h a request that His Excellency will have the
goodness to forward it to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the
Colonial Department, that Her Majesty's Government, both at home and in
this country, may fully understand the present posture of this affair,
at least as far as you and myself are concerned, and with whom lies the
responsibility of this continued controversy.

* * * * *

For the reasons given above to the Secretaries of the Wesleyan
Conference in England, Dr. Ryerson transmitted a copy of his letter to
them to Sir Charles Bagot, on the 10th December, 1842, accompanied with
an explanatory letter, from which I extract the following narrative
connected with this matter:--Two weeks before the late Lord Sydenham's
arrival in Toronto (in November, 1839), at a meeting of the agents of
the London Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Canadian
Conference, every matter of misunderstanding and jealousy, as far as I
know, was satisfactorily settled. It was explicitly agreed on all sides,
and recorded, that I should press the settlement of the clergy reserve
question. On other things it was my wish and aim to remain neutral. This
I did, until some weeks after Lord Sydenham's arrival. Parties were very
equally divided on the question of the union of the Canadas, and the
terms on which it should be effected. I was then Editor of the
_Guardian_; I was desired by the agents of the London Wesleyan Committee
and their friends (and some of my own friends), to oppose the union of
the Canadas; Lord Sydenham sent for me, and earnestly solicited me to
advocate it, and assured me that it should involve no change in the
principles of our Constitution, but even secure greater privileges to
the people of Canada, and that it was the only hope of Canada. He
promised, in case he could get the Union measure through the Canadian
Legislature, to apply himself to the settlement of the clergy reserve
question, in accordance with such principles as I had expressed, and
which he understood to be general in Upper Canada. After much
consideration, I consented to give a decided support to the Government
in that great measure. The agents of the London Committee were greatly
offended, and were sure, as were many others, that Lord Sydenham would
not be supported by the Imperial Parliament, and threatened a breaking
up of the union between the English and Canadian Conferences; and in
about three weeks afterwards, they intimated to Lord S