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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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