PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
C.O.
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persuasions, but exposes them to many disqualifica- tions and hindrances.
All attempts that have been hitherto made to remove this grievance, while maintaining an eccle- siastical connection with the Crown and the mother country, have only led to failure, after discussions in Parliament which were neither creditable to Govern- ment nor useful to the Church. I think we ought at once and completely to sever this connection, as the Legislature of Canada asks us to do, leaving the Churches in our Colonies in the position of all other religious bodies, free to adopt the course which the Church in the United States has done, namely, to manage their own affairs as they themselves think best.
I have requested Mr. Merivale to state any diffi- culties that occur to him in this course as foreibly as he could, in order that they may be fully before
the minds of the Cabinet, before they come to a
decision on a matter of so much consequence.
For my part, I cannot think that, where our object
is so distinct and simple, there can be any real diffi- culty in carrying it out by legislation in Parliament, if the principle is once conceded. I am inclined to believe that the best course would be to enable the Queen, by an Order in Council, to give this freedom in Church matters to any Colony where it be
may wanted. This would meet the case of the West Indies, where there is in some islands a system of parochial endowment, which is not complained of, and which need not be disturbed.
I feel very confident of the effects of this step on the religious usefulness of the Church of England in our Colonies. Every one acquainted with the history of that Church in the United States of America knows that it was languid and inefficient when connected with the State, but has since become eminently active and useful, that the Articles of Faith have never been altered, and that the Liturgy has only been modified in the most moderate man- ner, which has made it more acceptable to the members of the Church, and that no internal schism has ever been the result of these alterations.
I will add, that I think the retention of the veto
of the Crown to the election of bishops, objectionable,
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and that I am sanguine of the power of passing measure, founded on these principles, through Par- liament, as the winds of most men who have watched Colonial affairs have for some time been prepared for the ultimate necessity of it, while, if that be true, the urgency of its adoption in present circum- stances seems undeniable.
Of course, if the Cabinet should think favourably of these views, it will be necessary that they should
be submitted to the judgment of the Queen, whose prerogative is so much affected, before despatches with reference to them are sent to any colony.
And I presume it would be proper to consult
the Archbishop of Canterbury.
(Signed)
December 7, 1855.
コ
H. LABOUCHERE.