nd without the
alloy of rancour or bravado in it, it would have failed him. But he
never flinched. And when the odds seemed to be most against him, he
would, with humble dependence upon Divine help, put forth even greater
effort; and, with his courage thus reanimated, would unexpectedly turn
the flank of his enemy; or, by concentrating all his forces on the
vulnerable points of his adversary's case, completely neutralize the
force of his attack.

It must not be understood from this that Dr. Ryerson cherished any
personal animosity to the Church of England as a Divine and Spiritual
power in the land. Far from it. In his first "campaign" against the
Venerable Archdeacon of York (Dr. Strachan), he took care to point out
the difference between the principles maintained by the aggressors in
that contest and the principles of the Church itself. He said:--

Whatever remarks the Doctor's discourse may require me to make, I
wish it to be distinctly understood that I mean no reflection on
the doctrines, liturgy, or discipline of the Church of which he has
the honour to be a minister. Be assured I mean no such thing. I
firmly believe in her doctrines, I admire her liturgy, and I
heartily rejoice in the success of those principles which are
therein continued, and it is for the prosperity of the truths which
they unfold that I shall ever pray and contend. And, with respect
to Church government, I heartily adopt the sentiments of the pious
and the learned Bishop Burnet, that "that form of Church government
is the best which is most suitable to the customs and circumstances
of the people among whom it is established."[26]

Such was Dr. Ryerson's tribute to the Church of England in, 1826. His
disclaimer of personal hostility to that Church (near the close of the
protracted denominational contest in regard to the Clergy Reserves),
will be found in an interesting personal correspondence, in a subsequent
part of this book, with John Kent, Esq., Editor of _The Church_
newspaper in 1841-2.

With a view to enable Canadians of the present day more clearly to
understand the pressing nature of the difficulties with which Dr.
Ryerson had to contend, almost single-handed, fifty years ago, I shall
briefly enumerate the principal ones:--

1. The whole of the official community of those days, which had grown up
as a united and powerful class, were bound together by more than
official