THE CLASSMEETING

of the law as well as the practice of the time, so anomalous from the broader point of view, that Dr. Ryerson took up the question with great earnestness, published a pamphlet on the subject, and when his views were not sustained by the majority of the conference, emphasized his protest by tendering his resignation as a minister of the church. In his pamphlet he claimed that membership in the Christian church was a sacred right as inviolable as the rights of citizenship and only forfeited by positive wrong doing. He held that now that Methodism had assumed the status and responsibilities of a church, a condition of membership which was established for a society in the church was no longer the proper test of true church membership, which should be based only upon the requirements of the New Testament. Beyond this he also pressed the right of all baptised children to more definite recognition and admission to the full privileges of church membership.

Dr. Ryerson's presentation of the case made at the time a deep impression upon the younger members of the conference. It certainly contained large elements of truth which were obviously neglected by the Methodism of that day. These truths were emphasized by the constant exercise of a somewhat arbitrary power to drop members from the church roll by simply omitting their names in the copying of the list to a new page at the end of the quarter. Wesley's regulations required that this should be

done only after the cases had been examined in the leaders' meeting and admonition had been duly given. But even this safeguard was now very largely omitted. In the majority of cases where the member had grown careless and no longer valued his position and privilege as a member of the church, it might be that no substantial injustice was done. It was but the lopping off of dead branches which would in time fall off themselves if they had not already done so. But in seasons of ecclesiastical convulsion both in Canada and in England this had without doubt been used as an easy way of getting rid of troublesome persons. On the other hand, up to this time both in Canada and in the old country Methodism laid the emphasis in all her work upon the revival as the important means of filling the ranks of her membership, and upon the class meeting as the manifestation of a living Christian experience. To admit as co-ordinate or even superior to these two fundamentals, the use of catechumen classes and a permanent roll of membership conditioned upon the maintenance of a consistent Christian life, appeared to the old country Methodists and to the more conservative Canadians, and even to many who ranked as progressives, but were intensely earnest in their religious spirit, a most serious forsaking of the old ways. Strong pamphlets were written in reply to Dr. Ryerson's tract, and one important truth was brought into prominence, viz., that Christian fellowship was in the Apostolic

W. M. PUNSHON

church a co-ordinate means of grace with the Word or teaching of the apostles, the stated seasons of prayer, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. It was recognized as a scriptural ordinance and not simply as a human and prudential institution. On the other hand, from that date onward the legislation of Canadian Methodism moved steadily in the direction of more ample provision and more careful effort to gather the children into the church, and also in the direction of more careful guarding of the sacred right of church membership until finally the class meeting has been placed on a par with the other scriptural means of grace as a condition of membership in the church.

In 1866-7, while making an educational tour of Great Britain and Europe, Dr. Ryerson was once more brought into close touch with English Methodism, and especially with the late honoured William Morley Punshon, then at the height of his fame as a pulpit orator. The acquaintance ripened into fast friendship and resulted in Mr. Punshon's devoting his services for the benefit of Canadian Methodism for the five years following the summer of 1868, perhaps the most effective period of his pulpit and platform work. The impulse given to Canadian Methodism by this term of service can never be fully estimated. He began by attracting crowds of all classes of the population to the old, and hitherto often despised Methodist

chapels. Easily outranking in oratorical powers the men of all other churches, he gave to Methodism an acknowledged status, corresponding to her superior numbers and rapidly increasing wealth and social position. With such a man in their pulpits even men of the world were no longer ashamed to be called Methodists. He made the Methodists respect themselves, and inspired them in all parts of the country with the ambition to erect places of worship commensurate with the work which they were called in the providence of God to perform. He met a crisis in the affairs of Victoria College by helping to establish that institution on the firm foundation of purely voluntary support. He attracted the attention of all branches of Methodism to the larger body, and by his relations to England smoothed the way to those needed adjustments which removed all obstacles to union and finally resulted in the consolidation of Canadian Methodism, first in part in 1874 and in full in 1883.

Into all this work of his chosen friend, Dr. Ryerson entered with the fire and enthusiasm of youth, mingled with the sagacity and wise experience of age. It became a favourite saying of his that one of his most important works for his church and country was the bringing of Mr. Punshon to Canada. With this new inspiration of church life throughout Canadian Methodism, the fifty years' services of Dr. Ryerson for his native land began to be estimated at their true value; while his wisdom

METHODIST UNION

and experience as a legislator placed him in the forefront of the negotiations for the first union. To him no more congenial task could be assigned than the healing of these breaches, which had all occurred in his own lifetime and as the result of struggles in which he himself had borne a prominent part; and when in 1874 the first stage of success was reached, he was by the united voice of all parties to the union, placed in the chair of the first general conference of united Canadian Wesleyan Methodism.

In the constitution of the united church, over which Dr. Ryerson was thus called to preside, two great principles were incorporated which had not previously obtained in the larger bodies composing the union. These were lay representation in the supreme assembly of the church, and a representative general conference for legislation, and the administration of the common connexional work of missions, education and religious literature. It was into this body alone that lay representation was introduced, the executive pastoral functions continuing in the annual conferences whose rights were very carefully guarded. In the hands of these annual courts, and their subordinate courts, district and circuit or station, the administration of the general work of the church was vested. Four departments, missions, education, book and publishing interests, and the support of worn-out ministers and widows were placed under separate bodies corporate, and administered by boards constituted by the