Thornhill, near York, Upper Canada,
Oct. 17, 1833.
My dear Madam,
You express your surprise at the reluctant support afforded to ministers.
This is partly to be ascribed to that selfishness which is so sadly
prevalent in our fallen nature; they can build (commodious and even
sumptuous) houses for their own prosperous families; they can call, out
of their perpetually increasing means, comforts of every description;
but, to their minister, they can calmly and gravely say, “Oh, you must
wait patiently, and in time all will be right; we have had to wait before
you; it is quite impossible to force matters in Canada,” and so on. And
then, in the spirit of that affected benevolence which prompted that
hypocritical wish, “be ye warmed and be ye clothed,” they point us to
eventual comforts, and care not to make the least sacrifice which may
conduce to the attainment of the end. In regard to house, to salary, and
to everything pecuniary, I have experienced scarcely anything but
disappointments, and at times I feel a little piqued at the contrast
between their warm expressions of regard, and their unwillingness to
contribute to the comforts of my family; for, as to myself I care but
little; but still I would not wish to be hard upon them, for though they
have property, very few have money, and as soon as they procure this,
they sink it in the further cultivation or stocking of their farms. And
then, again, they have that admirable loop-hole for escape—the clergy
reserves, which seemed to promise everything, but have done scarcely
anything; a broken reed, which is perpetually piercing those who lean on
it with sorrow; but which affords our people so ready an excuse for
refusing to come forward to our aid; so that of all classes of emigrants,
ministers, in a pecuniary point of view, are by far the worst off: they
cannot, with propriety, go into the woods, for they must fix in the more
populous and more cultivated districts, where land of course is high, and
thus one of the chief sources of prosperity is cut off; and, as to trade,
from this of course they are excluded, but still they are the class of
settlers most needed. And, in the midst of occasional pique and
disappointment, I cannot but feel thankful to God who directed my steps
to this country, and who, by the property which he has previously given
to me, gives me the prospect of enjoying, in this land of cheapness, a
great increase both of comfort and temporal prosperity. At present,
indeed, we are anything but outwardly comfortable: the house we formerly
mentioned was found too inconvenient, and therefore given up, and we are
still in the lodging I occupied previous to the arrival of my family.