It was clear, however, that action was soon to be taken by the Colonial Office; the Governors were not aware of the precise nature of the action, but they felt that the Home Government would support the Royal Institution. Before the decision was received, a final effort was made to give to the University a more pronounced character of “religious exclusiveness,” a tendency which the Governor-General had already deplored. In October, 1845, this desire had been indicated by the making of a rule requiring that prayers in the College were to be said “by a College Chaplain appointed by the Governors, or by any other person appointed or approved by the Principal, he to be a member of the Church of England”; a sum of £50 was voted for such Chaplain. On April 25, 1846, at a meeting attended by two Governors—the Chief Justice of Montreal and the Principal, and two Fellows—the Rev. J. Ramsay and the Rev. J. Abbott, it was resolved on motion of the Principal to ask that the Charter be amended in the following particulars: “That the Governors of the College consist henceforth of all the clergy of the Church of England now holding or who may hereafter hold preferment in the Parish of Montreal, and of a certain number of laymen of the Church of England resident in the aforesaid Parish to be named in the Charter. That vacancies occasioned by the death, resignation, etc., of any of the lay Governors shall be filled up from time to time by the majority of the Governors present at a meeting. That the Bishop of the Diocese shall be the Visitor of the College. That appointments to office in the College are not to be subject to disallowance by any other authority than that of the Governors. That the Statutes, Rules, and Ordinances made by the Governors are to be in full force and effect until disallowed by the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench for the District of Montreal. That a committee be appointed to draft a petition to Her Majesty the Queen with reference to this resolution, the Committee to consist of the Principal, the Vice-Principal, and the Professor of Classical Literature.” The Professor of Classical Literature was then the Rev. W. T. Leach, who had been appointed on April 4th preceding. The Vice-Principal was the Rev. J. Abbott.
A few days later, and before this resolution could be acted on, however, Mr. Gladstone's despatch disallowing Principal Bethune's appointment and asking for his retirement was received. In forwarding it to the Secretary of McGill on April 24th, 1846, the Civil Secretary wrote: “I have only to add the expression of the hope that the Governors will forthwith proceed to replace Dr. Bethune and that in so doing they will anxiously endeavour to secure the services of a man in all respects qualified for such important posts.” Mr. Gladstone's despatch, which embodied in the main the suggestions of the Lord Bishop of Montreal, the Rev. Dr. Mountain, quoted above, was written on April 3rd, 1846, and was as follows:
“I have had under my serious consideration your Lordship's confidential Despatch of the 19th of February, on the subject of McGill College at Montreal, and in connection with it I have reviewed the copious correspondence which passed between your Lordship's predecessor and Lord Stanley on this question. I have observed with great regret the state of disorder and inefficiency in which the Institution appears to be.
“The question which has appeared to me to call for my immediate decision is that of the continuance in the office of Principal of the College, and in the Professorship of Divinity, of the present holder, the Reverend Dr. Bethune, whose appointment it is still competent for the Crown, according to the Charter of the College, to disallow.
“It is with regret that I have come to the conclusion that it is my duty to recommend to Her Majesty to disallow this appointment.
“Into the various and somewhat complicated charges which have been brought against Dr. Bethune, in his capacity of Principal of the College, I do not find it necessary to enter; nor do I wish to state at the present moment any decided opinion as to the extent to which the present condition of the Institution is owing to the character and position of its Principal. My decision is founded upon reasons which are not open to dispute; the first, the weight of the Bishop's authority, together with your own, independently of any reference to that of the Board of Visitors, which may be considered to be to some extent at this moment in dispute; next, the fact that Dr. Bethune did not himself receive an University education, which I must hold to be, unless under circumstances of the rarest occurrence, an indispensable requisite for such a position as he occupies. To these I am disposed to add, although I express the opinion without having had the advantage of learning what may be the view of the Lord Bishop in this particular, that I cannot think it expedient that the offices of Principal and Professor of Divinity in McGill College should be combined with that of Rector of Montreal. This latter circumstance is not much adverted to in the papers before me; but I am strongly impressed with the incongruity of this junction of important collegiate appointments with a no less important pastoral charge in the same person; either the former or the latter of which, especially considering the large population of the Town of Montreal, I must, as at present advised, hold to be enough to occupy his individual attention.
“I have, therefore, felt bound to advise Her Majesty to disallow this appointment in both respects, in pursuance of the power vested in her; and have only to add the expression of my hope that the Governors will forthwith proceed to replace Dr. Bethune, and that in so doing they will anxiously endeavour to secure the services of a man in all respects qualified for such important posts.
“With regard to the general position of the College, there are indeed many points as to its Constitution, its Laws, its Revenues, and its Administration which obviously require a careful consideration and an early and definitive settlement; among which perhaps the most prominent is the confirmation, or otherwise, of the Statutes which have for some time been awaiting the decision of the Crown. But adverting to the course adopted by Lord Stanley, and to the information received from your Lordship's predecessor, with particular reference to the Despatches noted in the margin, I have resolved to suspend any active measure on my part, at least till the conclusion of the present session of the Canadian Legislature, thinking it not improbable that the proceedings of that body may tend to throw some light on the questions connected with the College, by which I may be guided in the consideration of my own course in this important matter.”
As a result of the above despatch, Dr. Bethune retired from the acting-Principalship in May following. On July 3rd he protested in a memorial to the Colonial Office against the legality of the act of the Home Government in the disallowing of his appointment, but no action was taken by the authorities, and there the matter dropped.
Dr. Bethune did not give up the acting-Principalship, which he had filled for eleven years, without the regrets and the tributes of men who had been closely associated with him during his term of office. The Chief Justice of Montreal, the Hon. James Reid, one of the Governors of the College, had already written to him on February 13th, 1845, not long before his death: