The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-03-18


Legislature of Canada has now been nearly
month in session, its proceedings have attracted
but little notice here. Even the telegraph oper-
ators have been at loss for materials for
| paragraph from Quebec. We were told at first
| that the fact was owing to the thin attendance
of members; but the presence Of quorum does
not seem to have produced any very marked
change. With the exception of the bill to repeal
| the usury laws, and that to modify the repre-
sentation. most Of the topics which have occu-
pied the attention of the House have been mat
tiers of mere local interest
| Religious bodies have been incorporated by
the Dozen and empowered to hold real estate
This is an ingenious device of our neighbors OF
keep themselves behind the rest of the world
They want active, enterprising settlers who will
improve land, sell it to others, and establish q
traffic in real estate; and in order to obtain
this, they are for ever erecting Bishop into
body polite and corporate" with perpetual
succession, &C., &C., and so locking up the most
| valuable sections of the country and perpetu-
| ating the backwardness of the agricultural
and manufacturing interests. The church
is now in possession of the finest portions
Of Lower Canada. They hold half the
cities of Quebec and Montreal, and ever SO
many wealthy parishes and seigniories in other
parts of the province. They will neither sell an
acre of their property, nor go to the expense Of
any improvements beyond those Of the most OBJ
vious necessity. What the rich Catholic COM
munautks do with their money it is impossible
to say With revenues Of hundreds Of thousands,
their expenditure is characterized by the most
niggardly economy Here and there huge
church is built, with snug parsonage; but the
yearly income Of the Weather religious bodies
would build churches in every parish in the pro-
vince
While the Catholic clergy are obtaining act
after act to increase their landed wealth, and
is being struck at the root of the established
Protestant churches. 1t may be within the re-
collection Of some Of our readers that, under the
reign of George III, certain tracts Of land were
set apart by the British government for the sup
port Of Protestant clergy in Canada. These
lands, which were then of little value, have par
ticpated in the general rise Of property, and
now produce very considerable annual rental.
Till 1910 they were monopolized by the Church
of England. In that year an act was passed in
the British Parliament, effecting redistribu-
ton of the Clergy Reserves, as they are called,
and admitting the other Protestant sects and GER
tain secular bodies to share of the sp0ils. The
Canadians have not been satisfied with this
They are of opinion that each denomination
should support its own clergy, and that there
should be no such thing as State endowment.
With the view of carrying out this notion, they
have applied to the British government for au-
thority to dispose Of the reserves, and notwith-
standing the opposition Of few bigoted church
men, will certainly obtain it. As soon as the
property is once fairly under the control of the
Canadian Legislature, it will be applied to
educational purposes. Such is the state Of the
Clergy Reserve war. To our thinking, there
can be but one opinion on the subject State
endowments cannot exist on this continent. 1t
shocks the notions Of every American-be he
native Of Canada or q native Of the United
States-to be taxed, however Indirectly, for the
support Of a church to which he does not be-
long. As to the preliminary question relating
to the conflicting rights Of the colony and the
mother country, no one who is not blinded by
prejudice or selfinterest can fail to see that the
quasi independence granted and guaranteed by
Great Britain to Canada would be mere de-
fusion if the control of SO important matter
as State endowments were withheld from the
Provincial Legislature. The Aberdeen minis
try have taken the right view of the matter
The WoMEN's MOVEMENT COMING TO PRAc-
TIcAL IssuE.-The strong-minded ladies and the
weak-headed gentlemen Of Massachusetts,, are
now presenting the first real practical issue to
the movement in favor Of women's civil, social
and political rights. The time is favorable.
The constitution of the Old Bay State is about
to undergo some reformatory process, and the
occasion is seized upon to press, with all the
power which can be brought to their support
the claims Of the fairest half Of creation to the
enjoyment of their inalienable rights to life lib
erty, and the pursuit of happiness The con-
vention of the people is to assemble in Boston
a few weeks hence, for the purpose Of revising
and reforming their State constitution; and o
movement has been commenced with the object
Vi UNNluS lHc WolucH VI VIC cs0tC GhcH ~Hu
there represented. For this purpose, an address
has been prepared and published, setting forth
the claims of lovely woman to the free exercise
of the franchise, and all other civil and political
rights, and calling upon all friends Of freedom
to sign the following petition =:
To the Convention assembled to revise the consti-
tuition of the Commonwealth The undersigned,
citizens Of Massachusetts, respectfully ask that you
will report an amendment to the constitution striking
out the word male wherever It occurs in that in.
strument.
This is the way to put to the test the sinceri-
ty of those who professed to aid the "womens
movement" Now, gentlemen reformers Of
Massachusetts,, ye who desire to see women de-