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The Scot in British North America
Chapter II. The Churches Part B


The Venerable Archdeacon William Turnbull Leach, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D., of Montreal, was born at Berwick-on-Tweed, in March, 1805. He was educated at Berwick and Stirling, entered Edinburgh University in 1823, and graduated as M. A. in 1827. His divinity courses occupied three years more. During all this period he was materially assisted by his maternal uncle, Mr. Turnbull, of Stirling. In 1831, Mr. Leach was ordained a minister of the Church of Scotland, and soon after came to Canada as a missionary. In 1834 he was selected as pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, Toronto, and laboured there for some years, during which period he was largely instrumental in founding Queen’s College, Kingston, at least so far as the preliminary steps were concerned. A change came over Mr. Leach’s opinions, however, about 1841, and he took orders in the Church of England, at the hands of Bishop Mountain, of Quebec. For nearly twenty years thereafter Mr. Leach was Incumbent of St. George’s Church, Montreal, and subsequently filled for some time the rectorship of Lachine. Bishop Fulford, in 1854, made him an Honorary Canon of Christ Church and his domestic chaplain and Archdeacon in 1865. Dr. Leach is an accomplished classical scholar; he occupied, in 1845, the chair in that department, and, subsequently became Professor of logic and moral philosophy, which he afterwards exchanged for English literature. He has served, for many years as, vice-principal of McGill and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Archdeacon Leach is described as being a deeply-read and versatile scholar, a man of superior intellect, earnest and liberal-minded throughout his life.

The Rev. George M. Innes, M.A., Canon and Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, Ontario, was also born in England; but his family is Scottish, his father having been cousin to the Duke of Roxburgh. Like Archdeacon Patton, Mr. Innes inherited military traditions, and was early educated for the army at Sandhurst, and obtained a commission in 1849. After twelve years soldiering he left the service in 1861, being at the time a Captain in the Royal Canadian Rifles. He at once entered on the study of theology, and was ordained Deacon by the late Dr. Cronyn, Bishop of Huron, and, after his ordination as priest, became incumbent of Christ’s Church, London, and thence to Quebec as assistant minister at the Cathedral. In 1868 he returned to London and occupied a similar position at St. Paul’s. In 1871 he became Canon and Rector, a position he still occupies. Canon Innes is an earnest preacher of the Evangelical school, with a clear intonation and great earnestness in enforcing the truth. His Master’s degree was conferred by Bishop’s College, Lennoxville.

The Rev. Alexander Macnab, D.D., rector of the parish of Darlington (Bowmanville) belongs to the old clan Macnab, to which reference may be subsequently made. His father, Colonel Simon Fraser Macnab, served as a public officer in Canada for many years, and his grandfather, Dr. James, was one of the U. E. Loyalist band. The subject of this notice, was named after his uncle, Captain Alexander, whose name figures in old plans of little York. The captain was on Sir Thomas Picton’s staff, as aide-de-camp, at Waterloo, and was probably the only born Canadian who fought and fell upon that famous battle ground. Dr. Macnab’s branch of the family came from Perthshire, and settled in the American Colonies, after the clan had broken up. During the Revolutionary War, they fought for the Crown, and found their way, before it had quite terminated, to Canada. The doctor’s father was one of the first settlers at Bellevil1e, and there the rector was born towards the end of January, 1812.

Mr. Macnab was privately educated under the Rev. John Grier, afterwards rector of Belleville. His first choice was the legal profession, for which he studied in an office at Belleville; but he subsequently turned his attention to literature and theology. Within a short period he was appointed President of the Victoria College, and is believed to have conferred, in that capacity, the first degree in Arts in this section of the Province. While at the head of Victoria, the degree of D.D., was granted him by Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. Dr. Macnab, during his academic rule at Cobourg, was appointed first Superintendent of Education in Canada West, by the Governor-General, Lord Metcalfe. Soon after resigning his position, Dr. Macnab received ordination at the hands of Bishop Strachan, and was appointed assistant to the Rev. Dr. Bethune, then rector of Cobourg, and later on, Bishop of Toronto. After a short term of service at Rice Lake parish, Dr. Macnab was finally settled as Rector of Clarke and Darlington. When a division of the charge took place, he retained Darlington, residing at Bowmanville. As a preacher, the rev. doctor is clear and logical, with a pleasing address, and an impressive manner. The union of much personal dignity with great warmth and kindliness of disposition, has made him peculiarly acceptable as a parish priest.

In 1858, Dr. Macnab paid his first visit to England, with his kinsman, Sir Allan N. Macnab, but ten years later, an agreeable surprise awaited him. He received the Waterloo medal to which his uncle would have been entitled, from the hand of the Duke of Cambridge; [Dr. Scadding: Toronto of Old, p. 366.] nor was that all, an Act had been passed fifty years before, cancelling all claims to prize-money; neverthless, the Chelsea Hospital Commissioners paid to Dr. Macnab the amount lying to the credit of Capt. Macnab, as a token of England’s appreciation of the loyalty of the Macnabs, during the American Revolution. In 1876, by permission of the Dean and Chapter, the doctor and his son placed in the crypt of St. Paul’s, in London, a memorial tablet to the captain’s memory, near the tomb of Sir Thomas Picton, under whom he fought and fell. During a former visit, when on leave, Dr. Macnab pleaded the cause of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in various parish pulpits in England; in 1872 he was the Society’s Chaplain at Cologne, in Prussia. Dr. Macnab married in 1832, and had six children. Of his two sons, one, the Rev. Allan Napier Macnab, the godson of Sir Allan, was a promising young minister, educated at Trinity College, and stationed at Hamilton. Unhappily he perished by drowning accidentally at Montreal, in the twenty-fifth year of his age. The other, the Rev. Arthur Wellesley, educated at Huron College, has also laboured for the Society above mentioned, both in England and on the Continent. He is at present incumbent of St. Barnabas, St. Catharines, and is not only an able preacher, but a popular lecturer. Dr. Macnab, although he has completed his seventieth year, is still hale and hearty—a fine sample of the old Highland stock to which it is his pride to belong. [Most of the facts stated above have been taken from The Canadian Biographical Dictionary, Ontario, p. 99.]

The Very Rev. Robert Jackson Macgeorge was some years ago well-known in church and literary circles in Toronto. His father, Andrew Macgeorge, was a well-known solicitor in Glasgow, and in the vicinity of that city, his son Robert was born about seventy-two years ago. After having passed through the ordinary curriculum at Glasgow, he completed his studies at Edinburgh. Mr. Macgeorge’s health was at that time in a precarious state, and he was advised to seek a change of air and scene. He proceeded to the East Indies, spent some months at Bombay, and visited the gulf of Persia and other localities in the Orient. On his return to Scotland, a detailed account of his tour was published in the Scottish Literary Gazette, and he also contributed to Fraser the Scottish Monthly, and other periodicals. In 1839, Mr Macgeorge was admitted to holy orders by. Dr. Michael Russell, Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway. He served for some time as curate to the Rev. Robert Montgomery, the author of "Satan" and other poems, whose name will be familiar to the readers of Macaulay’s essays; and subsequently held the incumbency of Christ’s Church, Glasgow.

In 1841, Mr. Macgeorge removed to Canada, and was assigned to Trinity Church, Streetsville—where he remained during the whole of his residence in the country. The Anglican Churches in those days were few and far between in the rural districts, so that Mr. Macgeorge’s incumbency was in a large measure the nucleus of a mission. But for his zeal and activity, many of the outlying villages would have been completely neglected. Thus, in addition to his regular duties, he found it necessary to hold frequent services at Milton, Norval, Brampton, Sydenham, Dundas Street, Port Credit, Etobicoke and Edmonton.

Meanwhile the hard worked clergyman did not suffer his pen to lie idle, although the period of this literary activity at its best, came later. He edited the Church, a weekly newspaper, and also the Anglo American Magazine. Although Mr. Macgeorge’s connection with the Streetsville Review was anonymous, still it would be a serious omission to leave without mention the frequent and original paragraphs for which "Solomon" is still remembered. In 1858 the rev. gentleman returned to Scotland, and was placed in charge of Oban. Here, as in Canada, Mr. Macgeorge found that there was pioneer work to do. Notwithstanding the influx of English tourists at that watering-place, there was no regular place of worship for Episcopalians. The new incumbent at once bestirred himself and succeeded, by his exertions, in erecting a handsome church (St. John’s). This sacred edifice with a comfortable parsonage was built free of debt. For some time Mr. Macgeorge held the office of Synod Clerk, and in 1872, was appointed Dean of Argyle and the Isles by the Bishop, Dr. Alexander Ewing, whose name and fame are well known far beyond the limits of his rugged diocese. In 1881, advancing age and gathering infirmities, compelled Mr. Macgeorge to resign the charge of St. John’s, as well as his position as Dean and Canon of the Cathedral. The esteem and affection in which the right rev. gentleman was held, were manifested in many ways. The clergy of the diocese presented a highly eulogistic address; the congregation he had established presented him with a valuable testimonial; and he was elected an honorary Canon of the Cathedral, on the nomination of the Earl of Glasgow. In the course of his Synodal charge in 1881, Rev. Dr. Mackarness, Bishop of Argyle, and brother of the Bishop of Oxford, referred with feeling to Mr. Macgeorge’s services. The right rev. gentleman, for he is still permitted to retain the title of Dean, resides still in a green old age at Rothesay, in the Isle of Bute.

The Right Reverend Alexander Macdonell, D.D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Kingston, U. C., at the time of his death, was one of those grand figures of the heroic times in colonial life. He was born at Glen Urquhart, on the borders of Loch Ness, in the Glengarry Highlands of Scotland, in 1762. [Morgan: Celebrated Canadians, p. 268, gives 1769 as the date, but we prefer the earlier, given in The Catholic Calendar and Annual Registrar for 1841, because is was given in a memoir published soon after the memorable prelate’s death. For this and other valuable information the writer is indebted to W.J. Macdonell, Esq., Vice-Consul of France at Toronto.] Being early intended for the priesthood, young Macdonell was sent, at an early age, to the Scotch College at Valladolid, in Spain—one of the few remaining links of connection between Scotland and the Latin nations. There he remained until he was ordained priest, in 1787—a sufficient proof that the later date assigned as that of his birth cannot be correct. For four years he ministered amid the picturesque braes of Lochaber, and while there devised a scheme which proved that he was a patriot as well as a churchman. This was no less than a proposal to remove a large number of the Highland Catholics to the Lowlands. The motive for it may be briefly stated thus: The growth of cotton and other manufactures in the Lowlands had caused a great demand for men. The price of wool and meat had greatly risen, and the proprietors naturally desired to take advantage of the market. Hitherto, as in Ireland, the holdings had been small; now, therefore, began the process of eviction. "It was not uncommon," wrote the Bishop, "to see from one to two hundred families evicted, and the farms which they had occupied converted into a sheep-wa1k for the accommodation of some south-country shepherd, or, as it was termed in the country, one hundred and fifty or two hundred smokes went through one chimney." The state of the unhappy people was deplorable in the extreme. Few of them had means enough to emigrate, and they spoke, for the most part, no language but Gaelic. Beyond their native valleys and mountains they knew naught of the world, and were utterly helpless. Even the emigrants did not escape, for the ships were boarded and all able-bodied men were seized by press-gangs. It was then, as Bishop Macdonell relates, at a time when he was labouring on the borders between Inverness and Perth, on the highest inhabitable part of the Highlands, that he first planned his settlement scheme. A simple incident determined him. An emigrant ship from Barra, one of the Hebrides, had been wrecked, and the destitute and friendless passengers were landed at Greenock, in 1792. The good priest at once repaired to Glasgow, armed with letters to several University professors and also to the principal manufacturers. He pleaded for employment, not only on behalf of the shipwrecked, but for the evicted Highlanders generally. He was cordially received, but there were still two obstacles in the way. His poor and distraught people could only speak the Celtic tongue of the mountains, and, worse still, were Roman Catholics. Only twelve years had elapsed when, at the time of the Lord George Gordon riots, the chapels and clergymen’s houses had been burned both in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and employers naturally feared a revival of the spirit of bigotry.

The penal laws were yet in force, and a priest would certainly be set upon by the rabble, and the matter terminate by his prosecution in court. The brave Macdonell was nothing daunted, and at once stated that if the workmen were protected, he could take his chance of the law; and to reassure both parties he would himself accompany them to the factories, and serve as interpreter and clergyman. The manufacturers closed with this offer, and employment was at once found for six hundred Highlanders. The Father took up his residence at Glasgow, in June, 1792, and entered upon his new labours. Prior to this time, when a priest officiated there, divine service had been held up several flights of stairs with the entrance guarded by a stalwart Highlander or Irishman. The new missionary, however, by the advice of an eminent Presbyterian clergyman, Rev. Dr. Porteous, opened his chapel to the street, and did not close the door during the service.

Unfortunately the war of the French revolution caused a stagnation in trade. The Highlanders were thrown out of employment, and, being acquainted with no language but their own, were reduced to a sorry plight. The rev. father, however, was not yet at the end of his resources. In 1794, he convened a meeting of Catholics at Fort Augustus, at which their services were tendered to the king, as a Catholic corps, to serve anywhere in the kingdom under their young Chieftain, Macdonell of Glengarry. Their services were accepted, and, although it was then contrary to law, the Rev. Mr. Macdonell was gazetted chaplain. In 1795, the first Glengarry Fencible regiment went to Ireland to aid in suppressing the rebellion. Here the chieftain and the chaplain exerted themselves to check the excesses of the yeomanry; turned them out of the chapels they had converted into stables, and persuaded the terrified peasantry to attend the services of their Church. They were assured that if they only behaved peaceably, the Government would know no distinction of creed. The consequence was that, wherever the Glengarries went, there were no military outrages, and the spirit of disaffection died out.

Misfortune, however, again overtook the devoted band. At the short-lived peace of Amiens, the regiment was disbanded, and the Highlanders were once more reduced to want. Mr. Macdonell then turned his eyes towards Canada, and proposed to Mr. Addington that a grant of land should be set apart for them. The Prime Minister proposed that they should colonize Trinidad, lately ceded to Spain, because he feared that Canada would soon cease to be a colony. The rev. father pointed out how unsuitable the climate was to Highlanders, and in spite of many discouragements, struggled on towards the attainment of his object. He was not accustomed to be beaten when he had once formed a well-considered resolution, and now once more his efforts were crowned with success. In 1804, he had the satisfaction of settling in Upper Canada large numbers of the Highlanders. To each member of the disbanded regiment two hundred acres of land were granted, making in all 160,000 acres, in what is now the County of Glengarry.

Mr. Macdonell’s work, however, had only now begun in earnest. There were churches and schools to erect, and a vast expanse of country needed missionary labour. The rev. father was a strong man, and strapping his wallet on his back, marched many weary miles, week after week, to preach the Word, and administer the rites of the Church. When the war of 1812 broke out, Mr. Macdonell at once raised a regiment of Glengarry Fencibles, which with two other corps, chiefly Scots, from the eastern district, defended the St. Lawrence, and brought aid to the gallant De Salaberry. The intrepid priest accompanied his flock to the field of battle at Ogdensburgh. At the close of this war, on the recommendation of Earl Bathurst, for these and other services, Mr. Macdonell, who was about to be consecrated Bishop, received a substantial reward. The Government suggested that the see should be a diocesan one, with its seat at Kingston, and granted the new prelate a salary of £400, and afterwards of £600 per annum. Thus, writes Morgan [Celebrated Canadians, p. 270.] he was made the "first Catholic chaplain since the Reformation; secondly, he received the thanks of the Prince Regent for his efficient services; and, thirdly, was consecrated the first diocesan Bishop in the British dominions since the Reformation." The last of these events took place at Montreal, in 1826. Thenceforward the good prelate’s laborious work was prosecuted with renewed vigour. With that indomitable energy which characterized him, Bishop Macdonell never spared himself when there was work to be done. He was still missionary, as he had always been, amidst a flock peculiarly his own. Among other schemes, he established a Highland Society, and in 1837, took the initial steps towards founding a Catholic Seminary for Upper Canada, to be called Regiopolis College. Anxious to forward the latter scheme, and also to secure a larger supply of Highland immigrants, he accepted a mission to Scotland. When he left Canada, unhappily for the last time, he was in his seventy-eighth year but the old Celtic fire yet burned brightly within his aged bosom. After a short time spent on business in London, the Bishop went northward to Inverness, and entered upon his work. Some time after he crossed to Ireland, intending to be present, in October, 1839, at a great dinner to be given to the Irish prelates at Cork. Dense fogs prevailed at the time, and he was too late for the festival. Nevertheless, he visited the Bishops, and made considerable trips inland. There was no conveyance but the open jaunting-car, an between Waterford and Clonmel, the good Bishop was exposed to drizzling rain, and received a severe chill. During the remainder of his stay on the island, he was an invalid at various places, and when he arrived at Dublin, he was confined to bed for a fortnight. After a visit to the Earl of Gosford, at Armagh, he partially recovered and crossed from Belfast to Dumfries, in January, 1840. He was about to visit London to arrange for an extended emigration of Highlanders, and stopped at Dumfries to visit an old friend and college companion, the Rev. Mr. Reid. He appeared in good health, and celebrated mass the next morning. At four o’clock on the morning of the 14th January, 1840, the Bishop called his servant and complained of chilliness. The Rev. Mr. Reid was called, and finding the aged prelate sinking fast, administered to him the last rites of the Church. The benediction had only just been pronounced, when the faithful servant expired without a groan. During his thirty-five years of untiring work, he had raised forty-eight churches, and left behind him forty priests.

Bishop Macdonell had been beloved by others than those of his own communion. Being singularly liberal in his views, of benign temper and unbounded charity, during the period of his episcopate, he had endeared himself to his fellow-subjects of all creeds and ranks, and went down to the grave with the universal regrets of all who had known of his honoured name, his active and blameless life.

The Right Reverend Peter McIntyre, D. D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Charlottetown, P. E. I., was born at Cable Head, St Peter’s Bay, in the Island, on the 29th of June, 1818. His father, Angus, a Highland farmer, and his mother née Sarah McKinnon, hailed from Uist, Inverness-shire. The son was educated successively at St. Andrew’s Academy on his native island, at St. Hyacinthe, and finally at the Quebec Seminary. Ordained a priest in August, 1843, he officiated for a short time as assistant at the Quebec parish church. Father Mcintyre then returned to Prince Edward Island, where he was appointed to the Tignish Mission, to which no less than three other missions were attached. Here he laboured with zeal and devotion for seventeen years, and succeeded in leaving, as a monument of his pastorate, one of the finest Catholic churches in the Province. In August, 1860, Dr. McIntyre was consecrated Bishop of Charlottetown. The amount of work he must have performed may be gathered from the fact that in addition to the episcopal duties devolving upon him, he has established the College of St. Dunstan’s, and supervises seven convents at which females are educated. Another convent has risen on the Magdalen Islands which form part of Bishop McIntyre’s diocese, and in addition to that he has erected about twenty churches and parochial houses. In 1869, he visited Europe and attended the meeting of the Ecumenical Council, travelled over a large part of the Continent and visited the Holy Land. In 1878, the Bishop founded a hospital at Charlottetown, which is open to all without distinction of creed, and can boast of a full and efficient staff of medical officers. Dr. McIntyre’s life has been an active one. He is an excellent deviser of ways and means, and skilled in all work requiring executive ability. With the citizens generally he is highly popular on account of his public spirit and genial disposition. Last year, the Rev. Ronald McDonald became Roman Catholic Bishop of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, but no particulars of his life and career are at hand.

Another Highland clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church, who has long since passed away, was the Very Reverend William Peter Macdonald, at the time of his death Vicar-General and Dean of the Diocese of Toronto. He was born in the parish of Eberlow, Banffshire, in March, 1771, and, sent, while yet a youth, to the celebrated College of Douay, in Flanders, by Dr. Hay, Bishop of North Scotland. When the French Revolution broke out, he was to fly; but taking refuge at Valladolid, in Spain, he completed his education there. He was ordained priest in September, 1796, and at once returned to Scotland, where he laboured as a missionary for twelve years. In 1801 the British Government conceived the design of conveying away King Ferdinand VII. from Bayonne. Mr. Macdonald was attached to the expedition because of his familiarity with the French and Spanish languages, being the first Catholic chaplain of the fleet since the Reformation. After cruising off Quiberon for some time, the expedition was recalled in consequence of information received from the French Directory. Father Macdonald was subsequently employed at the British Embassy in Spain; after which he became a chaplain of the regular army. In 1827 the rev. gentleman removed to Canada, to aid Bishop Macdonell in the work of his diocese. During the next twenty years he laboured constantly at his pastoral work, finally attaining the highest rank at Toronto except that of the episcopate. It was only late in 1846 that he left Hamilton to aid the lamented Bishop Power, and on the 2nd of April (Good Friday) 1847, he breathed his last at St. Michael’s Palace. Vicar-General Macdonald was a man of simple manners and sincere piety. His urbanity made him a favourite beyond the limits of his own Church, and his death was deplored by all his fellow-citizens. The very rev. gentleman was a writer of no mean repute, and contributed largely by his works to the progress of the faith. In addition to that he was a man of considerable poetic power, and left behind him a number of religious pieces. For some time he also edited a religious journal, the Catholic. The esteem in which he was held manifested itself in the attendance of all denominations at his funeral. [Toronto Mirror, April 9th, 1847.]

The Rev. Alexander Sutherland, D.D., is the son of a Scottish farmer, who settled in this country in 1832. The youngest of four sons, he was the only Canadian amongst them, having been born in the township of Guelph in September, 1833. His early educational advantages were few, but he made the most of them. When nine years old he had the misfortune to lose his father; but he was a lad of great. pluck and energy, and early resolved to try conclusions with fortune. When only fourteen, young Sutherland was apprenticed to the printing business, and worked at the case until he was of age. During all this time he was a persevering student, and, before he left the office, frequently contributed short articles to the local press. When eighteen years of age, he was converted, and became a member of the Methodist Church at Guelph. He was deeply interested in Sunday-school work, and also in the temperance movement. That he should aspire to be a preacher of the Gospel was natural in a young man of zeal and devotion, conscious that he possessed abilities of no mean order. During the year 1855-6, Mr. Sutherland was on trial upon the Clinton Circuit as an itinerant preacher. At the Conference of 1856, as a probationer, he was stationed at Galt, and during the following church-year at Ber1in. After studying for a year at Victoria College, Mr. Sutherland was admitted into full connection, and stationed at Niagara. In 1861 he was removed to Thorold, and after two years’ service there to Drummondville, at which place he ministered for a year. Between 1864 and 1867, the rev. gentleman was a colleague of Dr. Harper, at Hamilton; thence to Yorkville during three years, followed by three years at Richmond Street Church, Toronto. In 1873, he undertook the pastorate of St. James’ Street Church, Montreal, and remained there for eighteen months.

Since then Mr. Sutherland has filled various offices at the head-quarters of the Connexion. He had been secretary of the Conference in 1870-1, and delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Brooklyn, U.S. In 1874, when the union had taken place with the New Connexion, he received the appointment of secretary-treasurer of Methodist Missions. During the eight years which have elapsed since his appointment as missionary secretary, Dr. Sutherland has enjoyed ample scope for his energy and zeal. It has been his duty to visit the greater part of the Dominion, and everywhere the magic of his eloquence has kindled the fervour of the people. The period of depression, which has happily passed away, involved the church missions in debt to the amount of $75,000. In 1879, a vigorous effort was put forth under the auspices of Dr. Sutherland, and no less a sum than $116,000 was collected. The rev. gentleman’s degree of Doctor was conferred upon him by Victoria College in the same year. He is a man of earnest piety, of singular business tact, and great e1oquence. Dr. Sutherland has employed his pen in a number of denominational periodicals, and as he is yet on the sunny side of fifty, much may be anticipated from him in the years to come.

The Rev. Lachlin Taylor, D.D., was one of the best known clergymen of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in Canada. His father had been parish school-master of Killean, in Argyleshire, and his mother was a Maclean of Cantyre. Lachlin was born in the year 1816, and when he was only sixteen years of age, the family emigrated to Canada. He had been educated at a classical school in Glasgow, and early adopted his father’s profession. For some years he taught in the Ottawa valley, chiefly at or near St. Andrews. Having been attached to the Methodist Church in early manhood, he was admitted as a candidate for the ministry in 1839, and ordained in 1843. Mr. Taylor had much in his favour—a fine physique, a powerful voice, and deep earnestness of manner. He ministered successively at Bytown (Ottawa), Kingston, Hamilton, Toronto, and Montreal. After a visit to Britain, he was appointed, in 1851, agent of the Upper Canada Bible Society. This position threw him in contact with all the various Protestant denominations, and gave him ample opportunities for displaying his catholicity of spirit. He visited, during seven or eight years, almost every town and village in Canada West, and was universally popular. During Mr. Taylor’s engagement, the Society more than quadrupled its income and influence.

In 1857, a second visit to Europe was undertaken to attend the Evangelical Alliance meeting at Berlin. Dr. Taylor traversed at this period a large portion of Southern Europe, and a passion for travel was kindled within him. After his return he resolved to visit Egypt, Palestine, Sinai, Asia Minor, Turkey and Greece, as well as complete his tour of Italy. The results were embodied in a series of lectures delivered in Canada. Dr. Taylor was next despatched to represent Canada at the annual meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society. This stimulated him to undertake the extension of the Society’s operations to the Pacific slope. During 1863 and 1864, he traversed British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, California, New Mexico and Central America.

On the completion of these labours, his Church once more laid claim to his services, and he received the important appointment of Secretary-Treasurer of the Missionary Society. For his new duties Dr. Taylor possessed special fitness, from his labours of past years. It now became his mission to visit, not only the great centres of population, to stir up an interest in missionary work; but also the remotest outposts, so as to become acquainted with the progress accomplished. Once more the indefatigable worker visited all parts of the former Province of Canada, and the North-West to the Rocky Mountains. When he accepted office, the income of the Missionary Society was $53,248 from Canadian sources; when he resigned it, the amount had risen to nearly $118,000.

From 1874 to 1877, Dr. Lachlin Taylor was employed by the Canadian Government to press the claims of the Dominion upon the people of Great Britain. His practical acquaintance with every part of Canada made him of great service in promoting emigration, and he became as well-known and popular in his native land as in that of his adoption. Unfortunately an accident that befell him in London seriously undermined his constitution, naturally robust though it had been. Returning home, he battled with infirmity for four years; preaching and lecturing, with somewhat of his old fire and energy. The effort, however, proved too much for his strength, and he expired in 1881, while on a visit to Prince Edward Island, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, worn out after a long and useful life, devoted to his Lord and to the well-being of his fellowmen. [For the sketch given, above, the writer is indebted to Dr. Burwash, Professor of Theology at Victoria College, a nephew of Dr. Taylor.]

The Rev. James Roy, M. A., of Montreal, is a native of that city, where he was born in November, 1834. His father, however, was a native of Edinburgh. Mr. Roy was educated, first at Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, and subsequently at Victoria College, Cobourg, where he graduated in 1868. Fourteen years before that, however, he had been a Wesleyan minister, and served on circuit at a number of places in eastern and western Canada. While at Cobourg, Mr. Roy was principal of the Collegiate Institute. Even at college he was remarkable for his scholarly attainments, and was chosen by his fellow-graduates of the year to deliver the usual valedictory. Since then the rev. gentleman has been, on six occasions, one of the French examiners of the University of Toronto.

The rev. gentleman finally became pastor of Sherbrooke Street Methodist Church, Montreal; but although his eloquence soon attached his congregation to him, fault was found with the breadth and liberality of his theological views. His teachings became the subject of investigation, and in the end Mr. Roy resigned his position in the Methodist Church. The majority of his congregation, however, supported him, and a new church was organized under the title of the Wesley Congregational Church, in May, 1877.. The corner-stone of a new edifice—one of the finest in the city, was laid in the following year, the congregation, meanwhile worshipping in the Academy of Music. Mr. Roy is a powerful orator as well as a thorough scholar. He has published a sermon on "The Hard Things of the Bible," and a treatise on "Catholicity and Methodism: or the relation of John Wesley to Modern Thought," besides a number of magazine articles. In 1879, McGill University conferred the degree of M.A., ad eundem upon the rev. gentleman.

The Rev. Alexander Macgregor, Congregationa1 minister of Yarmouth, N. S., belongs to an old Highland family, but was born in Glasgow in the month of April, 1834. His father and grandfather were both clergymen, and he has four brothers also ministers of the Gospel. After receiving a classical education at the Edinburgh Academy, Alexander removed to Canada West in 1855, where his brother joined him a year or two after, preached at Hamilton for eighteen years, and died in 1880. He had studied at Toronto University and the Congregational College, and was ordained in 1863. He laboured for eight years at Brockville, during part of which time he was Local Superintedent of Schools, and Congregational Missionary Secretary for the Eastern part of the Province. In 1871 he was called to take charge of the church at Yarmouth, the chief congregation of the denomination in the Maritime Provinces. Mr. Macgregor excels as a pastor, being unceasingly active in visiting the sick and afflicted; as a preacher, he is earnest, eloquent and impressive. He has been associate-editor of the Christian Standard, of St. John, N. B., Secretary of the United Missionary Society of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, a Director of the Congregational College, Montreal, and a member of the Senate of the Halifax University. Another clergyman of the Maritime Provinces whom we can only mention is the Rev. Neil McKay, who was born at Colchester, N. S. of Sutherlandshire parents in 1829. He is the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Summerside, P. E. I., and an eloquent preacher.

The Rev. Andrew H. Munro, pastor of the Baptist Church at Montreal, was born in Surrey, England, in November, 1827. But his parents were both Scottish, his father, a piano-forte manufacturer, having been born in the isle of Skye, and his mother in Perthshire. After obtaining his education at a private seminary, young Munro received a diploma from the British and Foreign School Society. By that institution he was sent out to St. John, N. B., to aid in forming a normal and model school. He was subsequently a teacher in the Wesleyan College at Sackville, in the same Province. Mr. Munro finally adopted the views of the Baptist Church, and became a teacher, also a divinity student, in the denominational seminary at Fredericton.

Ordained at Digby, N. S., in 1857, he remained there as pastor for two years; thence to Halifax, where he laboured for seven; and subsequently to Yarmouth and Liverpool, where his ministrations were eminently successful. In 1869, Mr. Munro became pastor of Alexander Street Baptist Church, Toronto, an off-shoot from the parent congregation. During his pastorate he received a flattering call from Brooklyn, N. Y., but declined it. Subsequently, however, he accepted one from the first Baptist Church of Montreal, and suceeded in uniting with it the second. Under his pastoral care the church has flourished abundantly, and his flock are strongly attached to him. In the denomination at large Mr. Munro occupies a high position. He is Secretary of the Baptist Union, and a trustee both of the Woodstock College and the new theological seminary at Toronto.

Of those clergymen who have passed away we may note the Rev. Daniel Wilkie, LL.D., the scene of whose labours was at Quebec, and who was born at Tolleross, Scotland, in the year 1777. His prospects in life did not appear over-inviting, for he was the youngest son of twe1ve children, and early left an orphan. His elder brothers, however, were faithful to the claims of the bairn, and set about the work of his education from their scanty resources. In 1787 he was at the Grammar-school; in 1794, he entered the Glasgow University, and in 1797, the Divinity Hall. In 1803, he gained the University medal for a theological essay, and soon after took his departure for Canada; Mr. Wilkie was destined to make his mark as a teacher rather than a minister; in 1804, however, he was licensed to preach by the Montreal Presbytery. For the next half century almost, he was a resident of Quebec, engaged in teaching. His pupils are to be found in every rank of life, and the best evidence of Dr. Wilkie’s skill and energy are to be found in the men he sent out equipped for their life-battle in the world. We gather from the tone of a funeral sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Cook, that he was "prone to indulge in speculations, and, perhaps reached conclusions with which we might be little inclined to agree." But of his zeal in the work of teaching, and the pious and devotional temper of his life, there could be no doubt. As Dr. Cook remarked he could express no higher wish for himself and his auditors than that they might have as profound a love and reverence for their Lord as Dr. Wilkie had. About midway in his Canadian career, the Doctor engaged for some time in editorial work. In the month of December, 1827, the Star appeared, and was conducted, so far as the leading articles were concerned, by him during the three years of its existence. The journal was established by Andrew Stewart in order to mediate between the party which heaped indiscriminate abuse upon Lord Dalhousie’s administration, and the other which lavished unmeasured eulogy upon it. Dr. Wilkie, as already mentioned, wrote the editorials, and also contributed some valuable papers on literary and educational subjects. In 1843, when the High School was founded, he was appointed Rector, but before the year had closed he found himself compelled to retire from active service. Thenceforward he spent his remaining years in retirement. From 1845 to the time of his death in May, 1851, Dr. Wilkie suffered from the infirmities natural to old age, and passed away at the age of seventy-four, resting from his life-long labours amidst the regrets of all who had been honoured with his intimate acquaintance. Over his grave in Mount Hermon Cemetery his old pupils erected a monument, recording his ability as an instructor of youth, "his genuine uprightness, and guileless simplicity" and "a devout, benevolent, and public-spirited man."

The Rev. John Cook, D.D., the distinguished pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, Quebec, during a long series of years, was born at Sanquhar, Dumfries-shire. He received his education at the University of Edinburgh, and his theologica1 training under Dr. Chalmers. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Dumbarton in 1835, and left for Quebec in the following year. He had previously been assistant minister at Cardross. In 1838 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the University of Glasgow. Dr. Harkness, the pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, had died early in 1835. When the disruption occurred here in 1844, Dr. Cook remained true to the old Church. He had meanwhile received his degree of Doctor of Divinity as we have just mentioned. Both before and after the separation, he served as Moderator of the Synod. When the establishment of Queen’s College was determined upon, Dr. Cook exerted himself to secure the necessary endowment, and has been a trustee of that institution since its foundation. In 1857, he agreed to take the Principalship temporarily until a permanent head of the University should arrive from Scotland. During two sessions he filled the Divinity Chair with great ability. Throughout his prolonged career the rev. doctor has been a busy worker in all departments of church usefulness. Nor have his efforts been confined to the ecclesiastical sphere. At the time of the memorable fires of 1845, he was an active member of the Relief Committee, and energetically laboured for the sufferers. Still further back, in 1843, he was the main agent in the establishment of the High School, and later on in founding the Morrin College in which he lectured on Divinity. Although Dr. Cook refused to "go out" with his Free Church brethren in 1844, he nevertheless favoured Presbyterian union. In 1861, he proposed resolutions in that direction, but the time had not yet come. When the movement took practical shape years afterwards, he was a strong supporter of the amalgamation effected in 1875, and was fittingly selected as Moderator of the first General Assembly in that year. In connection with the Church of Scotland he occupied a like position, first in 1838, and again in 1844. As a preacher, Dr. Cook is endowed with great power and earnestness, and is deeply beloved by his congregation. At the present time—in his 77th year, he is still in active service—and must be one of the oldest Presbyterian ministers in the Dominion. [Celebrated Canadians, p. 463; Croll’s Historical and Statistical Report, p. 102; Lemoine’s Quebec, Past and Present, passim.]

The Rev. John Bayne, D.D., of Galt, Ontario, must not be passed over without some notice at our hands. Unfortunately the only record at hand [A sketch of his character which appeared in the Globe, clearly from the pen of the Hon. George Brown or his venerable father.] does not give any biographical data. He was certainly born and educated in Scotland, and came out to this country about the year 1835. He was a man of singular power and originality, and a persevering thinker and student. Every discourse he delivered was laden with thought—heavy, they appeared, as the Globe remarks, to some, because they drew upon the reflective powers of those who heard them. Yet, he was capable of rare flights of genuine eloquence. Strong and supreme as his intellect was, it was inspired always from the heart. There was no deadness in Dr. Bayne’s preaching. So soon as he touched the pathetic story of the Saviour, the tenderest chords of the hearer’s nature were played upon to divinest music at will. At such times, there was a grandeur and pathos in Dr. Bayne’s utterances which thrilled the heart and awakened the conscience. He was not an old man when he died suddenly at Galt, in November, 1859, but made his mark in the Church. No clergyman of clearer or more logical mind could have been found within the limits of the Presbyterian Church, certainly none more fully deserved the encomiums bestowed upon him at his decease. One publication at least, which fell under the writer’s notice years ago, deeply impressed him with a sense of Dr. Bayne’s apologetic skill—a lecture or sermon on man’s responsibility for his belief. The old yellow-covered pamphlet has long since gone the way of others one would now like to have in possession; but the recollection of its trenchant argument remains in the store-house of memory.

The list of Presbyterian worthies of the pulpit might be indefinitely extended; but with one other, the list must be brought to a close. The Rev. George Bell, LL.D., of Walkerton, was born in September, 1819. His father, also a clergyman, was born at Airdrie, and preached at Perth, Ontario, from 1817 to the time of his death, forty years afterwards. The son was born at Perth, and educated at the Hamilton Grammar School, and Queen’s College, Kingston. In fact he was the first student entered upon the books of the latter institution on March 7th, 1842. After a brief collegiate course, he was ordained, and preached at Cumberland, Simcoe, and Clifton until 1873, when ill-health compelled him to abandon his pastorate. At brief intervals Mr. Bell lectured at Queen’s College on science and theology. His B.A. degree was conferred in 1847, and that of LL.D. in 1874. In February of the latter year, Dr. Bell proceeded to Walkerton, then without any stated Presbyterian ministry he succeeded in forming a congregation and in building a handsome place of worship. In the church courts, Dr. Bell has occupied a prominent position, having been convener of the committee on ecclesiastical polity. The cause of education has also occupied much of his time and attention. He has been local superintendent and inspector of schools in most of the places at which he ministered, and is a trustee of Queen’s University. As a pastor, Dr. Bell is eminently instructive, and possesses the characteristic Scottish faculty of impressing the truth upon the minds of his hearers.

Notwithstanding the incomplete account of Scottish clergymen given in this chapter, it must be brought to a close. The intention has been rather to select prominent examples than merely to recapitulate names. Many ministers, especially of the Presbyterian churches, have been omitted with great reluctance, only from the pressing necessities of the case. After all, enough will have been given to vindicate the Scotsman’s high position in the sacred office; more than that could not fairly be demanded at our hands.


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