On the disruption of the church of Scotland the members of that church in Tasmania were involved in serious disputes, which terminated in the resignation of several of their clergy, and the formation of separate congregations. The free and residuary Assemblies opened a correspondence with the colonies, demanding to know to which part the colonial ministry adhered. The opinions of the local clergy were divided; but they concurred in a general expression of regard to the principle of church independence, and their satisfaction that they themselves enjoyed the liberty for which their brethren were obliged to contend,—thus leaving to inference their religious connection, and giving no ground to call in question the ecclesiastical status and revenues conferred by the church act. This answer was considered by the free church evasive; and its more ardent supporters on the spot pronounced the course of the local presbytery jesuitical and dishonest. They affirmed that the church of Scotland alone was entitled, by colonial law, to state support; and that the retention of its emoluments was a virtual adherence to its principles. This discussion has been extremely fertile of controversies; but the general reader would not be likely to enjoy them.
Should the reader infer from the record of ecclesiastical divisions that the colonial temper is intolerant, he would be greatly mistaken. The laity, often even the clergy, have given evidence of their charity in friendly sympathy and generous assistance. The rights of conscience are generally understood and respected; and although many are prepared to liberate the churches from dependence on the state, but few would desire to establish invidious distinctions. The tendency of colonial life is to annul the prejudices of European society, and to yield to every man the position which may be due to his talents and virtues. This feeling is, however, found compatible with religious predilections. One hundred clergymen, many wholly sustained by the people, labor to diffuse their views of Christianity in the various districts of the island; and the emigrant population are usually in attendance on their teaching. The census is an imperfect index of actual strength, the smaller sects exerting proportionately more influence. When the claims of prescriptive authority are finally exchanged for a reliance on moral power these discrepancies will disappear, and a vast apparatus, already supplied by the state and private zeal, will bring within reach of every colonial family some form of Christian doctrine. The tendency of small communities is not unfavorable to the progress of religious denominations. The only interruption to the monotony of life is found in the church: the only association which can be readily offered to strangers is provided by the religious bond. Opinion acts with increased power where the social inequalities are slight. Thus, in the United States of America every extravagance of sentiment is tolerated; but there a man of no religion is suspected, shunned, and left to solitude.
FOOTNOTES:
[204] Lang's History of New South Wales, vol. ii. p. 258.
[205] An organist of St. John's Church, Launceston, refused to play, and was sentenced to punishment; but was restored by the intercession of the clergyman.
[206] Macarthur's New South Wales.
[207] "Sir George Murray maintained that this country was bound to provide the means of religious instruction for the people of our colonies: at the same time he begged to say, that so far from approving the maintenance of any exclusive system in the colonies, he thought any such system there, bad and dangerous. He was of opinion that parties of all religious persuasions were equally entitled to support, and he deprecated the exclusive establishment there of any one church above all others."—Parliamentary Debate, July 13, 1832.
[208] 30th September, 1833.
[209] "I would also earnestly recommend that provision be made for the schools, in which the children of persons of different religious tenets may be instructed without distinction, on the plan now adopted in Ireland. The means of education being secured, I shall feel disposed to leave it to the voluntary contribution of the inhabitants to provide for churches and clergy. To aid all where the creeds are various seems impossible, and a partial distribution of the public funds appears nearly allied to injustice."—Despatch of Sir Richard Bourke, respecting land in Port Phillip, October, 1835.
[210] Despatch, November, 1835.