Canadian Union Conference
By W. H. Thurston
SINCE my last report to the REVIEW we have had a very interesting religious liberty campaign. An association known as the Lord’s Day Alliance of Canada has been making a strong effort to get a Dominion Sunday law enacted. This being an opportune time to set before Parliament, as well as before all the people of Canada, the true principles of religious liberty, we had literature prepared for the occasion. Four-page tracts taking up different phases of the question were sent to members of Parliament, judges, lawyers, ministers, editors, and to the people in general, and the subject has been freely presented from the desk by our ministers. Elder H. E. Rickard, of the Quebec Conference, and Mr. T. H. Robinson, of the Ontario Conference, went to Ottawa soon after Parliament convened, and while Mr. Robinson stayed only a few days, Elder Rickard remained nearly three weeks, and the Lord blessed the efforts. As soon as the right of Parliament to legislate upon religious questions was contested, the Sabbath question began to be discussed through the daily papers. Mr. Robinson wrote a short article for the Ottawa Evening Journal in which he stated that he was willing to give one thousand dollars to the one who could frame a Sunday bill that would become18law and not lead to religious persecution. In a day or two the same paper came out with a bold heading: “SATURDAY OR SUNDAY, THOUSAND DOLLAR OFFER; What City Clergymen Say About Challenge. Position of the Seventh-day Adventists Stated.” Following this heading were short articles from five ministers, favoring the first day of the week, and urging its observance. Rev. Dr. Hunter in his article asked the question: “Is it possible that Protestants and Catholics the world over who observe the first day as a day of rest would be wrong, and a few Seventh-day Adventists right?” Rev. Dr. Armstrong said: “There may be no distinct injunction in the Bible that the first day of the week is the day to observe, but we are following the example and observance of Christ and the early Christians.” Rev. McIntosh declared: “There must be in this world uniformity in all things, and it will not do to have part of the people keeping one day, and another part some other day.” Rev. A. A. Cameron insisted that “man was made for the Sabbath, and not the Sabbath for man, showing that man was greater than the Sabbath.” Archdeacon Bogart, after calling attention to the fact that God rested on the seventh day, and thus set the example that one day in seven belonged to God, said: “It is not necessary that this day should be a multiple of seven in order to be the only day. Starting on the first day of the week and observing each seventh day thereafter means that Christ expects his people to keep that day, which is the first day of the week.” Rev. William Caven, D. D., LL. D., principal of Knox College, delivered a lecture in Toronto, entitled “The Divine Foundation of the Lord’s Day,” and in his lecture he made the following statement: “The Lord’s day [Sunday] is a good and valuable institution, helpful to the cultivation of spiritual life, but it can not plead the direct sanction, either of the Lord or of his apostles. The church, however, has power to decree such a day, and it should be observed.” It is not hard for thinking people to see the absurdity of such arguments as the foregoing, and some people are beginning to see the true light through this very line of reasoning. Following these articles in the Journal, in the same issue, appeared an article from Elder Rickard in which he stated our position respecting the Sabbath, defined the Saviour’s custom according to the Scriptures, showed the evils of religious legislation, and that a Dominion Sunday law compelling the observance of the first day of the week would be a violation of the gospel, as well as a violation of the principles of religious liberty contained in the proclamation of Her Majesty, late Queen Victoria, in 1858, which reads as follows: “Firmly relying on the truth of Christianity, and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of religion, we disclaim alike the right and the desire to impose our convictions on any of our subjects. We declare it to be our royal will and pleasure that none be in any wise favored, none molested or disquieted, by reason of their religious faith or observance, but that they shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protection of the law, and we do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under us that they abstain from all interference with the religious belief or worship of any of our subjects, on pain of our highest displeasure.” As a result of the efforts made during this campaign the Sabbath question has been brought prominently before the people, and the effect that a Sunday law would have upon the rights and privileges of the people of the Dominion, and it is evident that many who observe the first day of the week are opposed to religious legislation. The present outlook is that the “bill” will not pass at this session of Parliament, but it is only a question of a few years at the most when a Dominion Sunday law will be enacted. This agitation has caused our people to realize more fully the times in which we are living, and it will inspire them with new zeal and activity in the Master’s work. There have been some additions to the “little flock” in our conference during the last quarter, and greater results are expected later on from the seed sown. We are planning now for our camp-meetings and tent work, and are hoping for good results this summer. The work is great, and the laborers are few. We are praying the Lord of the harvest to raise up and send forth laborers into the harvest. The Ontario and Maritime Conferences will hold their annual meetings in June, and the annual meeting of the Quebec Conference will be in September. The biennial meeting of the Canadian Union Conference will be held in September, and we are planning for a large meeting. W. H. THURSTON.