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I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 
 
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 ^pMTEJ) STATES OF AMElilCA.I 
 
SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 A LETTER 
 
 TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HON. EARL BATHURST, 
 LORD GODERICH, 
 
 AND THE RIGHT REV. 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON; 
 
 IN REFUTATION 
 
 OF SOME OF THE GROSS MISSTATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE NEWSPAPER 
 REPORTS OF THEIR SPEECHES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 
 
 ON THE MOTION OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD KING, 
 
 " FOR A COMMITTEE TO BE APPOINTED, TO INQUIRE INTO THE EXPEN- 
 DITURE OF THE PUBLIC MONEY, GRANTED TO THE SOCIETY FOR 
 THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS, IN 
 HIS majesty's COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA." 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. CORNELIUS GRIFFIN, 
 
 Late a Missionary of the Society, and successively Rector of St. George's Parish, Prince Edward 
 
 Island, and of Grand Manan, P)-ovince of New Brunswick, and one 
 
 of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace. 
 
 " There is less real religion in those parts of America where the Society's money has been 
 expended, than there would have been had it been sunk in the ocean." Dr. Mayhew. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 EFFINGHAM WILSON, 88, ROYAL EXCHANGE. 
 
(^\^ 
 
 #0,*^ 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Piinted by Anne Maurice, Fenchurch street. 
 
 Tbe Library 
 
 Or CONHKESS 
 WASHINGTON 
 
A LETTER, 
 
 Src. 
 
 VERITAS ODIUM PARTT. 
 
 London, 1st April, 1828. 
 My Lords, 
 
 I beg leave most respectfully to obtrude 
 upon your attention a few remarks, in refutation of 
 the gross misstatements attributed to your Lord- 
 ships by the public papers, in your speeches in the 
 House of Lords, in defence of the proceedings of the 
 Society for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
 Parts, both as it regards the state of religion in the 
 Colonies, and my conduct as a Missionary of the 
 said Society. 
 
 My Lord Bathurst will be pleased to recollect, 
 that, in May last, he stated in the same House of 
 Lords, *' That it was desirable that persons should 
 not be deprived of their situations, by any ani- 
 mosity that persons in the Colonies might entertain 
 against them ; because the state of society of per- 
 sons in those places was such, that it was impos- 
 sible to form any connection that did not expose in- 
 
 B 
 
dividuals to public or pinvate animosity,^' After 
 such a declaration from a Nobleman, who so long 
 held the important situation of Principal Secretary 
 of State for the Colonial department, it is surpri- 
 sing that your Lordships should rest your defence 
 of the Society, and their American agents, and at- 
 tempt to malign my character, on the evidently self- 
 interested representations of persons in the Colonies* 
 with whom, according to the solemn declaration of 
 Earl Bathurst, "it is impossible to reside, without 
 being ea^posed to public or private animosity'^ 
 
 The contracted limits of a letter will not suffer me 
 to enter at large fnto a refutation of all the errors 
 and mis-statements, every where so luxuriantly 
 abundant in the speeches attributed to your Lord- 
 ships on that memorable night : suffice it then, for 
 the present, to select two or three instances of in- 
 accuracy, (not to mention them by a harsher word,) 
 from that immense mass of misrepresentation, in 
 order to enable the enlightened and virtuous British 
 Public to form a just estimate of the quality and 
 consistency of the whole. 
 
 My Lords Bathurst and Goderich did me the in- 
 justice to say, that " I am a man of such irritability 
 of temper, that no one could agree with me, and 
 that I got into hot water wherever I went." Your 
 Lordships know full well, that the Society, on ap- 
 pointing me a Missionary at Prince Edward Island, 
 placed me at the absolute disposal of Lieut. Governor 
 Smith, who had been for many years at open war 
 with the inhabitants ; and was finally removed from 
 
3 
 
 that Government, on the petition to His Majesty in 
 1 824.* The Lieut. Governor, on my arrival, declared, 
 that it was his misfortune to govern a most factious 
 and rebellious set of people, and desired me not to 
 associate with any of his opposers, under pain of 
 his highest displeasure ; and, in particular, to be- 
 ware of the Rev. Mr. Desbrisay, the chief of the 
 faction. He directed me to officiate once every 
 Sunday in Mr. Desbrisay 's church, (the only 
 church on the Island,) because Mr. D. had refused to 
 perform two services ; that, in consequence of his re- 
 fusal, the pulpit was occupied by Mr. Desbrisay 's 
 sons, as methodist preachers, and other dissenting 
 ministers. This very naturally excited the clamour 
 of the Lieut. Governor's opponents against me. 
 
 As the Colonies are considered as a part and par- 
 cel of the dominions of the King of Great Britain, I 
 
 * The following are some of the charges against the Governor^ — 
 " That he sent his son-in-law, Mr. Carmichael, into the House of 
 Assembly, where the representatives were sitting —who addressed 
 the speaker loudly — " Mr. Speaker y if you sit in that chair one 
 minute longer, as speaker, the house shall he dissolved" at the same 
 time shaking his fist at the Speaker. 
 
 ** That the Governor's son, Henry, was, during the sitting of the 
 Assembly, detected and proved to have broken the windows of the 
 apartment in which the House of Representatives were assembled 
 and engaged in the public business." 
 
 When the Governor was removed from his office on the com- 
 plaints of the people, his son, Henry, who broke the windows, 
 then about 23 years of age, was appointed comptroller of the 
 customs at St. John's, New Brunswick, then about f 1500-r-and 
 now a stated salary of £1000 sterling per annum. 
 
expected to be received as a fellow subject ; and, 
 though removed from my native land, I trusted that 
 I should not be removed beyond the sphere of His 
 Majesty's paternal care and protection. On my ar- 
 rival, however, I found myself treated as a foreigner 
 and an intruder ; and one reason among many others 
 why I was so treated, was, that the Rev. Mr. Jenkins, 
 a protege of Bishop Inglis, intended to come over to 
 marry one of the Rev. Mr. Desbrisay's daughters, 
 and reside there in my stead. By the contrivances 
 of this confederacy, I received directions from the 
 Society to obey the commands of Lieutenant Go- 
 vernor Smith to build a house in an uninhabited 
 forest, consisting of about 130,000 acres. This was 
 done, as the sequel will shew, to induce me to re- 
 sign my situation,* to create a vacancy for thispro- 
 tege of Dr. Inglis, whom the Society had appointed 
 assistant missionary at Quebec, but he refused to 
 go to that place. 
 
 I applied to Earl Bathurst for the common grant 
 of 200 acres of wilderness land in this immense fo- 
 rest : this was denied me : — Earl Bathurst would al- 
 low me only *' a sufficient space, whereon to build the 
 house" not more than one-third part of an acre ; for 
 which I was to pay a fee of three guineas ; while it 
 is the custom to grant 20,000 acres of such land to 
 
 * In a conversation with the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, Secretary of the 
 Society, since my return to England, he told me I had no claim for 
 remuneration for the expenses of building and various removals, be- 
 cause I could have avoided them, by resignation. 
 
5 
 
 natives of Colonies for about 20 guineas fees.* 
 Contrary to expectation, I did build the house 
 at my own expense, although subject to a thou- 
 
 * People from the mother country in general find it exceedingly 
 diflficult to obtain a grant of the smallest quantity of land, while 
 grants of 20,000, 30,000, to 100,000 acres are lavishingly bestowed 
 on the natives of Colonies. These persons write pamphlets, and 
 send home puffs for the newspapers ** of the vast importance of the 
 Colonies of the Mother Country, and of the rare quality of their 
 lands, which, say they, * produce crops, without labour,' and the 
 poorest families sit down to a roast pig, wild ducks, and salmon 
 every dai/.^' 
 
 Mr. Wilmot Horton's project is certainly a fine one — for the Eng- 
 lish to mortgage their lands, to export the surplus population of 
 the mother country for the benefit of Colonists. Who were the 
 witnesses, before the Emigration Committee, in favour of sending the 
 Poor out of the land at the expense of the English ? Why — Grantees, 
 who have land to sell. 
 
 The Colonists threaten to send home all emigrants who come from 
 the mother country without plenty of money in their pockets, — 
 " This, say they, would be a practicable, undeniable exhibition of 
 our sentiments. It will sound from one end of Great Britain to the 
 other, like the watchword in feudal times, and will have more effect 
 than a thousand remonstrances." — Vide Nova Scotian, 30th August, 
 1827. 
 
 The following insulting paragraph from a Jamaica paper was co- 
 pied into all the Colonial papers. — " The Black Slaves in the Colo- 
 nies are forming subscriptions for the relief of their famishing bre- 
 thren the white slaves, in England !" 
 
 The author of the Naval Sketch Book has this remark, — " It is 
 ludicrous to observe how, in the opinion of Colonists, the mother 
 country already begins to retrograde in civihzation. It is not un- 
 usual with the Supreme Judges to condemn Paddies, in heinous 
 cases, to a re-transportation to their native shore. Alas ! poor Ire- 
 land !" 
 
6 
 
 sand inconveniences in a colony where I was treated 
 as a foreigner. Disappointed hopes induced this con- 
 federacy to forward numerous complaints against me 
 to the Society, of the nature of which I am ignorant, 
 as I have never been favored with copies of them, 
 notwithstanding my repeated applications. The 
 secretary of the Society once wrote to Lieutenant 
 Governor Smith, to make inquiries concerning them, 
 or some of them, who replied, " that the com- 
 plaints against me were totally unfounded; that, if it 
 had been otherwise, he should certainly have been 
 the first to complain; and concluded by desiring 
 the Society not to attend to complaints from the 
 same quarter." Notwithstanding this representa- 
 tion in my favor from the Governor of the Colony, 
 at whose disposal I had been placed by the Society, 
 the Society sent me a letter, dated 3rd May, 1823, 
 accusing me *' of demanding money from another mis- 
 sionaryT I again and again stated to the Society 
 that I had never demanded any money, and prayed 
 to be made acquainted with the names of my accu- 
 sers, or that they be required to exhibit proofs in 
 support of their charges, and that I may be heard in 
 my defence.* The Society never favored me with one 
 word in reply on this subject. — In their next letter, 
 they ordered me to abandon the house I had built, 
 and to remove to Grand Manan, 800 miles distant 
 
 * Since my arrival in England, I have made applications to the 
 same effect; but the Society refuse to hear me, or to give me any an- 
 swer on the subject, — excepting, that their will is a law. 
 
from Prince Edward Island; and the Rev. Mr. Jen- 
 kins was suffered to remain in my stead, with the 
 wife he had married, and to enjoy his salary without 
 a congregation. 
 
 Earl Bathurst states, " that, soon after my ap- 
 pointment by the Society to another situation, 
 (Grand Manan,) I wrote a violent letter, charging a 
 Mr. Ross with having been a party in a riot. In 
 consequence of this, an ex-officio information was 
 filed against him (Ross) by his Majesty's Attorney 
 General ; and, when the time came for the complain- 
 ant (the Rev. Mr. Griffin) to make his charges good, 
 he found himself obliged to withdraw them." Now, 
 this is, in toto, a most egregious mistake, or positively 
 saying the thing which is not. To make this matter 
 clear, it is necessary to premise, that, in the Report 
 of the Society for 1824, p. 123, it is recorded, "that 
 the church of Grand Manan is now finished, and that 
 Mr. Alley had drawn on the vSociety for their grant 
 in aid of that church, and that he had also built a 
 new ^6'^oo/-house." 
 
 The Society, in their letter commanding me to 
 remove to Grand Manan, also directed me to write 
 to the Rev. Mr. Willis, Ecclesiastical Commissary, 
 for instructions, previous to my departure from 
 Prince Edward Island. I did so. The Ecclesiastical 
 Commissary replied, " that he knew nothing of 
 Grand Manan, and, of course, could not give me 
 any instructions." The Society then directed me to 
 proceed to Grand Manan forthwith, and attend to 
 the instructions of the Ecclesiastical Commissary." 
 
8 
 
 I wrote again to the Ecclesiastical Commissary, who 
 replied as before, *' he could not give me any in- 
 structions ; but, that if I chose to go to that place, 
 a Mr. Ross would provide a house, and that, by the 
 law of the Province, I should be the rector of the 
 parish, and the presiding branch of the Church 
 Corporation." 
 
 The Society again commanded me to *' go to 
 Grand Manan, and reside in the house of Mr. Ross, 
 and attend to the instructions of the Ecclesiastical 
 Commissary." 
 
 When 1 arrived at Grand Manan, I found the 
 church a mere shell of rough boards, unfit for service, 
 and that there was no new school-house, and that the 
 aforesaid Mr. Ross, who was master of a fishing 
 schooner, and a smuggler, and a person who could 
 scarcely write his name, would not suffer me to 
 reside in his house, and prohibited my solemnizing 
 marriages, alleging that it was his duty as a magis- 
 trate. 
 
 The people of the parish informed me, that the 
 church had been got into its present state by the 
 contrivances of Ross and Alley, for their own advan- 
 tage, the Society allowing additional salaries to 
 those missionaries who report they have procured 
 the erection of a church. Mr. Alley, who is a mis- 
 sionary and a military chaplain at St. Andrew's, 
 came to the island about four years before, with a 
 memorial to the Society, ready cut and dried, stating, 
 that the inhabitants were anxious to build a church, 
 and prayed the Society to grant them money for 
 
9 
 
 that purpose. Mr. Alley also told them it was ne- 
 cessary, as a proof of their earnestness in the cause, 
 to sign their names to it, with subscriptions, he as- 
 suring them, at the same time, they would not be 
 compelled to pay. Ross, and three or four of his 
 associates, put down their names, with figures, indi- 
 cating £10 to each, which they have not paid to this 
 day. Mr. Alley then appointed Mr. Ross, and his 
 fellows, church trustees, until a lawful church com- 
 poration could be formed, by the appointment of a 
 rector; with an understanding, that Mr. Alley 
 would once a year, in the summer season, visit the 
 Island with his family, and reside in Mr. Ross's 
 house, for the benefit of sea bathing ; that Mr. Ross 
 should finger the grant, carry the money bag, and 
 be created a magistrate to solemnize marriages. 
 
 I communicated an account of the unfinished state 
 of the church, and that there was no house to reside 
 in, to the Ecclesiastical Commissary, who said, 
 ** that as he knew nothing of Grand Manan,* he 
 could give me no instructions ; he left me to judge 
 and act for myself; — he supposed I must either build 
 a house, or take upon myself the responsibility of 
 residing elsewhere : he also told me, by way of 
 
 * One of the duties of an Ecclesiastical Commissary is to visit 
 and to inquire into the actual state of every mission and parish in 
 his district. No bishop, no archdeacon, or ecclesiastical commis- 
 sary, has ever visited Grand Manan, or that part of Prince Edward 
 Island, viz. the uninhabited forest, in which I was ordered by the 
 Lieutenant Governor and the Society to build a house at my own 
 expense. 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 caution, that I should burn my fingers if I sent un- 
 favorable reports to the Society." 
 
 I was then obliged to repair a ruined house about 
 twenty feet square, containing two rooms only, at 
 my owa expense, as a temporary residence. And I 
 officiated in the unfinished church, whenever the 
 state of the weather would permit, and at other 
 times in private houses, much to the satisfaction of 
 the great body of the people, who attended in 
 crowds to hear me. 
 
 I wrote an account of the unfinished state of the 
 church to the Society, and to Bishop Inglis, and to 
 Bishop Stanser, two Bishops of Nova Scotia, both 
 at that time residing in England with their respec- 
 tive families. I never received any answers ; but I 
 soon found that I had burnt my fingers by telling 
 the truth ; for Bishop Inglis told a Mr. Zalmon 
 Wheeler, of St. John's, then in England, *'that he 
 should soon get rid of me,'' 
 
 The success of my ministerial labors inflamed the 
 malice of Ross and Alley against me, inasmuch as it 
 deprived one of the benefit of marriages, in his capa- 
 city of magistrate, in the absence of a clergyman ; 
 and the other, of his hopes of additional salary, as 
 an occasional visiting missionary. 
 
 The people also informed me that the church had 
 remained in its present disgracefully unfinished state, 
 not equal in value to one quarter of the grants from 
 government and the Society, for two years before my 
 arrival ; that when they heard of my coming, they 
 requested Ross either to finish the church, or let 
 
11 
 
 them do it. He would not suffer them to interfere, 
 saying he did not wish a Church-of-England minis- 
 ter to reside on the Island. 
 
 The great body of the people then resolved, now, 
 that they were enabled, by the residence of a rector, 
 to complete the church corporation, to maintain their 
 just rights, and, on the next Easter Monday then en- 
 suing, to elect to the offices of churchwardens and 
 vestry-men, persons who were really and truly well 
 affected towards the church. 
 
 When Mr. Ross understood the resolves of the 
 people, he threatened his vengeance as a magistrate, 
 on all who opposed his election to the office of 
 churchwarden, and declared that his accounts should 
 never be exhibited ; and that Mr. Griffin was an im- 
 postor, and no minister, whom the Ecclesiastical 
 Commissaries had told him the Bishop intended to 
 get rid of. 
 
 Mr. Ross went to St. Andrew's, to consult the Re- 
 verend Mr. Alley and the Reverend Mr. Best, the 
 latter a son-in-law of Bishop Stanser, and a connec- 
 tion by intermarriages with this Ross. On his 
 return to the Island he renewed his threats of ven- 
 geance, with the addition of those from Mr. Alley 
 and Mr. Best: he brought to the Island several 
 newspapers, containing accounts of the refusal of the 
 people of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to admit the Rever- 
 end Mr. Willis, Ecclesiatical Commissary of New 
 Brunswick, into their church. These papers were 
 brought over, avowedly with intention to incite the 
 
12 
 
 people of Grand Manan to follow the example of 
 Halifax, and choose their own minister. 
 
 Information reaching me, that quantities of rum 
 were promised by Ross, to all who would assist 
 him in making an uproar, to secure his election on 
 Easter Monday, with a double portion of the same 
 inspiring spirit, in case of his success, I, with a 
 view to disarm violence, gave notice that I would 
 perform divine service, and preach a sermon in the 
 unfinished church, (for the first time since the win- 
 ter,) previous to the election business. 
 
 On the day of election, in my way to the church, 
 I passed the house of John Inglis, a carpenter, a 
 fisherman, a church trustee, and a dealer in rum 
 without a licence. A number of drunken fellows 
 rushed out of the house, exclaiming, ''Mr. Best — 
 hiccup — will take — hiccup — away your gownd — hic- 
 cup — Mr. Alley is the head of the church — hiccup 
 — I guess we shall do for you ;" with many profane 
 expressions unnecessary to relate. 
 
 At the conclusion of the sermon, Mr. Ross, at the 
 head of the drunkards, rushed into the church, and 
 during the time of prayer, at the end, one Burke, a 
 constable appointed by Ross, held up his fist in a 
 threatening manner, and said '' Damn you, I wish I 
 had hold of you J' This was the signal for a general 
 uproar. Ross suddenly sprang into the sort of read- 
 ing desk where I then was, pushed me aside, and 
 proclaimed himself president of the meeting, as a 
 magistrate, churchwarden, and church trustee, by 
 
13 
 
 the appointment of Mr. Alley ; that Mr. Griffin was 
 no minister, he was an impostor, and Mr. Alley was 
 the head of that church ; that I should not be suffer- 
 ed to speak one word, as I was going to influence 
 the people against him. I several times attempted 
 to be heard, but was prevented by the loud cursing 
 and profane language of the " baser sort," who had 
 crowded about me ; these declared, that the King, if 
 present, should not speak, or suffer me to speak : 
 he should lose his head first. I contrived to evade 
 their violence, by escaping from the church, at the 
 time Ross was nominating himself and his fellows 
 to the offices ofchurchwarden and vestry-men. And, 
 notwithstanding the riot act had been read, they 
 continued rioting in the church for a long space of 
 time, boasting of their victory, and that their ac- 
 counts should never be seen. After some time they 
 locked up the church, and retired to the house of 
 the aforesaid John Inglis, to enjoy the promised por- 
 tion of rum, where they continued all night, rioting, 
 and dancing, and singing the praises of the Bishop 
 John Inglis and his Ecclesiastical Commissaries. 
 
 The peaceably disposed present were ten to one 
 in my favor, who would have resisted the violence 
 offered me ; but I exhorted them to forbear, and ap- 
 peal to the Government for redress. On the next 
 day, they joined with me in a petition to the Lieute- 
 nant Governor, Sir H. Douglas, praying for redress, 
 and thatthe trial of the rioters may take place as soon 
 as possible on the Island where the offence was 
 perpetrated, to avoid the expense and inconvenience 
 
m 
 
 of the attendance of so great a number of witnesses 
 at the county town of St. Andrew's, fifty miles dis- 
 tant from the Island. The petition was accompa- 
 nied with numerous affidavits to establish the facts, 
 taken before Moses Gerrish, Esq. the oldest inhabi- 
 tant of the Island, one of the first settlers, and who 
 had been forty years a magistrate, and at that time 
 confined to his house by sickness. Sir Howard 
 Douglas never returned an answer, and the old 
 gentleman's name was shortly after struck out of the 
 list of magistrates. 
 
 When the rioters heard of our petition to the 
 Lieutenant Governor for redress, Ross went to St. 
 Andrew's, where a letter was written to the Rever- 
 end Mr. Best, requesting him to remove me from 
 the Island : this letter was signed by five persons at 
 St. Andrew's, fifty miles from the Island ; and very 
 few, if any, on the Island, are to this day acquainted 
 with its contents. I wrote a letter to Mr. Best, re- 
 questing to be favored with the original letter by 
 Ross and Alley, or a copy of it. The following letters 
 shortly after arrived on the Island, dated the same 
 day. 
 
 " Fredericton, 3rd May, 1825. 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 ** You are permitted to repair to St. John's, 
 and there await the Society's pleasure. 
 
 ''The letter you speak of, as having been sent by 
 some of the inhabitants against you, I received this 
 morning, concerning which, nothing cati be said at pre- 
 
15 
 
 sent ; when you come to St. John's, I may have an 
 opportunity of seeing you. 
 
 (Signed) ** George Best, 
 
 Acting Ecc^ Comm^" 
 To Reverend C. Griffin, 8fc, 
 
 ''Frederieton,3rd May, 1825. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " In answer to your letter received this morn- 
 ing, I have to inform you, that the Reverend Mr. 
 Griffin has been authorized to remove from Grand 
 Manan, and that immediate steps will be taken to in- 
 quire into the late unhappy occurrences in the 
 church on that Island. 
 
 (Signed) ** George Best, 
 
 Acting Ecc' CommV* 
 To Messrs. Ross, Dog get. Brown, S^c. 
 
 The discovery of Mr. Best's duplicity created great 
 alarm at head-quarters. I again wrote for a copy 
 of the letter against me ; to which Mr. Best replied, 
 
 " Rev. and Dear Sir, 
 
 ** I have to inform you that a criminal infor- 
 mation has been laid by his Excellency's orders 
 against the offending parties in Grand Manan. The 
 whole affair is in the Attorney General's hands, and 
 the law must take its course. Had I considered the 
 possession of the letter sent to me by Ross and others 
 would have been of any service to you, I would have 
 sent it. There is nothing in the said letter you need 
 be afraid of, or care about. It shall be shewn you 
 when I see you here. Your safest way is to keep 
 as quiet as possible. I know of no other remedy 
 
16 
 
 for the disagreeableness you now experience, than 
 your removal from the Island." 
 
 On the receipt of the above, I went to Fredericton, 
 and requested to see the said letter, when Mr. Best 
 replied, '' I have lost it ;'' but report says he had 
 sent it to the Society. Mr. Best further said, '' if 
 you do not quit the Island immediately, the Gover- 
 nor will be angry, and stop the prosecution." In my 
 journey to Fredericton, several missionaries and 
 others informed me that the ex-officio informations 
 would never be tried; besides, it would be useless to 
 attempt it, as no jury of Colonists would decide in 
 favor of Englishmen, whom they considered as fo- 
 reigners. 
 
 On my return to the Island, in order to remove 
 my family and effects from it, the rioters boasted 
 that the Bishop intended to screen them from a pub- 
 lic trial. That the ex-officio information was mere- 
 ly di feint to amuse me, until the Bishop could take 
 away my salary ; when I mnst be compelled to re- 
 turn to England, and, of course, could not appear as 
 evidence against them. 
 
 After I had removed to Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, 
 I received two letters from the Attorney General of 
 New Brunswick, one dated 8th June, 1825, informing 
 me '' that ex-officio informations had been filed 
 against Ross and five others, for a riot and assault 
 upon me in the parish church of Grand Manan, in 
 consequence of directions from the Governor, and 
 of affidavits establishing the facts, contained in a peti- 
 tion from me and others to him." The other, dated 
 
17 
 
 the 30th July, informed me, " that the trial of the 
 rioters would take place at St. Andrew's, (fifty miles 
 from the Island,) on the 9th August, 1825; that he 
 had forwarded subpoenas for the crown v^itnesses to 
 Grand Manan, but he feared they would not reach 
 so remote a place in time for the court." 
 
 It must here be noted, that the two letters above- 
 mentioned did not reach me by the post till the 11th 
 of August, two days after the sitting of the Court. 
 I at that time resided one hundred and fifty miles 
 by sea and land from St. Andrew's. No direct com- 
 munication : consequently, I could not attend. 
 
 A short time after this, I received numerous letters 
 from my loving parishioners in Grand Manan, com- 
 plaining of the *' laws' delay," and that no subpoenas 
 did ever reach the Island for the crown witnesses ; 
 and, also, that since my departure, Ross had been 
 proclaimed justice of the Quorum, with full power 
 to solemnize marriages, 
 
 I then wrote to the Attorney General to renew our 
 application to the Governor for the trial of the riot- 
 ers to take place on the Island, as a matter of neces- 
 sity, he having acknowledged it to be too remote a 
 place for subpoenas to reach in time for a Court at 
 St. Andrew's. No answer was ever received. 
 
 After the trial had been put off, Mr. Best hearing 
 that the people at Bridgetown, where I sojourned, 
 intended to petition the Society for my appointment 
 to that place, came over to Bridgetown, and ad- 
 vised the people not to petition the Society in my 
 favor, as the bishop intended to get me dismissed for 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 my behaviour in Grand Manan ; he also cautioned 
 the traders not to give me cash for my salary bills, 
 as, in the event of my dismission, the bills would be 
 protested, and they would be defrauded of their 
 money. 
 
 When Bishop Inglis returned from England he 
 wrote to me, " that the Society intended to stop my 
 salary, and advised me to go to England without 
 loss of time, as the prosecution against Ross and 
 others was stopped; for Mr. Best (whom he had just 
 created archdeacon,) had written to him, * that the 
 Attorney General had put into his hands certain papers, 
 by which it appeared that the charge against the chmxh 
 trustees, Ross andothers, was totally unfounded, 
 and that the Governor would not admit Mr, Griffin 
 again into the province.'' 
 
 I wrote again and again to the Attorney General, 
 to be informed whether the prosecution of the riot- 
 ers had been abandoned as reported, and requested 
 a copy of the papers mentioned by Mr. Best to the 
 Bishop. After five month's silence, the Attorney 
 General wrote to me, ** that the trial of the rioters 
 would take place at St. Andrew's, on the 8th August, 
 1826 ; but no notice whatever was taken of my re- 
 quest for the papers. 
 
 In June, 1826, 1 received a letter from the Society, 
 which had been sent open to the Bishop, informing 
 me, ** that my salary would cease on 1st July, 1826 ; 
 but, that they did not impute to me any dereliction of 
 duty, or immorality of conduct .'' 
 
 After the notice of my dismission had been trans- 
 
19 
 
 mitted to the Attorney General, he wrote to nie that 
 ** IF I wished the rioters to be brought to trial, I 
 must perform the office of a sheriff in serving the 
 subpoenas for the crown witnesses, and procuring 
 their attendance at my own cost and trouble ; that 
 he should order the subpoenas to be placed with the 
 Solicitor General in St. John ;* but that if I refused 
 to perform the services he required, he must submit 
 the matter to the further consideration of the Lieut. 
 Governor, Sir Howard Douglas." 
 
 During my residence in Bridgetown I conducted 
 myself, as a clergyman, so very much to the satisfac- 
 tion of all classes of people, that they were induced 
 to make inquiry into the state of affairs in Grand 
 Manan ; and the result proving highly favorable to 
 me, they again resolved to solicit my appointment 
 to reside among them, and joined in a memorial to 
 Bishop Inglis, requesting him *' to recommend to 
 the Society my appointment to their church, as they 
 were fully persuaded, that the permanent residence 
 of the Rev. Mr. Griffin would conduce, with the 
 Divine blessing, most effectually to promote the 
 laudable designs of the Society, the best interests of 
 the church of England, and the advancement of reli- 
 gion and virtue^ 
 
 As the Bishop did not then visit Bridgetown, as 
 was expected, but went in a king's ship to St. John's, 
 
 * St. John is fifty miles by sea from Bridgetown, and Grand Ma- 
 nan sixty miles by sea from St, John ; no regular or direct convey- 
 ance to either place. 
 
20 
 
 New Brunswick ; and as I was then about t6 pro- 
 ceed to St. John's for the subpoenas, according to the 
 direction of the Attorney General, the people re- 
 quested me to present the above named memorial 
 to the Bishop. On my arrival at St. John, I obtained 
 the subpoenas ; and I found the Bishop and Mr. 
 Archdeacon Best preparing for a voyage to St. An- 
 drew's, ostensibly for the purpose of consecrating 
 an old wooden church, which had been built more 
 than forty years, and then going to decay. When I 
 presented the petition in my favour to the Bishop, 
 he was utterly confounded, and said he could not 
 fly in the face of the Society to do any thing in fa- 
 vour of a missionary whom they had dismissed. It 
 was my lot to go down in the same passage vessel 
 to St. Andrew's, where both the Bishop and his Arch- 
 deacon vied with each other to treat the dismissed 
 missionary with all the insult possible. On passing 
 near Grand Manan, I requested the Bishop to land 
 on that Island, and make himself acquainted with its 
 actual state. — He replied, ** I cannot consecrate an 
 unfinished church ; besides, it would be highly im- 
 proper to visit that place until after the issue of the 
 approaching trial." 
 
 When the Bishop and Archdeacon Best arrived 
 at St. Andrew's, they abode in the house of Mr. 
 Alley. Mr. Ross was sent for by an express, from 
 Grand Manan. Ross visited St Andrew's, and 
 quickly returned to the Island, and reported, that 
 the Bishop and Mr. Best had procured my dismis- 
 sion from the service of the Society ; that Lieut. 
 
21 
 
 Governor Douglas had prohibited my admission 
 again into the Province ; and that I had fled to Bos- 
 ton, United States, for fear of punishment; that all 
 the crown witnesses would be punished if they at- 
 tended the court, or spoke one word in favor of Mr. 
 Griffin, and denounced his vengeance on all such, 
 by his power as magistrate. 
 
 A few days before the opening of the Court, the 
 Bishop left St. Andrew's, and proceeded to Bridge- 
 town."^ But Mr. Best remained in that town to 
 await the arrival of the Attorney General. On 
 whose arrival, the 7th August, the day previous to 
 the sitting of the Court, was spent in consultations 
 between him, the Rev. Messrs. Best and Alley, and 
 other friends of Ross ; the arrival of a cloud of wit- 
 nesses from Grand Manan against the rioters, (many 
 of them volunteers,) filled the friends of Ross with 
 
 * When the Bishop arrived in Bridgetown in my absence, he 
 called about five or six persons together at Foster's Tavern, and 
 told them he could not forward their Memorial to the Society in 
 my favor, as it would be flying in their faces, and he feared such 
 a proceeding would induce the Society to withhold the grant in 
 aid of the Bridgetown Church. The people then inquired of him 
 why I had been dismissed ? He replied, I do not know the particu- 
 lars, but I am well persuaded the Society have decided according 
 to justice and the dictates of their consciences. The people then 
 told him it was generally believed he intended to place one Wal- 
 ker, whom he had just ordained Deacon, into their church; and 
 such was the notorious immorality of his character, that the peo- 
 ple had resolved to pull the church down the first time he attempt- 
 ed to officiate in it. 
 
22 
 
 confusion and dismay. It was, at length, agreed, 
 that Mr. Best should write a letter to the Attorney 
 General to induce him again to delay the trial ; to 
 deposit the said letter in the hands of the Rev. Mr. 
 Alley, to be delivered at a proper opportunity ; and 
 Mr. Best to flee from St. Andrew's that very night. 
 
 On the morning of the 8th August, the day ap- 
 pointed for opening the Court, the Rev. Mr. Alley 
 used much exertion to intimidate the witnesses ; 
 the Rev. Dr. Thomson, another missionary, endea- 
 voured to incite them to bring charges against my 
 moral character — but all in vain. 
 
 The Attorney General, to save appearances, inti- 
 mated that the trial would take place on that day. 
 I attended with my little army of witnesses ; when, 
 behold ! the Rev. Mr. Alley, and Mr. Ross, the 
 fisherman, and smuggler, and ringleader of the riot, 
 were seated on the bench, by the side of the Judge 
 of the supreme court ! The trial was put off till the 
 next day. On the morrow, the 9th, all the wit- 
 nesses attended as before, and Ross and Alley 
 were seated as above, when the rioters put in an 
 affidavit to put off the trial on the frivolous pre- 
 tence of the absence of two witnesses in their fa- 
 vor, whom they stated had promised to attend, but 
 they had never been subpoenaed. The Judge said 
 to the Attorney General, '' Have you any objec- 
 tion ?" — ** Certainly not," was the reply. The Judge 
 then said, '' let the trial of so and so come on to-day, 
 and the King versus Ross and others to-morrow ; 
 and if any thing should happen to that, the next in 
 
28 
 
 order." — And, truly, according to the Judge's pre- 
 sentiment, something, as had been predetermined by 
 somebody, did '^happen to that;' for about three 
 hours after this transaction, the Attorney General 
 informed me that he had just received from the 
 hands of Mr. Alley, a letter written by Mr. Arch- 
 deacon Best, of which the following is a copy. 
 
 ''SL Andrew Sy 7th August, 1826. 
 
 *' I beg leave officially to communicate 
 to you that the Rev. Mr. Griffin has not been in the 
 service of the Society for the propagation of the 
 gospel since the 1st of July last. They consider- 
 ing him an ufifit person to be employed, in conse- 
 quence of his conduct relative to the affairs at 
 Grand Manan ; and that the suit now pending 
 against the parishioners* there, must be considered 
 as a matter unconnected with the church. 
 
 " I am, &c. 
 (Signed) " George Best, 
 
 Archdeacon" 
 To His Majesty* s Attorney General. 
 
 The Attorney General was much embarrassed 
 when I pointed out the date 7th August, the very 
 same day that I discovered him. Archdeacon Best, 
 Mr. Alley, and others, at Mrs. Hutchin's, in close 
 
 * Observe — Ross and five others designated by the general term 
 the parishioners. 
 
24 
 
 consultation about the Grand Manan affair. The 
 Attorney General protested he knew nothing of the 
 letter, and that it was put into his hands but a very 
 few minutes ago, by the Rev. Mr. Alley. He then 
 affected to lament, that he had consented to let the 
 trial be put off on that affidavit; for if the trial had 
 but commenced, before he received the letter, he 
 would have gone through with it, but now he felt 
 that he must defer the trial until after he could con- 
 sult the Lieut. Governor on the subject. He for 
 some time refused to give me a copy of Mr. Best's 
 letter, and wished me to be content with verbal 
 communications. After much hesitation he wrote 
 as follows : — 
 
 '• St. Andrew's, 9th August, 1826. 
 
 " Reverend Sir, 
 
 *' Having, since I left the Court this morn- 
 ing, received an official letter from the Archdea- 
 con, of which the annexed is a copy, (see above) 
 I shall deem it expedient to defer the trial of the 
 ex-officio information against Ross and others, un- 
 til after my return to the seat of Government. 
 
 (Signed) '* Thomas Wetmore, 
 
 Attorney General.'^ 
 Rev. C. Griffin. 
 
 Notwithstanding this defeat, I resolved to remain 
 another year in the Colony, although deprived of 
 my salary, and depending on my private resources : 
 during that time, I addressed memorials, praying for 
 
25 
 
 justice, to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, 
 the Bishops of London and Ely, ex-officio members 
 of the Society, and to the Principal Secretaries of 
 State. The Archbishop of Canterbury retained my 
 papers, but never favored me with an answer : 
 but the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London 
 and Ely, returned my papers to me through the post- 
 office, thereby putting me to a charge of six pounds 
 (postage) for praying for justice,* after I had, on e>v- 
 parte statements, been deprived of my salary in a 
 foreign land. The following is a communication from 
 Earl Bathurst : 
 
 « Downing Street, I5th Nov. 1826. 
 '*SlR, 
 
 ** I am directed by Lord Bathurst to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of two Memorials addressed by 
 you to Mr. Secretary Canning, to acquaint you, that, 
 having communicated on the subject of them with 
 the Society for the propagation of the Gospel, it is 
 not in his Lordship's power to interfere with the de- 
 cision of the Society ; and he has reason to believe 
 that your case has been dull/ and impartially/ consi- 
 dered. 
 
 (Signed,) **Wilmot Horton." 
 
 Rev. C. Griffin f 
 
 Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. 
 
 * All my Memorials were accompanied with affidavits to establish 
 the facts complained of, both as it relates to " the perversion of jus- 
 tice in the Province," and to the mismanagement of the funds of 
 the Society, for the propagation of the gospel. I afterwards em- 
 braced an opportunity, by means of a friend, of reconveying the re- 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 In the interval between August, 1826 and 1827, 
 I repeatedly requested the Attorney General of New 
 Brunswick to make me acquainted with the result 
 of his communication with the Lieutenant Governor, 
 on the subject of Archdeacon Best's letter of 7th 
 of August, 1826, and whether the trial of the rioters 
 was abandoned, as again reported. I did not re- 
 ceive any answer until after the sitting of the Court 
 in August, 1827, when he wrote as follows: '*The 
 ex-officio prosecution remains in statu quo. The 
 Archdeacon's letter, and the circumstances therein 
 stated, ought to be an obstacle to the further pro- 
 secution of it on the part of Government. I can- 
 not move further in the business without the express 
 order of the Lieutenant Governor, or unless you 
 can prevail with the Bishop to direct the Archdea- 
 con's letter to be withdrawn." 
 
 So much, my Lords, in refutation of Earl Bathurst's 
 assertion, ** That when the time came for the complain- 
 ant (M7\ Griffin) to make his charges good, he found 
 himself obliged to withdraw them" 
 
 Another instance of the inaccuracy of Earl Ba- 
 thurst's statements appears in the case of the Rev. 
 Mr. Jenkins, who, he affirms, *'was appointed a 
 missionary to Quebec ; but not finding that place 
 agree with his health he went to reside in Prince 
 Edward Island." Now, the truth of the case is 
 
 returned letters to the venerable Prelates to whom they had been 
 addressed j and they have long been in possession of all the facts 
 here referred to, with affidavits to establish them. 
 
27 
 
 this: Mr. Jenkins was ordained a deacon in Eng- 
 land for the office of assistant missionary, (another 
 name for a curate to an Archdeacon) at Quebec, 
 whither he was was sent : but, instead of going to 
 Quebec, a place he had never seen, he came direct to 
 Prince Edward Island, to marry one of the Rev. 
 Mr. Desbrisay's daughters, and resolved to remain 
 on it, and threatened to ruin me if I did not go to 
 Quebec, in his stead ; he having the patronage of 
 Bishop Inglis, the American confidential agent of 
 the Society, the avowed patron of the native in- 
 terest of Colonies, and the bitter enemy of English- 
 men who have not married into American families- 
 The noble Earl also states ''that I had been mis- 
 sionary five or six years, and during that period I 
 had been silent ; but, the moment I was dismissed, I 
 complained of abuses." This is mistaking the case 
 with a vengeance. I refer your Lordships to the 
 Secretary of the Society for my reports, and I will 
 cite one instance among many. I arrived in Prince 
 Edward Island, 15th of May, 1820; and in my letter 
 to the Society, dated 4th of November, same year, 
 I stated that from the disputes between the Go- 
 vernor and the people, and the consequent disor- 
 ganized state of affairs, (and you well know, my 
 noble Lords, of what nature those disputes were, 
 and that I had nothing to do with them,) and from 
 other causes, I did not think it would answer the 
 benevolent designs of the Society to maintain a 
 missionary on the Island." And I beg leave to 
 state, that, at that period, my opinion of the So- 
 
28 
 
 ciety was the best that could possibly have been en- 
 tertained. 
 
 I beg leave also to call your Lordships' attention 
 to the following extract of a letter from Bishop In- 
 glis, dated 12th of December, 1825, soon after his 
 return from England, with all his episcopal " honors 
 thick about him." *' The information which you 
 forwarded to the Society respecting Grand Manan 
 was altogether of so extraordinary a nature, that the 
 Society did not authorize me to place you in any of 
 their missions, and I should much doubt whether 
 you will be permitted to draw upon them for your 
 salary, after the end of the present year. Indeed, I 
 should be under some apprehension for any bills 
 you may now draw. If you think you can explain 
 all that has passed to the satisfaction of the Society, 
 I should recommend your going to England without 
 loss of time : your situation here is that of a clergy- 
 man without employment, and, of course, you will 
 very soon be, if you are not already so considered, 
 without salary ; and I have no instructions to em- 
 ploy you. If you determine to go to England with- 
 out loss of time, I will request the Society to conti- 
 nue your salary until you can have an opportunity 
 of appearing before them." 
 
 Be pleased to note this letter was dated the 12th 
 of December, 1825, and my dismission was dated 
 the 4th of April, 1826. It is clear, from this letter, 
 that I had given information which had displeased 
 the Society : — and what was this strange informa- 
 tion ? I reported the church at Grand Manan was 
 
29 
 
 NOT finished; and that there was no 7iew school 
 house. If you turn to the Society's prmted Report 
 for 1824, p. 123, you will read, "■ The church of 
 Grand Manan is nowfnished, and a new school house 
 is erected.'" I told the truth : the Society, according 
 to Bishop Inglis and his Archdeacons, do not like to 
 hear the truth, and I was punished with loss of sa- 
 lary ! 
 
 I have already exceeded the limits I prescribed 
 myself at the commencement of this Letter; it would 
 fill volumes to point out, and refute, the countless 
 errors and misrepresentations contained in the re- 
 port of your Lordships' speeches. You have never 
 been in America, — you spoke from report alone, 
 and are excusable only because you did not know 
 whether you were right or wrong. 
 
 I cannot, however, omit to notice the use which 
 the Noble Earl is reported to have made of my 
 letter to the Right Hon. William Huskisson, by 
 representing that which was written to me, as that 
 which cdiUie from me, and then, with exultation ex- 
 claiming, ** this is a damning proof oi my irritability 
 of temper, and of the inaccuracy of what I had 
 asserted." All this heat and vehemence, displayed 
 in attempts to prove that an injured person has 
 sometimes felt intensely, and that he has sometimes 
 spoken as he felt on the wrongs and injuries that 
 have *' without a cause'' been heaped upon him ; 
 Shakspeare has justly observed, that, 
 
 " We cannot weigh our brother with ourself ; 
 Great men may jest with saints ; 'tis wit in them : 
 
30 
 
 But, in the less, foul profanation. 
 
 That in the captain's but a choleric word, 
 
 Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy." 
 
 The letter to which I allude, and from which I 
 extracted so copiously, for the information of Mr. 
 Secretary Huskisson, was from a venerable and 
 learned gentleman, eighty-six years of age, one of 
 the oldest settlers, and had been more than forty 
 years a magistrate, and from which I now beg leave 
 to extract more copiously. 
 
 "It is with deep regret (says he) I inform you 
 that you may remonstrate, you may write, publish, 
 protest, plead, petition, pray, and preach. All, all, 
 will be unavailing ; your action of riot will never be 
 tried in this county, or in this province : the os- 
 tensible reason assigned for discontinuing this action 
 is, that when the king commenced the suit, it was 
 upon the complaint of the rector of Grand Manan ; 
 that, now, no such person exists ; therefore, it would 
 be preposterous to pursue an action to trial and 
 judgment, upon the complaint of a person who is 
 defunct, as rector. This reminds me of Dr. Johnson's 
 description of fallacious reasoning : 
 
 " A man that cries turnips 
 Cries not at the death of his father ; 
 It is a sign, that he had rather 
 Have a turnip than his father." 
 
 ** It is the general opinion of all classes of people, 
 that the disturbance you have complained of was a 
 
31 
 
 high-handed, scandalous, sacrilegious riot; yet you 
 meet with a formidable opposition in your endea- 
 vours to bring the rioters to a trial. The laws of 
 England are a stupendous fabric of human wisdom ; 
 but the administration of them is sometimes defec- 
 tive, especially in these colonies ; for instance, our 
 Governor has appointed William Ross, (a man who 
 can scarcely read or write) a justice of the quorum ; 
 against whom, at the same time, an information of 
 an atrocious riot was filed, and ready to be proceeded 
 upon, with a cloud of witnesses in positive proof of 
 the fact. Hear, Old England, and be astonished ! 
 This promotion of Ross alone fully convinces me 
 that it never was the intention of our rulers that the 
 rioters should be brought to trial : I suspect you 
 have been treated with duplicity from the begin- 
 ning ; in short, the circumstances attending your 
 case appear to be enigmatical : your character is not 
 impeached, no crime has been exhibited against you, 
 nor are you charged with any immorality ; you are 
 deprived of your salary, turned out of your church 
 by a drunken mob, reduced to the condition of an 
 outlawed and excommunicated person, and the per- 
 petrators and the abettors of the atrocious riot are 
 instantly promoted ! Hear, Old England, and be as- 
 tonished ! 
 
 " Archdeacon Best early treated you disrespect- 
 fully, by giving Craig, the schoolmaster, a certificate 
 to receive his salary from the Society, after you had 
 
32 
 
 refused him one on account of his drunkenness and 
 other misdemeanors.* 
 
 *' Under all your sufferings and persecutions for 
 the truth and support of the established church, 
 it must be some consolation to you to learn that 
 the most respectable inhabitants of Grand Manan 
 have resolved to send you a gold medal, as a to- 
 ken of their respect, esteem, and gratitude, for your 
 pious exertions, while you resided among them ; 
 and the most sincere regard and cordial affection 
 with which this present is accompanied, must com- 
 pensate for the smallness of the value of it, and they 
 sincerely regret their inability to make you a pre- 
 sent adequate to your merit." 
 
 Another worthy and respectable inhabitant of 
 Grand Manan writes to me thus. 
 
 " I could never believe that a blessing would 
 ever attend a church where there is so muck iniqui- 
 ty hid under the cloke of religion in managing it, 
 though I believe now that good will come out of 
 evil. It brings to my mind the good that hap- 
 pened to Israel by that wicked and malicious act 
 of Joseph's brethren selling him into Egypt. I be- 
 
 * A part of Craig's duty was to act as clerk to the church. On 
 a Sunday, not being in his place, he was sent for, and found drunk 
 at the unlicensed tavern, kept by John Inglis, a church trustee. A 
 bantling was sworn to him by one of his female pupils, yet he 
 continues to receive his salary from " the Society for the propa- 
 gation of the Gospel." 
 
33 
 
 lieve there was a hand of Providence in sending 
 you to this remote island, and that God has seen 
 the afflictions of his people, and has come down to 
 deliver them by your hand ; therefore, your suf- 
 fering abuse is not all lost, for I believe the parish 
 will reap benefit by reason of it, by the philanthro- 
 py that appears in your disposition, and every 
 step of your conduct since you have been on the 
 Island ; that you will elucidate the truth for the 
 benefit of the suffering and afflicted inhabitants of 
 Grand Manan ; and I trust the Government will 
 support you as rector of it, while you conduct the 
 duties of your office with that wisdom, and pru- 
 dence, and truly Christian temper you have exhi- 
 bited since you have been on the Island." 
 
 In my petition, I stated it to be my opinion, that 
 the venerable prelates are imposed upon by the 
 artifices of the interested Americans. The Bishop 
 of London, however, will not allow that they are 
 imposed on ; and, though he has never been in Ame- 
 rica, and can speak from report alone, positively 
 declares that ** my petition is full of errors and mis- 
 representations." You have, my Lord, I fear, taken 
 upon your shoulders a weightier burthen than you 
 will be able to bear ; but, as you have, voluntarily, 
 taken upon yourself this responsibility, I most re- 
 spectfully call upon your Lordship to disprove one 
 single fact, if you are able to do so. Bear in mind, 
 my Lord, that the eyes of the whole British public 
 are upon you; the allegations must be met, allow- 
 ed, or disproved. If you allow my allegations to 
 
34 
 
 be true, you nullify your statement as reported in 
 the House of Lords, that my petition is full of " er- 
 rors and misrepresentations." If you attempt to 
 disprove my allegations, an insurmountable bar- 
 rier stops your progress ; for they are already all 
 self-proved by a comparison of one report with ano- 
 ther. Therefore, to disprove my affirmations, you 
 must necessarily invalidate those *' Authentic 
 Details of the nature and extent of the Society s 
 operations annually published, to incite the British 
 public to view that corporation as the safest depo- 
 sitory for their charitable contributions towards 
 the propagation of the gospel in Foreign Parts.*" 
 Alas ! my Lord, methinks I hear you say, with 
 
 ** A dire dilemma, either way Tm sped." 
 
 Your Lordship has totally failed in your endea- 
 vours to cover the transactions of Archdeacon Pott, 
 relative to the hush money. Your Lordship is well 
 aware of the very many fruitless efforts I have 
 made, both personally and by writing, to obtain an 
 interview with the Society, to communicate impor- 
 tant particulars relating to the mismanagement of 
 the church affairs in America, and to obtain satisfac- 
 tion for the wrongs and injuries I have received. 
 Understanding that Archdeacon Pott is constant in 
 his attendance at the Society's meetings, I called 
 on him on the 2nd March, to urge him to use his 
 influence with the Society to admit me to a hear- 
 ing on a matter of so much importance to our coun- 
 
 * See the Society's Annual Reports. 
 
35 
 
 t7'y, our religion^ and myself ; he, however, remained 
 unmoved, and informed me that he could not enter 
 into a question w^hich had been determined by the 
 Society. I then told him that I must appeal to the 
 Parliament for redress. I heard nothing more of him 
 till Sunday, the 16th March, when I received the fol- 
 lowing letter : 
 
 " Vicarage, Kensington^ Sunday, March 16. 
 
 ** Rev. Sir, 
 
 ** Should you be at leisure, I should be glad 
 of a few minutes conversation with you to-morrow, 
 if you can meet me at Rivington's, in Waterloo 
 Place, about eleven o'clock ; should that be incon- 
 venient to you, I should be glad to see you at Ken- 
 sington, though it is not easy for me to fix a time, as 
 I am called different ways, at this season particularly. 
 
 ** I remain, very truly, 
 
 Your faithful Servant, 
 
 (Signed) " T. H. Pott." 
 
 To Rev. a Griffin. 
 
 As the business for which this interview was re- 
 quested was not mentioned, it naturally excited my 
 curiosity. At the time appointed, I went to Riving- 
 ton's ; Archdeacon Pott soon after arrived, and took 
 me into the parlour behind the shop, where he told 
 me, that, upon reflection, he was well persuaded I 
 had been greatly injured ; but he strongly advised 
 me not to make a public appeal, as it would not be 
 productive of any public good, and it would most 
 
36 
 
 assuredly be productive of much harm to myself: he 
 had the experience of many years on his side, and 
 he had known many persons who, after appealing to 
 the public, confessed they were sorry for it ; and he 
 concluded by offering me from the Society, first 
 £50, then £100, if I would remain quiet. I declined 
 the offer, and briefly told him that no pecuniary 
 offer could compensate for the wrongs and injuries 
 I had received ; and that a bribe was offensive in 
 a high degree.* 
 
 * In addition to the large tracts of land owned by Bishop Inglis, 
 in " Wilmot," arid the adjoining townships, he also is in possession 
 of a tract of land in right of his wife, formerly a Miss Cochran, in 
 the township of Rawden, where a church and parsonage house has 
 been built at the expense of Government and the Society, though, 
 according to the report of 1809, " the greater part of the people in 
 Rawden do not consider themselves members of the churchy and 
 those who do have very lax notions of what the church is" In 
 1822, the Rev. Mr. .Hayden, a curate in Ireland, was appointed, by 
 the Society, missionary and rector of Rawden, to the great disap- 
 pointment of Dr. Cochran, a professor at the College in Nova Sco- 
 tia, missionary, &c., who intended this place for one of his sons, 
 when of age to receive " holy orders/' it being at a short and conve- 
 nient distance from the Doctor's residence. When Mr. Hayden arrived 
 at Rawden, Dr. Inglis sent a letter, to inform him that he could not 
 be inducted or instituted to that place, on account of the absence of 
 Bishop Stanser, then in England, from whom he had lately received 
 a letter, intimating that the Society wished him to return home, and 
 offered him £50 if he would do so. Mr. Hayden did not attend to 
 this information, but took possession of the parsonage in right of 
 his appointment by the Society. Innumerable complaints were 
 then forwarded against him, which induced the Society to deprive 
 him of his salary, and to offer him £50 for his passage to Ireland. 
 Mr. Hayden refused to quit, and demanded the Society's reasons 
 
37 
 
 The Bishop of London talks about **my offer to 
 make apology for" what he has pleased to term, ** my 
 errors/' This is altogether a mistake ; before I can 
 be convinced of my errors, if I have committed any, 
 I must be allow^ed *' to ansv^er for myself, touching 
 those things whereof I am accused." As the case 
 now stands, 1 look to his Lordship and the Society 
 for apologies — for justice, for redress, and satisfac- 
 tion for the wrongs and injuries he and they have 
 heaped upon me, in one continued chain of oppres- 
 sion ; one injury defended by a second, and this by 
 a third ; and so on, ad infinitum. I beg leave to re- 
 mind your Lordships, that I sent my petition to Lord 
 King, on Wednesday, 12 th March. I waited on his 
 Lordship on Friday, the 14th March, when he told 
 me he should present it to the House of Lords on 
 Tuesday, the 1 8th; but, in order that it might not 
 
 for dismissing him. They replied that *' the continuance of ike 
 salary must be deemed altogether dependent upon the will of the 
 Society guided as that will ever has, and will be, upon the circum- 
 stances of the case,'* and concluded by offering him ^150 if he 
 would quit the parsonage. Mr. Cochran being then just come of 
 canonical age, was ordained both Deacon and Priest, within the 
 space of one week, and his expenses to and from the Bishop were 
 paid by the Society, and he was sent to dispossess Mr. Hayden. 
 Mr. Hayden refused to quit, and sent to the Society that he had 
 been at great expense for repairs. The Society gave him another 
 £50, and the offer of another £100 to be paid him on his arrival in 
 Ireland ; but he still remains in Nova Scotia. Mr. Cochran has 
 made two visits to the United States since his ordination, and ap- 
 pears to enjoy himself right well with the Society's salary of £200. 
 Is all this bribery — ** compassion,'^ — or waste of money? 
 
38 
 
 come upon the Bishops, unawares, he should make 
 no secret of his intention. It was pretty generally 
 known about London, on Saturday, that it would be 
 presented to the Parliament on the 18th. On Sun- 
 day, the 16th, I received the letter from Archdeacon 
 Pott, above alluded to, appointing an interview on 
 Monday, the 17th. This enumeration of dates will 
 speak for itself, and be more satisfactory than thou- 
 sands of words in explanation. 
 
 Having far exceeded the limits I prescribed my- 
 self, I must reserve the further refutation of your 
 Lordships' attempts (as reported in the newspapers) 
 to malign my character, in order to defend a posi- 
 tive waste of public money by the Society, which 
 enables a favored few in the Colonies to ride in their 
 carriages, when thousands in England are perishing 
 for the want of bread to eat, for a future communica- 
 tion; I cannot, however, refrain from making this one 
 additional remark, that if, according to the Bishop 
 of London, 20C/. per annum is but barely sufficient 
 to provide the necessaries of life, for a clergyman in 
 those Colonies, the cruelty of the Society towards 
 me is abundantly manifested, in their compelling me 
 to build a house, to repair a house, io remove from place 
 to place, and often to bear the rents of several houses 
 at a time, all, all, at my own expense, when all the 
 other missionaries are allowed their travelling ex- 
 penses in full, and, in many cases, receive grants 
 for building and repairing their houses. And Bishop 
 Inglis, who has a salary of 2000/. from the taxes, and 
 400/. from the Society, is allowed 150/. more from the 
 
39 
 
 taxes, for travelling expenses ; when, according to 
 his own report, ''he is conveyed by sea in King's 
 ships, and the gentry provide abundance of carriages 
 for his conveyance on land."* 
 
 The time would fail me, to give a detailed account 
 of all the corruptions that exist in the Colonies, and 
 of all the wrongs and injuries I have sustained from 
 my ecclesiastical persecutors, who ought to have 
 been my protectors, in a land, where according to 
 the declaration of the Society, " the missionaries 
 are often placed under peculiar difficulties, from the 
 circumstances of the country, and the manners and 
 habits of the population /"f and where, according to 
 Earl Bathurst, ** it is impossible to reside, without 
 being composed to public or private animosity ''X 
 
 Enough, however, is now before the British Par- 
 liament and the British Public, in my petition, and 
 in this Letter, to shew that there is *' a marvellous 
 
 * In the Report of the Society for 1826, page 39, the Bishop of 
 Nova Scotia's visitation is described *' as a long^ laborious, and 
 'perilous undertaking." The English reader should be informed, 
 that, in these labours, he was accompanied with the whole of his 
 family, including children of five or six years of age. 
 
 The only expense he incurred in these visitations, was the charge 
 for his passage in a steam vessel to and from St. Andrew's, to stop 
 the course of justice; and, if he had been unaccompanied with his 
 family, would have cost him only two guineas, for which he receives 
 £150 for traveUing expenses. In the Colonial Office there hangs a 
 scale of allowances to Captains of his Majesty's ships, for the con- 
 veyance of such noble passengers. 
 
 t See Report of the Society for 1823, page 161. 
 
 t See his Lordship's speech in the House of Lords, May, 1827. 
 
40 
 
 perversion of judgment and justice in the provinces," 
 and the mischievous tendency of propagating the 
 gospel by means of taxes, in Colonies where ''jus- 
 tice stands afar off," where *' truth is fallen in the 
 street," where " equity cannot enter," where *' truth 
 faileth altogether," and *' he that departeth from evil 
 maketh himself a prey, or is accounted mad;" 
 where ** on the side of the oppressors there was 
 power ;" therefore " I had no comforter." 
 
 My character can stand the test of millions ; this is 
 not a vain boast. I have come, my Lords, into the 
 highest court of the United Kingdom, and there 
 were none who could testify aught against me, 
 except that I have felt* the injuries that have been 
 heaped upon me. Standing then as I do, with ** clean 
 hands," and I trust with a pure heart, in the sight 
 of God, before the Imperial Parliament of Great Bri- 
 tain and Ireland, I trust that my petition, contain- 
 ing matter of such manifest importance to the British 
 nation, will not be thrust aside on the mere ipse 
 dixit of Mr. Wilmot Horton, as a thing of too con- 
 
 * The following is a sample of the losses that I sustained after 
 deprivation of my salary, by the sale of my effects in order to re- 
 turn to England : The Land, House, and Offices, in the uninhabited 
 forest sold for £5 : 13s : 4d.; digging the well alone cost £8 : 8s ; 
 articles of furniture, which cost £8, sold for sixteen shillings ; books 
 which cost £7 : 4s., sold for £1 : 7s. ; ditto, cost £2 : 2s. sold for 
 2s : 6d., the losses on other articles in similar proportions. There 
 is a small wreck of property yet remaining to me in England, which 
 1 sincerely trust may not be burdened with additional taxes, to ex- 
 port the people from the mother country to cultivate the estates of 
 the possessors of large grants of land in the Colonies. 
 
41 
 
 temptible a nature to be noticed. My petition is 
 gone forth into the world, and cannot now be '* hid 
 under a bushel ;" and I fervently hope and trust, that 
 your Lordships' thus reminded, and the whole House 
 of Lords, with the Commons in Parliament assembled, 
 in their great wisdom, will not only relieve this coun- 
 try from the wasteful expenditure of the taxes, by the 
 Society for the propagation of the gospel, but take 
 effectual measures to secure, to the subjects of his 
 Majesty, impartial administration of justice from 
 one end of the dominions of the British crown, 
 unto the other ; and to condescend to extend to me, 
 also, an humble individual, yet a loyal subject, and 
 a clergyman of the realm, '* rightly and canonically 
 ordained," of untainted character, protection from 
 the persecutions of those ** who have fought against 
 me without a cause,'' and who have assumed to them- 
 selves an illegal and an unholy power of dispensing 
 with the laws of the land, and the obligation of the 
 gospel ; that, under such powerful defenders, I may 
 rest secure from evil, *' until this tyranny be over- 
 past.'' 
 
 With profound respect, 
 
 I remain. 
 
 My Lords, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 C. GRIFFIN. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 Printed by Anne Maurice, Fenchurch-Street. 
 
 
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