Methodism in Canada ; its work and its story.

Prologue

For more than a hundred years the Methodist Church in Canada has been so busy making history that no one has had leisure to write it. In fact, the time for such an undertaking had not fully come. The period was too short, the events too recent. They might be recorded separately in private or public annals, but could scarcely be combined into history. Within the past few years, however, there has been a growing conviction that Canadian Methodism had reached a stage in its development when the story of its first hundred years should be written ; and just at the very time when this conviction began to voice itself, accompanied by some gentle hints as to who ought to undertake the task, the Board of the Fernley Lectureship saw fit to honour me with an invitation to deliver the lecture for 1903, and accompanied that invitation with a request that the theme of the lecture should be the work of the Methodist Church in Canada.

When considering how I might best fulfil the task assigned me, the thought occurred of giving, first of all, a brief statement of what the Methodist Church in Canada is at the present time, and then so much of its story as would show how it came to be what it is. In doing this it will not be necessary to follow the minute details of a continuous history, but only to present the salient features of certain distinctive epochs when the inner life of the movement gradually took form in visible institutions, and the nebulous materials produced by an aggressive evangelism resolved themselves into a compact and thoroughly organised Church. For be it understood that what I have to relate is not the method whereby men of mingled passions like ourselves planned and reared a Babel-tower to their own ambition, but it is the process of a divine evolution whereby God made them to be a people that were not a people, and raised up the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. To change the figure, I have to tell something of the story of how a grain of mustard seed was planted in unpromising soil, but how in the space of one hundred years it grew into so stately a tree that to-day one million of people, or nearly 20 per cent, of the whole population of the Canadian Dominion, gather under its shadow and are called by its name.

To compress a detailed account of Canadian Methodism into the limits of a Fernley Lecture would be impossible, and it is not necessary to attempt it , but there are, as already intimated, certain well defined epochs in the Growth of the denomination which will not be devoid of interest to British Methodists, and some of these I will endeavour to describe. Taken as a whole, it is a story of heroic endeavour inspired by a lofty purpose, with many a romantic incident and a pathos peculiarly its own. It is the story of an intense and aggressive evangelism seeking the lost sheep in the wilderness and brinains

Prologue 3

wandering prodigals home to God ; the story of Christ's redeeming love constraining men and women to lives of self-sacrificing devotion unsurpassed in the history of the Church ; of marvellous triumphs of divine grace in the transformation of notorious sinners into rejoicing saints, and of happy and useful lives ending on triumphant deathbeds. More than that, it forms an integral part of the story of the spirit of freedom, inspired by the gospel, contending against irresponsible autocracy in civil government and the assumptions of a tyrannical ecclesiasticism in the Church, until the great principles of civil liberty and religious equality were universally conceded and incorporated in the laws of the State ; the story of intellectual emancipation, wrought by the gospel, finding its legitimate outlet in the establishment of schools, the founding of colleges, the dissemination of literature, the fostering of intellectual pursuits. Last, but not least, it is the story of a G-od-inspired movement for the unification of Methodism, prophetic, it may be, of a coming day when throughout Christendom there shall be " one flock, one Shepherd."

I could honestly wish that the task now before me had fallen into other hands ; for, altogether apart from that sincerely modest estimate of one's own powers which is proper and becoming, there are other reasons which, in my case, make the undertaking one of no small difficulty. Not only has a very busy life afforded little time for historical or philosophical studies, but for the third part of a century I have been in the thick of the events which make up the later history of Canadian Methodism, and by force of circumstances, more than from choice, have been compelled to share largely in the discussions out of which grew the present condition and polity of the Church. Such an experience is not the best preparation for the historian. A soldier, it is true, may relate in the most graphic manner certain incidents of a battle as they fell under his observation, yet be poorly qualified to outline the plan of campaign or describe the complicated movement of the entire army. As a war correspondent secures if possible some point of vantage from which he can survey the entire field, so the historian of Church or State must be far enough removed from the events which he describes to be able to survey them as a whole, and to weigh with impartial mind and unbiassed judgment the motives and actions of men. Conscious of my limitations in these respects, I can only attempt my little best, trusting to the interest of my theme and the kindness of my hearers to secure a lenient judgment.

The word " Church " is here used deliberately and with emphasis. Methodism in Canada is a Church in all things that the word properly implies. It is a body of Christian believers united by a common name, a common faith, a common history. It accepts the Holy Scriptures as the only authoritative rule of faith, and steadily aims to conform its teaching and practice to the doctrine of Christ. Its symbols of doctrine embrace the fundamental truths held by the Church universal. Its forms of worship are in harmony with New Testament teaching and the practice of the primitive Church. It has a valid ministry, called of God and ordained, by whom the ordinances of the Church of Christ are duly administered. Should anyone demand other evidence of the validity of the claim to be a true Church of Christ, let him find the attesting seal in the mighty works wrought by the Holy Spirit through its instrumentality for more than a hundred years.

In giving an account of this Church and its work some regard must be paid to the theatre of its operations. Geographically considered, the field to be covered is one of vast extent. A Dominion that stretches literally " from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth,"

is no " pent-up Utica " whose story might be sketched in a score of pages ; and as the theatre of the Church's history is conterminous with so vast an empire, the foundations of the story should be laid on similarly majestic lines. The time limits, it is true, are not far apart — only one hundred years — but into that brief period events of no ordinary importance have been compressed ; for the history of Methodism in Canada is, in a very important sense, an integral part of the history of the Dominion, and its annals chronicle a movement which has left an indelible impression upon the people and their institutions. Every careful observer will admit that Methodism has been one of the most potent factors in moulding the character of the people in the English-speaking provinces of the Dominion, and in shaping the destinies of the infant nation.

It will be seen, therefore, that he who would tell the story of Methodism in Canada must not, if true to his vocation, trace the history of a denomination cast in a narrow groove, intent upon its own sectarian theology and usages, indifferent to wider human interests and questions of civic duty and responsibility, but the history of a great evangelistic movement that in the sweep of its far-reaching influence has regenerated individuals, purified homes, transformed communities, moulded institutions, fought and won the battle of civil and religious liberty, shaped the educational policy of whole provinces, founded institutions of higher learning, created a clean and wholesome literature, left the impress of its thought upon the very speech of the people, leavened the theology and stimulated the evangelistic zeal of sister churches, and in the brief space of one hundred years gathered around its standard a million of adherents, or nearly one fifth of the population of the Dominion.

As already intimated, the field covered by the work of the Methodist Church in Canada is of vast extent. It comprises the settled portions of the Dominion, the island of Newfoundland, the Bermudas, and two strictly foreign missions, one in Japan and one in West China. But these are only vague general statements which convey no distinct meaning, and some comparisons must be instituted if the facts are to be made clear. In attempting a brief description of the field we will begin at the Atlantic seaboard and follow the course of the sun westward to the great Pacific.

Lying off the south-eastern coast of the province of Quebec and the southern extremity of Labrador (from which it is separated by a narrow strait about 15 miles in width) lies the island of Newfoundland, the ancient colony, with an area of 162,200 square miles, which means a territory more than twice the size of England and Scotland put together, and nearly as large as Sweden. Kugged, storm-beaten, much of it rocky and sterile, its aspect is not particularly inviting : but there is vast mineral wealth among the hills ; magnificent bays, in any-one of which the combined fleets of the world might ride at anchor without fear of overcrowding, indent its shore-line ; while off the coast and out on the banks are teeming fisheries, prolific enough to supply the markets of the world. Outside of the city of St. John's the settlements for the most part are not much more than fishing villages around the rugged coast ; but in most of them the gospel is preached with true Methodist fervour, and a joyous experience is voiced in grand old Wesleyan hymns. Within the bounds of the Conference there are 5 districts, 64 circuits and stations, 52 ordained ministers, 16 probationers for the ministry, 11,851 communicants, and 15,209 scholars in the Sunday schools.

Turning now to the Dominion of Canada (for although Newfoundland, Methodistically, is included in its boundaries, politically it is separate), we have to do with an immensely vaster territory, though some of the provinces composing it are but small. South-westward from Newfoundland we touch the coast of Cape Breton, an island which forms part of the province of Nova Scotia, the Acadie of the old French regime. From north-east to south-west the province has a length of 350 miles, with an average breadth of 90 miles or thereabout; but Nova Scotia being almost an island, connected with the mainland by a very narrow isthmus, and Cape Breton being an island in reality, the coastline is of enormous extent. The whole province comprises an area of 20,550 square miles, nearly equal to the combined area of the States of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The population is nearly 460,000, and for the most part they are a law-abiding and ( J od-f earing people. Methodistically, an Annual Conference has jurisdiction throughout the province. This Conference comprises 10 districts, 110 circuits and stations, 124 ordained ministers, 12 probationers for the ministry, 16,067 communicants, and 15,5.°>5 scholars in the Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents combined number 57,500, or about 12 \ per cent, of the entire population.

To the north-west of Nova Scotia, across the Bay of

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Fundy, lies the province of New Brunswick. It has an area of 28,200 square miles, nearly as large as Bavaria, and about 1,600 square miles less than Scotland. Its population exceeds 321,000, and in their characteristics the people are not unlike those of Nova Scotia. The Annual Conference embraces 8 districts, 92 circuits and stations, 104 ordained ministers, 10 probationers for the ministry, 13,792 communicants, 13,593 scholars in the Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents together number 35,973, or 8 -J- per cent, of the population, including Prince Edward Island, which is separated from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by Northumberland Strait, and is included in the territory of the New Brunswick Conference. It has an area of only 2,L33 square miles, slightly larger than the State of Delaware, and a population of a little over 109,000, but maintains its own provincial autonomy

North of New Brunswick, we touch the easterly part of that narrow strip of the province of Quebec which lies south of the St. Lawrence Eiver. At a point approximately east from the city of Quebec the strip begins to widen, following the north-western boundary of the State of Maine and the northern boundaries of the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, till it strikes the St. Lawrence Biver at an acute angle at the upper end of Lake St. Francis. On the north shore of the lake the province line between Quebec and Ontario starts near the village of St. Louis de Gonzague, following an irregular course until it reaches the Ottawa Biver, near Carillon. Thence the boundary between the two provinces follows the course of the Ottawa to a point at the north end of Lake Temiscanhngue , thence it runs due north to a point on James Bay. To the north the boundary of Quebec is the East Main Kiver, which flows westward into James Bay, and the Hamilton or Grand Biver flowing eastward into the Atlantic Ocean ; while to the east the boundary is the narrow strip of the coast of Labrador, which is under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland.

Having entered this immense province, we have now to deal with the territory of an empire — for Quebec has an area of 347,350 square miles, which is 22,600 square miles larger than the German and Austrian empires put together, more than seven times the size of the State of New York, and more than equals the combined areas of the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Within this province lies the head of navigation for ocean ships coming in from the Atlantic, and through the gateways of its cities will pour, through the coming years, the fabulous wealth of the great North- West. Within this province there is a population of 1,648,898, and there is room for millions more. Its land fit for agriculture is not all occupied, its forests are by no means exhausted, its minerals scarcely touched. But of the 1,648,898 people above mentioned, 1,: »22,000 are of French descent, speak the French language, are imbued with French traditions, and the bulk of them are devoted adherents of the most pronounced, aggressive, and thoroughly organised type of Roman Catholicism to be found in the world.

In this province the work of Methodism is confined almost entirely to the English-speaking portions, and to towns, cities, and rural sections where the population is mixed. Among the other race the work is represented by a few scattered and somewhat feeble missions, where a handful of French Protestants bravely strive to hold their own against the overshadowing power of Eome. The Annual Conference, called Montreal, embraces the English-speaking portion of the province already referred to, beginning at Gaspe on the Atlantic seaboard, and extending in the other direction some distance west of the city of Kingston, far beyond the Ontario province line. The Conference embraces 11 districts, 219 circuits and stations, 240 ordained ministers, 29 probationers for the ministry, 36,209 communicants, 32,110 scholars in the Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents within the province of Quebec number 42,014.

At the eastern angle formed by the junction of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa there are two counties which belong to the province of Quebec. All west of this to the Detroit Eiver, and thence along the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior to Fort William, and extending northward approximately to the 47th parallel, is included in what is now called Old Ontario , but within a few years a vast territory to the north and west, popularly called New Ontario, has been added. Its northern boundary is the shore of James Bay as far as the Albany Eiver, thence ascending the course of that stream westward till the eastern boundary of Manitoba is reached at the Lake of the Woods. The area of the whole province of Ontario is 222,000 square miles, a territory larger than France, nearly as large as Spain and Portugal combined, and nearly twice the size of Great Britain and Ireland. From the Quebec boundary to the Detroit Eiver the distance, as the crow flies, is approximately 500 miles; from the shore of Lake Erie to the Albany Eiver the distance is about 750 miles, while the distance from Ottawa to the Manitoba province line is approximately 1,000 miles. The resources of this vast region in agriculture, timber, and especially minerals, are practically boundless, and manufactures are developing at a rate undreamed of a generation ago. The population at the last census numbered 2,167,978. As already intimated, the Montreal Conference extends a considerable distance into Ontario ; but west of that, and still within the province, there are four other Annual Conferences, named respectively Bay of Quinte, Toronto, Hamilton, and London. Taken together, these Conferences embrace 53 districts, 739 circuits and stations, 978 ordained ministers, 102 probationers for the ministry, 182,739 communicants, 1G6,G34 scholars in Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents taken together number 666,360.

The province of Manitoba constitutes the first political division of the almost illimitable prairie region of the West. Scarcely more than a generation lias passed since this vast country came under the control of the Canadian Covernment, and it was almost at the end of the sixties when the first missionaries of the Methodist Church were sent to the, English-speaking settlers who were beginning to enter the country. Previous to this the Methodist Church had a few missionaries among the Indians of the farther north ; but the Scotch settlers on the lied ttiver of the North were cared for by Presbyterian clergymen, while the mixed bloods, scattered over an enormous territory, were dependent for the most part upon the ministrations of the Eoman Catholic and Anglican Churches.

When the North-West was ceded to Canada, conditions underwent a rapid change. Farmers and others from the older provinces began to turn their faces toward the new land of promise, and the Churches saw the necessity of providing for the religious needs of those who were seeking homes on the Western prairies. In 1868 the Methodist Church sent out the Eev. George Young, D.D., to plant the standard at Fort Garry on the Eed Eiver. At first he preached to a handful of people in his own dwelling ; but he laid foundations broad and deep, and where in 1868 there was only the naked prairie surrounding the walls of the H.B. Company's Fort, there now stands a handsome city of 50,000 inhabitants, with all the appliances of modern civilisation, while Methodism is represented in the same city by more than half a dozen churches with flourishing congregations, and a large and handsome college building filled with students.

The province of Manitoba is one of the smaller divisions of the North- West, having an area of only 73,956 square miles ; but even this is no petty State, as it includes a territory nearly 6,000 square miles larger than Great Britain. This, however, is only the gateway to the greater West. Beyond Manitoba, to the west, north, and north-west, are the vast territories of Assinaboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Athabasca, Keewatin, Mackenzie, and Yukon. In Keewatin Methodism is represented by two or three Indian missions ; in Athabasca and Mackenzie it has no work at all , in the Yukon there are but three ministers of the denomination ; but there is a vast network of agencies covering the province of Manitoba and much of the territories of Assinaboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, known as the Manitoba and North-West Conference. The divisions just named cover the following areas in square miles: Manitoba, 73,936 ; Assinaboia, 90,340; Saskatchewan, 114,000; Alberta, 100,000. Taken together, the area is 378,276 square miles, which is equal in extent to France and Sweden combined, and almost every square mile is rich agricultural soil. The same may be said of the western half of Athabasca, which, with the outlying territories of Keewatin, Mackenzie, and Yukon, represents an area of 1,768,800 square miles, a region so vast that the whole of Europe, excluding Eussia, does not equal it by nearly 250,000 square miles. If now we add together Manitoba and the two groups of territories above named, we have a total of 2,147,096 square miles, which is larger than the whole of Eussia in Europe, including Poland and Finland.

In the Manitoba and North-West Conference there are 15 districts, 251 circuits and stations, 241 ordained ministers, 28 probationers for the ministry, 22,392 communicants, 20,355 scholars in the Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents together, 72,117

We have now reached British Columbia, the most westerly province of the Canadian Dominion. Large in area, it comprises 383,300 square miles, or over 18,000 square miles more than the combined States of California, Nevada, and Oregon. The mountainous character of the whole country does not permit of agriculture on a large scale ; but land in the valleys is very fertile, timber resourf.es are immense, the fisheries, especially of salmon,

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are prolific almost beyond belief, while the supply of minerals — coal, iron, copper, silver, gold, etc.- — are practicably inexhaustible. The Methodist Church in the province comprises 1 Annual Conference, 8 districts, 81 circuits and stations, 69 ordained ministers, 11 probationers for the ministry, 6,116 communicants, 7,088 scholars in the Sunday schools. Communicants and adherents together, 25,021.

Outside of the territory occupied in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, and Bermuda, the Methodist Church has two foreign missions — one in Japan, the other in West China. The former was begun in 1873 by the Eev. George Cochran, D.D., and the Eev. Davidson Macdonald, M.D. There is now an Annual Conference embracing 5 districts, with 27 circuits and stations, 8 foreign missionaries, 26 ordained native pastors, 7 unordained preachers, 2,675 communicants, 2,236 scholars in the Sunday schools. The West China Mission in the province of Sz' Chuan was begun in 1891 by the Eev. V. C. Hart, D.D., 0. L. Kilborn, M.A., M.D., and Eev. George E. Hartwell, B.A., B.D. On two separate occasions the mission has been broken up by the Boxer insurrection, and the missionaries were compelled to leave the province for a time. This greatly retarded the work ; but a brighter day seems to be dawning, and the missionaries are again on the ground, labouring with good prospects of success.

Turning back over ground already traversed and summing up results, we find in the Dominion of Canada territory organised and under Government amounting to 3,170,629 square miles, and there is unorganised territory to the north amounting approximately to 500,000

1 6 JMcthodism in Canada square miles more, or say 3,670,000 square miles in all, which is almost equal to the whole continent of Europe. Of this enormous region a large portion is still unoccupied save by the wandering Indian and the adventurous furtrader. According to the census of 1901, the population of the Dominion was less than 6,000,000 , but with a soil capable of sustaining countless millions more, and undeveloped resources of other kinds enough to enrich the whole world, the filling up of all the country fit for settlement with a prosperous population is only a matter of time, and it is this tide of incoming population that will constitute the great problem of all the Churches for years and years to come.

In the early days Methodism in Canada, so far as its government was concerned, took on the Methodist Episcopal form. This was perfectly natural, for its preachers were commissioned by the American Bishops, and until 1832 were under his jurisdiction. But when, in the year just named, a union was formed between the Canadian Conference and the British Wesleyan Conference, Episcopacy was superseded by an annual Presidency, and the government of the Church was modelled after the Wesleyan type. When a union was formed between the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, the Methodist New Connexion, and the Conference of Eastern British America, Rome modifications were introduced, and the united body took the name of the Methodist Church oi Canada. Nine years later another union was formed, embracing the Methodist Church of Canada, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, the Primitive Methodist Church in Canada, and the Bible Christian Church of

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Canada, and the legal designation adopted was The Methodist Church. At the time of this union the constitution which still exists was adopted, and some of its features may be briefly described.

In some respects the polity of the Canadian Church holds a middle position between British Wesleyan Methodism and the Episcopal Methodism of the United States. It maintains the ministerial equality of the one, and, in a modified form, the general superintendency of the other. There is one Quadrennial General Conference, composed of ministers and laymen in equal numbers, to which is committed authority to make rules and regulations for the whole Church under certain restrictions. The ministerial members are elected by the ministers in the Annual Conferences, and the laymen by the lay members of the same bodies. The General Conference has authority to elect one or more general superintendents, who hold office for eight years and are eligible for reelection. It also decides the number and boundaries of the Annual Conferences, but does not interfere in their internal administration. At the present time there is one Annual Conference in Newfoundland, nine in the Dominion of Canada; and one in Japan. The Annual Conferences are composed of ministers and laymen in equal numbers, the former holding their position ex officio, the latter elected by the laymen in the annual district meetings. Each Annual Conference elects its own president and secretary. If a general superintendent is present at the beginning of a session, he opens the proceedings, presides during the first day, and afterwards alternately with the president-elect. He also conducts the ordination service, when present, unci in his absence the president officiates. All questions pertaining to ministerial standing and conduct are decided by the ministerial members of the Annual Conference, and the preachers are stationed by a committee composed of the chairmen of districts and one ministerial representative elected by each district meeting, the president of Conference being chairman. During the intervals between sessions of the General Conference, connexional interests — -such as missions, education, publishing, etc. — are controlled by boards or committees, and in these the principle of equality in numbers as between ministers and laymen prevails. Other church courts, such as quarterly official meetings, leaders' meetings, etc., are patterned after the British Wesleyan type. There is one court in the Canadian Church which, as far as I am aware, is unique in Methodism. This is known as the Court of Appeal, and is constituted for the purpose of hearing and deciding appeals from the decisions of lower courts, or officers of the same, on questions of law. This includes appeals from decisions of presidents or presiding officers of Annual Conferences on questions of law ; from the decision of Annual Conferences when they have exceeded their jurisdiction , from decisions of general superintendents on questions of law in the committees and boards over which they preside ; and from decisions of committees and boards of the General Conference when they have exceeded their jurisdiction.

Among the various departments of work in the Methodist Church that of missions holds foremost place. As far back as 1824, while the Church was yet in its infancy, a Missionary Society was organised. Its income the first year was only about $144, and the field of operation was correspondingly limited. At that time a foreign mission was undreamed of, but it was thought that something might be done for the scattered bands of Indians in the central and western parts of Upper Canada (now Ontario), whose condition was most deplorable, and ultimately to afford a little aid to those who were carrying the gospel to the remoter settlements. From the time the society was organised until now no division has been made as between the home and foreign work. One fund covers both, and is controlled and administered by one board. This board is composed of the general superintendent, the officers of the Missionary Society, 'and 34 other members, ministers and laymen in equal numbers, 14 of whom are elected by the General Conference for a four years' term. The board meets annually, reviews the whole mission work of the Church at home and abroad, and apportions the funds at its disposal according to the needs of the various fields. In the intervals of the sessions of the board the business of the society is administered by an executive committee composed of the general superintendent, the officers of the society, and 18 other members, ministers and laymen in equal numbers, appointed by the board.

The Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church was organised in the autumn of 1881. The income for the first year was $2,916; but the annual receipts increased steadily, until in 1902 they reached $49,776. This society has its own board and manages its own affairs, but works in harmony and loyal co-operation with tlii' board of the General Missionary Society. It has more than 40 agents in its employ — all women — and these include evangelists, teachers, physicians, trained nurses, Bible-women, etc. The property held by the Women's Society exceeds in value $56,000. Besides its direct work in the mission field, the society has rendered invaluable service in the home churches in fostering the missionary spirit, spreading information, cultivating systematic giving, and furnishing an outlet for the zeal of consecrated women, who on many different fields are proving their fitness for every form of Christian service. Another branch of missionary effort, and one of growing importance, is what is known as the Young People's Forward Movement for Missions. It is carried on through the agency of the Epworth Leagues, under the direction of the General Board of Missions. The motto of the movement is " Pray, Study, Give," and from this may be inferred the character and spirit of its work. By its campaign methods, diligence in circulating missionary literature, careful study of missionary problems, and plan of systematic giving, this organisation has done much to develop the missionary spirit in the churches. Although but a few years have passed since the movement began, the annual income has reached about $25,000, and 46 missionaries in the Indian and foreign fields are supported, in whole or in part, from this source.