land to which the messengers of the nations 
 come ; nations, that scarcely know her position, 
 feel her power ; and they send their ambassadors 
 from afar, to ascertain if possible the secret of 
 her strength and security. The tide of revolution 
 sweeps over other lands, but is rolled back from 
 this one. Her foes are many and powerful, but 
 they all feel that there is a mightier arm than that 
 of man arrayed on her side. She prevails far and 
 near through the terror of her arms ; but she has 
 other victories, — her peaceful conquests that she 
 carries to the ends of the earth, the triumphs of 
 the Gospel of Christ. It is not that we identify 
 the land with Zion, or confine the term to our 
 own Church or country ; rather is it because of 
 
11 
 
 her connexion with Zion that God blesses the 
 land, because in her the Zion of God is planted 
 and cherished, bj^ her the borders of Zion are 
 enlarged and extended; and while she remains 
 thus favourable and gracious to Zion, God will 
 make her a praise and a glory in the earth. 
 
 The messengers of the nations, then, come to 
 Britain, to behold her power and to demand 
 the secret of her strength. If able to hear the 
 voice of God addressing her in the words before 
 us, if she but listen to them and follow out their 
 spirit, how sure and invincible her position ! 
 for how long a period may she still have cause 
 to say, " The Lord of hosts is with us, the God 
 of Jacob is our refuge ! " 
 
 But, narrowing for a few moments our view, 
 and taking the words in a subordinate application, 
 the present, we would remark, is peculiarly the 
 season of inquiry regarding her spiritual strength, 
 the amount of her peaceful progress. Year by 
 year as the wheels of time roll round, meetings 
 are held as at this time to inquire and tell what 
 God hath wrought. 
 
 The question, for example, that would suggest 
 itself to the mind, — the question that might first 
 be proposed, would be. Whether any other tribe or 
 nation dwelling on the earth, hitherto in heathen 
 darkness, has through another year received the 
 message of salvation and accepted the offer of 
 grace? — is any fresh country accessible to the feet 
 of the messenger of peace, of him " that bringeth 
 
12 
 
 good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation ? " 
 And, brethren, it is surely a privilege to hear of 
 a continent opened up,* of a wilderness beginning 
 to blossom,t of tribes casting off the bondage of 
 superstition and the cruelties of war, and rejoicing 
 in the glorious liberty wherewith Christ makes 
 free. How cold and insensible the heart which 
 can listen to the recital of such tidings unmoved ! 
 
 And then, too, another question would natu- 
 rally follow : Has the word of God penetrated 
 farther through another year ; has it been trans- 
 lated into any fresh languages, so as "to speak 
 to another nation in their own tongue of the 
 wonderful works of God? Here another noble 
 Society would take up its tale, and number up 
 the languages of earth, in which the voice of 
 the living God is now speaking to man. And 
 in this way each year would bring in evidence, 
 that the word of the Lord is having free course 
 and being glorified. If, then, you believe that 
 the leaves of this tree are for the healing of 
 the nations, is not the duty laid upon you to 
 spread them in every tongue, through which the 
 heart of man can be approached ? 
 
 Nor would the questions relate only to the 
 work abroad. It might be asked. While sym- 
 pathy embraces the heathen afar off, does it also 
 overtake the wretched and the outcast at home ? 
 And while the hand of pity is stretched out to 
 succour such as have never heard the joyful 
 * Africa. j Rupert's Land. 
 
13 
 
 sound, from their distance in remoter lands, the 
 same hand is found seeking out those who have 
 cast off the fear of God, and drowned the thought 
 of religion, though near them, and at their very 
 doors. 
 
 Are there not others, also, regarding whom 
 the minds of all would anxiously inquire, — those, 
 once the people of God, now for a season afar off, 
 though still beloved for the father's sake? As 
 the light spreads over the world, and the fulness 
 of the Gentiles seems to approach, how eagerly 
 would the believer ask. Is the time to favour 
 Zion, the set time, yet come ? And on this 
 head information would be given, and we should 
 learn how God's people are earnestly pleading 
 with Him to arise and have mercy upon Zion, 
 how His servants take pleasure in her stones, 
 and favour the dust thereof. 
 
 Now these, it is readily allowed, are scarcely 
 the subjects on which the messengers of the 
 nations might inquire. They would be more 
 likely to ask about the wealth and outward re- 
 sources, — the treasures of the land, as in the 
 very time of Hezekiah ; they might desire in- 
 formation regarding her naval and military 
 power, or the measure of comfort and hap- 
 piness diffused throughout the nation at large. 
 And yet, after beholding these things, and gain- 
 ing the fullest detail about them all, would there 
 not be, beyond and beneath, something for which 
 they could not account, and which would still 
 
14 
 
 require farther explanation ? And is it not the 
 case, that if they looked into the matters of 
 which we treat, the solution, or, at all events, 
 a partial solution, might he found ? Is not 
 Britain's a moral weight among the nations — 
 the weight of Christian character and Christian 
 influence ? Is not her greatest glory the guar- 
 dianship of the truth of God — is not her high 
 vocation its dissemination throughout the world ? 
 And, therefore, the secret of her strength lies 
 very much in the exercise of the trust committed 
 to her. " Put in trust with the Gospel " — what 
 a gem on her brow ! Oh, may she not be 
 ashamed to reveal this, when the messengers of 
 the nations ask her of her strength ; may she 
 have grace to declare God's glory among the 
 heathen, and His wonders among all the people ! 
 But this would appear more fully by con- 
 sidering, secondly, the Answer furnished in our 
 text. How full of calm and simple dignity the 
 short reply, — " The Lord hath founded Zion ! " 
 Whatever the fluctuations around; whatever 
 enemy may approach her ; from whatever quarter 
 the messengers may come, and on whatever 
 errand ; what security in the assurance that her 
 foundations are upon the holy hills, that the 
 Lord loveth the gates of Zion ! Sennacherib felt 
 this when the voice of God declared, " I will 
 defend this city for mine own sake." Babylon 
 felt it when the hour of her doom arrived ; and 
 the Philistines watched in vain for the moment 
 
15 
 
 when they might triumph over God's heritage, 
 and trample them under their feet. 
 
 But where, and what is the foundation, since 
 Jerusalem hath been trodden down, and her 
 glory swept away ? Was there not something 
 connected with Zion which shall never end ? 
 Was there not a foundation laid there of a build- 
 ing, which shall only be consummated and com- 
 pleted in eternity ? Listen to an Apostle, quoting 
 the words of our Prophet: — '' Behold, 1 lay in 
 Zion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious, and 
 he that believeth on Him shall not be con- 
 founded." As here explained by the Spirit, the 
 foundation would seem to rest on the work and 
 word of Christ. The stone, which is become the 
 head of the corner, — this, you well know from 
 His own gracious declaration, is the Saviour, in 
 the fulness of His finished sacrifice — the blood 
 shed upon the cross. But the same passage 
 links very clogely the stone and the believer's 
 faith ; it describes the stone as elect and pre- 
 cious, and because of this sets forth the necessity 
 and privilege of a living faith. There is, then, 
 a work wrought out and accomplished, and there 
 is the record of that work to be believed and 
 rested in ; or, to express it otherwise, the work 
 and the word of Christ. Oh, what a blessed 
 foundation here! the blood of Emmanuel, God 
 with us ! the voice of the Spirit speaking to us 
 in the word! Let either of these be dimmed 
 or obscured, and the ground on which the sinner 
 
16 
 
 depends for acceptance totters beneath his feet ; 
 let the virtue and reality of the sacrifice be 
 questioned, and where is the sinner's hope for 
 the pardon of sin? and let the Divine inspira- 
 tion of the record be doubted, and where is the 
 assurance that the declaration of forgiveness is 
 from God? But, with the work and word of 
 Christ in all their glory, how strong the sinner's 
 hope — how blessed the ministry of souls ! This 
 is the message of sovereign efficacy, — this the 
 secret of victory over the powers of darkness, 
 for on the banners of all who would win souls 
 from Satan, until the last one is gathered in, 
 would be the universal inscription, — "They 
 overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the 
 word of their testimony." 
 
 Now to this foundation we can obviously add 
 nothing. The work was finished when the Re- 
 deemer bowed His sacred head ; the word and 
 record were sealed up when the volume was 
 closed and given to the expectant Church, vrith 
 the prayer, " Even so, come." To its security 
 man can contribute nothing. " Other founda- 
 tion can no man lay than that is laid, which 
 is Jesus Christ." Man's office is but to build, 
 to place the feet of perishing sinners thereon. 
 As the Baptist pointed to the Saviour and said, 
 " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
 the sin of the world ;" as the beloved Apostle, 
 who saw the drops of blood falling from the 
 Redeemer's sacred person as He hung upon the 
 
V 
 
 cross, delighted to point to that fountain and say, 
 " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all 
 sin," so we only point to Jesus Christ and Him 
 crucified, and invite sinners, in His own gracious 
 words, " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye 
 ends of the world." 
 
 Wherever, then, this blessed message is pro- 
 claimed, wherever the work and word are set 
 forth, there the Zion of God is planted ; and 
 although nought is or can be added to the 
 strength of the foundation, yet as the well- 
 known Eastern tree plants its roots in fresh 
 soil, and each branch becomes a tree, and all 
 grows in solidity, and strength, and beauty, 
 though still deriving sap and moisture from the 
 parent stem, so it is with the Temple, which 
 grows and spreads, though from the one found- 
 ation. Besides, as the stones of thi-s spiritual 
 edifice are not dead and inert, but all lively 
 stones, full of power and animation from above, 
 they are each of them endued with an attractive 
 energy ; and, therefore, while the foundation 
 remains the same, the attractive power of the 
 whole becomes, from age to age, indefinitely 
 increased. And to all the lively stones so ga- 
 thered in, from countries the most remote from 
 the earthly Jerusalem, and to the latest periods 
 of the Church's history, the Apostle would say, 
 " Ye are come unto Mount Zion, the city of the 
 living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." 
 
 Here then, is the one foundation in its 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 essential and incommunicable glory ; yet here is 
 the foundation, in another sense, multiplying 
 itself among the Churches of the Gentiles. In 
 extent of superstructure, in attractive power, how 
 much is it gaining from year to year ! How 
 great the privilege of planting it wherever lost 
 man is found ! how solemn the responsibility to 
 plant it as wise master-builders ! And as it is 
 one spirit which reigns throughout the whole, 
 how necessary to keep up a healthy circulation, 
 so that the life-blood may pass to animate the 
 extremities, and then return to the centre to 
 draw fresh nourishment, so that the spiritual 
 household may feel a oneness in Christ, — an 
 intercommunion, an all-pervading sympathy 1 
 
 And from what spot can the answer, " The 
 Lord hath founded Zion," be given forth more 
 suitably than from the Cathedral of the me- 
 tropolis of this mighty land, from which the 
 work and the word of the Saviour are diffused 
 through the most distant nations of the earth ? 
 Does this our Metropolitan Church bear the 
 name of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, and 
 does it contain the memorials of the departed, 
 thie trophies of those who have made the British 
 name renowned by land or sea ? Is it not as 
 great an honour to our country to be the nursing- 
 mother of the Churches of the Gentiles, to have 
 it in commission to say to the messengers of the 
 nations, " The Lord hath founded Zion ?" 
 
 If, listening to the invitation of the builder 
 
19 
 
 of this, imposing fabric, we look around, it is to 
 behold the mighty effort of human genius, and 
 the memorials of the dead ; but if we take a 
 wider survey, and from this spot look around on 
 the work and word of the Lord, as published 
 and passing hence to the ends of the earth, how 
 glorious and yet how humbling the view ! In the 
 East the foundation is laid ; in India countries 
 are pressed upon us, in order that the standard 
 of the Cross may be unfurled in them. In China 
 the foundation is planted, and, although there 
 may be the passing cloud, our assurance would 
 be that of the Psalmist, — " The Lord is King, be 
 the people never so impatient : He sitteth be- 
 tween the cherubim, be the earth never so un- 
 quiet. The Lord is great in Zion and high 
 above all people." And in the remotest West 
 the same foundation is, we trust, planted in the 
 recesses of the lonely wilderness, and stretching 
 to the distant Pacific. Here, then, are Zion's 
 watchmen, placed on their towers on the ex- 
 tremest verge of the earth, — watchmen who are to 
 declare their message, to lift up their voice to 
 their fellow-creatures, and to plead with God for 
 man, " until He make Jerusalem a praise in 
 the earth." 
 
 While thus the messengers of the truth oc- 
 cupy the extremities of the earth, while they in a 
 manner encircle the globe, who, brethren, are 
 those who are gathered in? The text would 
 lead us to consider, lastly, the Ingathering of the 
 
 B 2 
 
20 
 
 poor into the Zion of the hving God ; hetaking 
 themselves into it, as we read in the margin. 
 
 With the experience of centuries, and the 
 enlarged opportunities of observation of the pre- 
 sent day, how is this confirmed? Shall we 
 ascend even to Him, who spake as never man 
 spake, and ask who received His word? We 
 read that the common people heard Him gladly ; 
 we find, that when in Nazareth He declared, 
 " This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your 
 ears," the first portion fulfilled was, "The Spirit 
 of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed 
 me to preach the Gospel to the poor." Such, 
 too, was the Eedeemer's proof to the Baptist of 
 His Messiahship and mission, that " the poor 
 have the Gospel preached to them." 
 
 And in Apostolic times, although the preach- 
 ing was not without a blessing among the coun- 
 cillors at Athens or Nero's household at Rome, 
 who were, for the most part, the willing hearers ? 
 What saith the Apostle, the most largely blessed 
 in gathering in from among the Gentiles ? " Not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, 
 not many noble are called ; but God hath chosen 
 the foolish things, the weak things, the base 
 things, and things which are despised, that no 
 flesh should glory in his presence." Such is the 
 general tenor of Scripture. However rebellious 
 in the day of their prosperity, God testifies of 
 Israel, "In their affliction they will seek me 
 early :" by ginother prophet He declares, "I will 
 
21 
 
 leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor 
 people, and they shall trust in the name of the 
 Lord." And does not an Apostle ask with a 
 peculiarly impressive earnestness, " Hearken, my 
 beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor 
 of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
 dom which He hath promised to them that love 
 Him ?" All this would tend to show a common 
 condition of heart, rather than one outward con- 
 dition of life, as marking God's people. The 
 motto over the gate of the heavenly Zion would 
 be the first of the Redeemer's beatitudes, — 
 '' Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven." Such, then, are they who 
 are being gathered in from every country and 
 clime by the power of the Spirit. And is it not 
 remarkably seen at the present hour, and con- 
 firmed by every missionary record ? How small 
 comparatively the success among the proud 
 Brahmins, among those whose minds are filled 
 with a false philosophy in India or China ! But 
 take the African, brought low, ground down by 
 the pressure of distress, and when the Spirit 
 sp'eaks, it speaks comfortably to his heart. Take 
 the New Zealander, and the hour of his lowest 
 depression becomes the very season for gathering 
 almost a whole nation into the fold. Oh, that 
 in the second generation they may preserve the 
 simplicity of their faith, the purity of their first 
 
 love I 
 
 And in our own far-distant land, brethren. 
 
22 
 
 how touchinjj has often been the tale of want 
 and famine, coupled with the exercise of the 
 most child-like trust, in God ! How often is the 
 Psalmist's picture realised, " They wander in the 
 wilderness, in a solitary way ; they find no city to 
 dwell in : hungry and thirsty, their soul fainteth 
 in them ; they cry Unto the Lord in their trouble, 
 and He delivereth them out of their distress!" 
 How often is there a longing for grace, even in 
 the extremity of earthly want, — a longing which 
 God graciously satisfies in fulfilment of His pro- 
 mise, — '" When the poor and needy seek water 
 and thei'e is none, and their tongue faileth for 
 thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of 
 Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers 
 in dry places, and fountains in the midst of the 
 valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of 
 water, and the dry land springs of water." Oh ! 
 if there be on earth, according to the expressive 
 figure of the Prophet in the chapter of our text, 
 "the firstborn of the poor," the poorest of the 
 poor, we have them among our own pobr Indians ; 
 and, blessed be God, from among them many 
 feed in Zion's pastures, and the wilderness begins 
 to re-echo with the prayer and praise which 
 ascend from their lonely tents. How many will 
 have cause through eternity to bless God, that 
 Zion's foundation was planted among them ; 
 that there are the Zoats, the cities of refuge, 
 dotting the land, to flee unto ! The prbudpt 
 Indian may stand aloof, and, unwilling to ac- 
 
23 
 
 knowledge himself a transgressor, may behold, 
 and wonder, and perish ; but the poor and lowly 
 inquirer, anxious to be delivered from the burden 
 of sin, and to be taught by the Spirit, enters in, 
 and the universal prayer, the Litany of all the 
 redeemed, gathered out of the lands, from the 
 east and from the west, from the north and from 
 the south, would be the same, — '' Have mercy 
 upon us miserable sinners." 
 
 And oh ! what a change passes over the scene 
 when the poor betake themselves into Zion, and 
 the prodigal finds a welcome in the bosom of his 
 Father, a sympathising heart in the Redeemer, 
 and a fountain of holiness and peace in the power 
 of the Holy Spirit ! The land may remain out- 
 wardly the same, the severity of climate and 
 the extremity of want may bring low, but there 
 is in the tent the lamp which leads to endless 
 day ; there is, as the poor Indian pines away, 
 shivering at times, and hunger-stricken, a hope 
 that cheers with the prospect of a place in the 
 mansions prepared for the redeemed. God is 
 found even now to "comfort Zion, to comfort 
 all her waste places, to make her wilderness like 
 Eden, and her desert like the garden of the 
 Lord ; joy and gladness are found therein, 
 thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." 
 
 While thus answering the question to others, 
 may we not, in conclusion, do well to ask our 
 own hearts whether we are indeed on the true 
 foundation. It is a signal blessing to behold 
 
24 
 
 many building on that foundation around us, but 
 how much more blessed to feel that our own feet 
 are upon the rock, and to be able from the depth 
 of our own experience to say, " The name of the 
 Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth 
 into it and is safe." Do we value as we ought 
 our Christian name, our Christian parents, our 
 Christian country? How different to live in 
 a land where the true light shines and has shone 
 for centuries, and to live where the sights and 
 sounds of heathenism are continually obtruded 
 upon us! 
 
 Again, what a privilege to be permitted to 
 plant the foundation in other lands, and invite 
 the poor and outcast, the weary and the heavy 
 laden, to betake themselves to it! To whom 
 more than to ourselves could the charge be 
 given, — " I have set thee a light to the Gentiles, 
 and that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the 
 ends of the earth." Eighteen hundred years 
 ago these words were full of comfort and direction 
 to the great Apostle, when listening to them 
 he cried out, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles!" 
 And the command is not yet spent. It would 
 lead and beckon us on, as we turn from nation 
 to nation among the Gentiles still, and seek the 
 lost and perishing heathen. Our work is not 
 over and done, and disobedient are we to the 
 heavenly command, if we fold our hands in 
 apathy and sit still. 
 
 I have come as a messenger from afar, to 
 
25 
 
 tell you of those over whom the providence of 
 God has placed me, and to entreat for them your 
 sympathy and prayers. I count it no ordinary 
 privilege to have been invited by your beloved 
 Diocesan to plead from this cathedral pulpit for 
 my land, so vast in extent of territory, yet so 
 very scantily and thinly peopled. I feel it a 
 pleasure to lift up my voice here for the scattered 
 flocks in the wilderness, for the poor Indian, 
 who (in the eloquent and striking language of a 
 native chief, then a heathen, now a brother in 
 the faith) is a poor son, yet made and stamped 
 with the same hand that made the white man, 
 and who would call to his brother the white 
 son to come on the weather side of him, of 
 the severe cold of the north, as a protection 
 and shelter to his needy brother. 
 
 What, then, shall be the answer which I carry 
 back ? Shall I tell the converts that you regard 
 them not as strangers and foreigners, but as 
 fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household 
 of God ; that you think of them as built on 
 the same foundation ; and that, though thousands 
 of miles separate, your hopes and theirs rest 
 for eternity on one rock? Permit me to carry 
 back such a reply, and to bear with me the 
 assurance that we shall not be unremembered 
 in your petitions. Think of our land, as stretch- 
 ing to where the sun dips in the Western Ocean ; 
 think of it as stretching northward, to where the 
 sun is hidden and veiled for months. 
 
26 
 
 It is for an infant Church that I plead. The 
 work as yet effected is but the work of yesterday, 
 the result of scarcely forty years. Before that, 
 no ministers, no Sabbaths, no ordinances I Kow 
 we have, at the heart and centre, light ; we have 
 there the Sabbath, the Sanctuary, the Scriptures 
 reverenced and prized. We are baffled, how- 
 ever, as we look on the lonely spots, so many in 
 number, with but few souls in each, to which we 
 are wholly unable to carry the glad tidings. We 
 cry out again and again before our God, "By 
 whom shall Jacob rise, for he is small ? " We 
 look to God to fulfil the promise — " I will be to 
 them a little sanctuary ; " and we trust that the 
 day may not be far distant, when, as the northern 
 lights shoot across the sky and cover the heavens 
 with a clear zone of light, so the truth as it is in 
 Jesus may spread over the whole land, and en- 
 lighten every soul. 
 
 It is for Churches yet to be born that I plead. 
 The heights of land, the mountains with snow- 
 clad summits, separate from the regions beyond, 
 which are still uncheered by the joyful sound. 
 The barriers of nature, the difficulties of language 
 and of tribe, oppose the progress, of the Gospel. 
 We are but as '' the voice crying in the wilder- 
 ness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make 
 straight in the desert a highway for our God;" 
 but we rest on the assurance, that ''every valley 
 shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill 
 shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made 
 
27 
 
 straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory 
 of the Lord shall be revealed." Pray then that, 
 as obstacles arise in the erection of the spiritual 
 temple, we may hear the cheering voice saying 
 to us, " Who art thou, O great mountain ? before 
 Zerubbabel thou sbalt become a plain." And 
 may we throw ourselves with redoubled energy 
 into the more distant work ! May more of the 
 Apostle's spirit be given us, that we may " strive 
 to preach the Gospel, not where Christ is named, 
 lest we build on another man's foundation, but 
 as it is written, To whom He was not known 
 they shall see, and they that have not heard shall 
 understand." 
 
 It is, too, for a work already largely blessed 
 that I plead. If success be taken as some en- 
 couragement to prosecute our task with renewed 
 ardour, we want not tokens of the presence and 
 Spirit of God accompanying our labour. Many 
 of the firstborn of the poor are betaking them- 
 selves to the foundation planted among them, 
 and turning to the stronghold as prisoners of 
 hope, and the work grows. The Missionary 
 Clergy were but five in number when I first went 
 out, we are now twenty ; but still this is only a 
 handful for the mighty portion of that continent 
 committed to us. We want men ; we want 
 facilities for gathering the scattered ones into a 
 point, and addressing them in their many tongues. 
 May the fruit of this day's sermon be, that some 
 prayers may be offered up for that great Highway 
 
28 
 
 of the West, that the poor Indian may be had in 
 remembrance before the Lord, and that, if ever I 
 be permitted to return, as a messenger from 
 those distant tribes, after other seven years of 
 happy labour, it may be to tell that Zion's foun- 
 dation is more deeply rooted in the land ; that 
 " the wilderness and the solitary place are begin- 
 ning to be glad for us ; the desert to rejoice and 
 blossom as the rose." 
 
RUPERT'S LAND 
 DIOCESAN AND MISSION FUND. 
 
 ITrntiJon Cflmittitto. 
 
 The Archbishop of Canteebuet. 
 The Earl of Chichestee. 
 The Earl of Gainsboeough. 
 The Earl of Haeeowbt. 
 The Earl of Shaptesbuet. 
 The Bishop of London. 
 The Bishop of Oxeoed. 
 The Bishop of Linooln. 
 The Bishop of Chestee. 
 The Bishop of Caelisle. 
 
 Sir E. N. Buxton. 
 
 The Ven. Archdeacon Habeison. 
 
 Eev. Heney Venn. 
 
 Eev. Daniel Wilson. 
 
 Eev. Eexest Hawkins. 
 
 Eev. T. B. MuEEAY. 
 
 Eev. Edw. Hoare. 
 
 Eev. E. W. Foley. 
 
 Eev. T. D. Beenaed. 
 
 Eev. E. E. Jones. 
 
 ITitepooI Commitiw. 
 
 The Ven, Archdeacon Jones. 
 
 Eev. W. Eawson. 
 
 Eev. H. Caepentee. 
 
 Bev. Chaeles W. Laweenge. 
 
 Eev. J. Hebeeet Jones. 
 
 Thos. B. Hoeseall, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Adam Hodgson, Esq. 
 
 Chaeles Inman, Esq. 
 Chables Geoves, Esq. 
 Thomas Chilton, Esq. 
 Edwaed Heath, Esq. 
 John Eden, Esq. 
 EoBEET DiBOM, Esq. 
 Thomas D. Andeeson, Esq. 
 
 M. W. Collett, Esq., Treasurer. 
 
 Fkom leaving England within a week of his consecra- 
 tion, the Bishop of Rupert's Land was unable at the time 
 to issue a direct appeal to the Christian public. After an 
 uninterrupted residence of seven years in his diocese, he 
 can now do so with a fuller knowledge of the country 
 and the want of its inhabitants. 
 
 The increase of clergy has more than equalled his 
 expectations. Five in number when he first set foot in 
 the land, they are now nineteen. Education has advanced 
 in the same proportion. After all, however, that has 
 been done, there remains yet much land to be possessed. 
 The territory is nearly as large as Europe, stretching 
 from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains and the 
 Pacific — from the parallel of latitude 49 deg. northwards 
 to the Arctic Sea. 
 
30 
 
 Two tribes only of the Indians, the Crees and the 
 Saulteax, have yet been approached. There are many 
 other tribes wandering over the plains to the .west, many 
 to the north of the great height of land towards the 
 Mackenzie River. It is imagined that they would be as 
 accessible, if the offers were made to them, as those 
 already brought under the Gospel. 
 
 On these grounds the Bishop would venture to appeal 
 to those who have at heart the welfare of their fellow- 
 countrymen cut off from the means of grace, and of the 
 heathen still in darkness and the shadow of death. His 
 special objects would be : — 
 
 I. The erection of a modest and unpretending Cathe- 
 dral Church — that in which he has hitherto officiated 
 being supported by props both within and without. The 
 estimated cost would be about 4500/., both labour and 
 building material being expensive on the spot. 
 
 II. The extension of Missionary labour. If it is 
 found impossible to multiply ministers, something, it is 
 hoped, may be attempted by a system of colportage, 
 sending forward native agents as pioneers among their 
 coimtrymen. Since the Bishop's arrival in England, two 
 very promising candidates for the ministry have offered 
 themselves to go abroad, who have been necessarily 
 declined from want of means. 
 
 III. The Promotion of Education. In addition to the 
 Collegiate School for boys, the Bishop has undertaken a 
 large responsibility in the purchase of a house for a 
 Female School, feeling that the elevation of the country 
 will, under God, depend on the training of the mothers 
 of the next generation. In the establishment of other 
 Schools much outlay is also incurred, which, from the 
 circumstances of a land where there are few to help in 
 any good work, falls in a great measure upon the Bishop 
 himself. 
 
The follovnng Donations and Collections have been al- 
 ready received, and are most gratefully acknowledged. 
 
 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge 
 
 Hon. Hudson Bay Company 
 
 The Bishop of Kupert's Land 
 
 T. B. Horsfall, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Charles Baring Young, Esq. 
 
 Sir E. N. Buxton, Bart. 
 
 T. D. Anderson, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 A Friend, for another Church 
 
 A Friend 
 
 Ven. Archdeacon Cochran 
 
 Mrs. Cochran 
 
 Ven. Archdeacon Hunter 
 
 Ven. Archdeacon Harrison 
 
 Mrs. Harrison, Clapham Common 
 
 A Friend 
 
 Eev. C. B. Shuckburgh, Bourton Hall 
 
 George Burns, Esq., Glasgow 
 
 William A. Anderson, Esq., Glasgow 
 
 Charles Inman, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 WUliam Inman, Esq. ditto 
 
 Rev. C. W. Lawrence ditto 
 
 Justinian Pelly, Esq. 
 
 Anonymous 
 
 W. G. Smith, Esq., Hudson Bay House 
 
 Alexr. M'Kenzie Kirkland, Esq., Glasgow 
 
 Duncan Gibb, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 W. H. Smith, Esq., Strand 
 
 Adam Hodgson, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 Mark W. CoUett, Esq., ditto 
 
 Lady Olivia Sparrow 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 .500 
 
 
 
 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
32 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 The Misses Chaffers, Everton, Liverpool 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Horsfall ditto ditto 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Tory , ditto ditto 
 
 ' 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Deacon, Tunbridge Wells 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sam. Martin, Esq., Livei-pool 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thos. Adams, Esq., Nottingham 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Harrison, Sheffield 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 W. Skinner, Esq., Edinburgh 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Cooper, Dunboden Park, Mullingai" 
 
 - 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bishop of Peterborough 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Kawson, Sheffield 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Master Adam B. Thorn, Edinburgh 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 J. Bacchus, Esq., Leamington 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Hopkins ditto 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 William Jones, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 - 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Marriott, Esq. ditto 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dr. Macbride, Magdalen Hall, Oxford 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Caldecott 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 J. J. Gee, Esq. 
 
 - 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 0. Brown, Esq. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Oswald, Scotstown - 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thomas Hatchard, Esq. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. W. C. Kendall, Newark 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Alfred R. Roche, Esq. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Dyster 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Two Sisters 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Per Misses Dobinsou 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 A Friend, E. W. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Per "Record" 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Captain Huish 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Huish 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Earl of Shaftesbury 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Countess of Gainsborougb 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Earl of South esk 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hon. Mrs. Henry Noel 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Marchioness of Londonderry 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. Marsham Argles 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
33 
 
 Mrs. Gibson, Exton 
 
 John Woodcock, Esq., Wigan 
 
 Eev. Ch. Clayton, Cambridge 
 
 Ven. Archdeacon Jones, Liverpool 
 
 Rev. Philip Ray, Greensted - 
 
 Major-General Lawrence 
 
 Granville Ryder, Esq. 
 
 W. H. Moore, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 Mrs. Horsfall, Evevton, ditto 
 
 Mrs. Marsden ditto ditto 
 
 Wm. Marsden, Esq. ditto 
 
 Miss Cowgill ditto 
 
 H. V. Tebbs, Esq., Southwood Hall, Highgate 
 
 Rev. J. Browell, Muswell Hill 
 
 John Eden, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 Woodall and Jones ditto 
 
 Bishop of Lincoln 
 
 Mrs. Thomas Wainwright, Liverpool 
 
 Charles Groves, Esq. ditto 
 
 Edward Heath, Esq. ditto 
 
 Ditto Annual Subscription 
 Miss Tucker, West Hendred, Berkshire 
 Miss Nicholson, Dorking, Surrey 
 Charles Maude, Esq., Bath 
 Miss Simcoe ditto 
 
 Rev. J. Richardson, Manchester 
 James Haslam, Esq. ditto 
 W. T. Blacklock, Esq. ditto 
 The Misses Blacldock ditto 
 Miss Gates, Southwell 
 Miss Edwards, EUesmere 
 Mrs. Riddell, Thirsk 
 Mrs. Dawson Campbell 
 Rev. Alured Clarke 
 Miss Roberts, Sheffield 
 George Friend, Esq. 
 Robert Wilson, Esq., Monkstown, Dublin 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
34 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Mrs. Merry, Bristol 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hilton Halhead, Esq., Liverpool 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Mrs. James Corrie Duncan 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 A Friend, G. B. E., Glasgow 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 Lady Franklin 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thank Offering, York 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friends at Harlesden House 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Mrs. and Miss Attiield 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Rev. J. Mayor, CoUingham 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Lady A. M. Tollemache - 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 W. Leach, Esq., St. John's Wood 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. H. Carpenter, Liverpool - 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Haldane 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 W. Gibson, Esq., Ongar 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Waterhouse, Liverpool 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Misses Waterhouse, ditto 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 W. Waterhouse, Esq. ditto 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Abingdon Smith, Bath 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs., and Miss Longmire, Clifton 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. T. D. Wastell 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 G. Simpson, Esq. 
 
 S 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Rev. J. Linton 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 T. Cooper, Esq., Devonshire Street - 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Dr. Pritchard, Leamington 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Servants per Mrs. Hopkins, ditto 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Murray, Ockbrook 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. and Miss Budd 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friends at Chippenham 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Stewart, Waterloo 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miss Congreve 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 Mrs. Pochin, Edmonthorpe 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Groom 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Andrew Mitchell, Esq., Glasgow 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. Hugh Stowell 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. C. S. Bird, Gainsborough 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rev. T. Chamberlain, Birmingham 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Hon. and Rev. Leland Noel 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
35 
 
 Kev. W. Connington, Southwell 
 
 Rev. D. Wright, Bristol - 
 
 J. Shields, Esq., Durham 
 
 In vaxious Sums 
 
 Missionary Sale of Work, Everton, Liverpool 
 
 All Saints', Derby, Sermon and Meeting 
 
 St. Paul's Chapel, Kilburn, Sermon - 
 
 St. Michael's, Bath, ditto 
 
 Margaret's Chapel, ditto, ditto 
 
 St. Bees and Whitehaven, Sermons and Meet- 
 ings 
 
 Bristol and Clifton, Sermons 
 
 Tunbridge Wells, Meetings - 
 
 Ghristchurch, Brixton 
 
 Exeter College, Oxford 
 
 St. Augustine's, Everton, Sermon 
 
 Missionary Christmas Tree, Merrow, Guildford 
 
 Part Proceeds of Missionary Tree, per Lady 
 Elizabeth Orde 
 
 Dorking, Surrey 
 
 Offertory, Croft, Lincolnshire - 
 
 Leamington Meeting 
 
 Stamford, Lincolnshu-e, Meeting 
 
 Brigg, ditto, ditto 
 
 Richmond, Surrey, Sermons 
 
 St. James', Nottingham, Sermon 
 
 Christ Church, Newark, ditto 
 
 Patrixbourne, per Rev. J. Stevenson 
 
 Highgate, Meeting 
 
 Bootle Church, Sermon 
 
 Christ Church, Waterloo, ditto 
 
 Seafortb, ditto 
 
 Trinity Chapel, Conduit St., Sermon 
 
 St. Ann's, Manchester, Sermon 
 West Derby, Moiety of Collection 
 Widoombe, Bath, Sermon 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 147 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 41 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 64 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 91 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 
 
 as 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 41 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 1.5 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 
36 
 
 Ockbrook, Derbyshire, Meeting 
 Collected by St. Bees' pupils 
 Collected by the Misses Liddell, Edinburgh 
 Missionary Tree, St. Jude's, Glasgow 
 Juvenile Association, ditto 
 
 Donations will be received by Messrs. Baenett, 
 HoAKE, and Co., Lombard Street ; Messrs. W. H. Smith 
 and Son, 186 Strand; Messrs. Hatchaeds and Co., 
 Piccadilly ; at the Liverpool Union Bank ; or by any 
 Member of the Committee. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 18 
 
 5 
 
 lioudon :— Printed by Q. BiBOLAY, Castle St. Loicester Sq.