sponsibility for further personal indebtedness.

All the correspondence in connection with the whole situation, in
addition to the various petitions and appeals, was forwarded to the
Colonial Office, with which the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone had meanwhile
become connected as Secretary of State for the Colonies. It was hoped
that Mr. Gladstone would display more interest and energy than his
predecessors, and that a decision would soon be reached. The College
authorities expected that the Provincial Legislature would be asked to
make an investigation by Committee. Accordingly, on April 15th, 1846,
they issued instructions "forbidding officers and members of the College
from answering any summons from a Committee of the Legislative Assembly
acting on the petitions of Chapman, Wickes or Lundy." The excuse for not
answering was that "McGill College was a private foundation and was
therefore not liable to the action of the Legislature." But their
expectations were not realized and no investigation was held by the
Assembly.

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 L50 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 fro