The Portland daily press., 1883-04-28
Methodism in the New Dominion.

At this time, when Maine Methodists are
in session at the neighboripg city of Lewis
ton. the following statistics of Methodist
progress in the New Dominion of Canada
collated from the Toronto Globe--will be
found of special interest. They are from
the published Minutes of the Methodist
Church of Canada for the years 1875 and
1882, which show the rate of progress during
the last seven years. The former of these
periods is the end of the first year after the
union with the New Connexion Church was
consummated; the latter is the latest date
up to which the statistics of the Church are
given. For over fifty years, it is true, the
Methodist Church has had missions among
the Indians in Hudson Bay Territory, but as
these, from their very conditions, share the
non-progressive character of the native
tribes, they are omitted from the present
enumeration. 1t was not till after the ees-
sion by the Hudson Bay Company of its ter
ritorial rights in the Northwest that the
Wesleyan Church sent missionary TO the
white settlers in that region. The Rev. DR..
Young, now Missionary Superintendent of
the Methodist Church of Canada, in he
Northwest Territory, had the honor to be
the pioneer missionary. The turbulence
and social Reorganization attending the
Red River Rebellion was unfavorabe to
the new mission. Its growth, therefore,
was slow, and in the year 1875 there were
only five mission stations, or sscircuits,n
and seven itinerant missionaries In the en-
tire Northwest.
The progress since that time has been very
rapid. The Methodist missionaries have
maintained their hereditary character, and
have closely followed the pioneer settler far
and wide over the prairies of the great
Northwest and up the valleys of the Sas-
katchewan, the Qu'Appelle and Peace Riy-
ers. In 1882 there were in Manitoba aud
the Northwest forty-two itinerant ministers
of the Methodist Church of Canada, with
one hundred and twenty-four preaching
places, besides eight Indian missionaries
and mission stations.
In 1915 no returns whatever were given of
Church property, and there was probably
little or none to be reported. In 1882 the
value of Church and parsonage properly re-
ported is 49,, 600; of this, however, $780,
$50 is in the city of Winnipeg, the greater
part of which has accrued from the enhanced
value of real estate
The above statistics do not include twenty
nine ministers and one hundred and fifteen
preaching places in the "Algoma district
and in British Columbia.
The Episcopal Methodists, the Primitive
Methodists, and the Bible Christians have
ais missionaries in the Northwest, but we
have not statistics which will us to live the
prscise figures.
The rapid development of Manitoba and
the Northwest is an important factor in the
settlement of the question of Union among
the different Methodist bodies in the Do
minion. This is the ground for union which
has been most strongly urged by the aivo-
Gates of that measure. 1t is asserted that it
will tax to the utmost the efforts of even the
United Church to do its part in providing
the ministrations of the Gospel to the vast
influx of population which may shortly be
expected to pour into that country. 1t is
argued that although that influx is certain
to be very great, yet so vast is the country
that is to receive it that the population for
long time to come will be very sparse; that
the average farm will be about mile square !;
that therefore, even when all the farms are
taken up, the homes of the settlers will be
far apart. and consequently preaching places
tages of having several branches of Metho-
dists in the same village are 50 marked in
the old and well settled parts of Ontario,
how much greater, It is asked, will be the
disadvantages of having divided Metho-
dism amid the scattered settlements of
the almost boundless North vest.