The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-11 00:00:00

CLERGY RESERVES.

On the motion for the third reading of this bill,
Mr. 'WALPOLE rose to resist the further progress
of the bill, which he thought was most objectionable in
its details as well as its principles, while after the decla-
ration of the noble lord, the member for the city of
London, to-night, it became the more necessary
for the house to pause before they agreed to pass
the bill. At the time 'of the second reading of the
bill they were told that its object was to give the Cana-
dian Legislature power,to deal with the local affairs of
the Church ; but, when they got into committee,
the bill assumed an entirely different aspect. They
were told on the second reading that the faith of
the Crown was pledged to maintain the interests
of the Protestant Church, but in committee they found
that, so far from the bill containing such a pledge, it
absolutely gave the Canadian Legislature power to annul
the guarantee which the Crovihad given to the Esta-
blished Church of Canada. He took it, that the main
considerations which had induced the Government to in-
troduce the bill was a desire to extend the principie
of local self-government to Canada, but he doubted whe-
ther this principle could be considered as paramount
in this' instance, because the Imperial Legislature
were pledged to support certain guarantees which the
bill proposed to get rid of. The bill, in fact, proposed
to transfer the whole authority of the Imperial Legislature
to the Canadian Government ; but before they consented
to pass such a measure, they ought to be satisfied that
the local Legislature of Canada was competeut to under-
take the duties they were about to abandon. He was
satisfied that it could not, without leading to
a breach of trust. The Government seemed to think
that the Canadian legislature would never proceed to
the secularisation of the Clergy reserves ; but they
laboured under a gross delusion in that respect,
for, as sure as fate, the first step of the local
government, after the passing of this bill, would be
the secularisation of these Clergy Reserves, in direct
violation of a trust which the Crown and Parliament
had voluntarily undertaken to see fulfilled. In
1774 an act was passed conferring certain rights upon
the Roman Catholics of Canada, but in that act certain
reserves were made in favour of the Protestant clergy,
who should afterwards officiate in Canada. The rights
of both the Roman Catholic and the Protestant
Church therefore, rested upon the same foundation
and that which disturbed the right of one was certain to
injure the other. In 1791 another act was passed still
further reserving .he rights of the Protestant Church.
The act enabled the Eegis4ture of Canada to le-
gislate upon all local matters, including the Church,
subject to the authority of the Crown, but one clause in the
act expressly restrained the Crown from sanctioning a mea-
sure disposing in any way with these clergy reserves with-
out the previous consent of the Imperial Parliament. It
was quite clear, therefore, that it would be a breach of
trust to pass the bill, because it would have the effect
of repealing, the reservation clause to which he had just
referred; and he unhesitatingly advised the house to re-
ject-the third reading.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]