gation of the Propaganda, according to both the Superior-General
Father Bre?ogowski, and Father Strickland, in their letters to
Father Burke, was not so favourable to the Society. Hence the
application of Bishop Plessis to Rome , made at the suggestion of
the Superior-General, did not meet with success. Father Strickland
writing from London 3ist July, 1808, says, he is not surprised at
this. He relates how he, knowing the Pope's favourable disposi-
tion towards the Society, and reflecting on the fact that in the
United Kingdom they never had the protection of government,
felt they could be reestablished without its consent. This is how
he set to work : " I got two memorials drawn up ; one signed by
myself and about a dozen of my brethren, petitioning leave to be
aggregated to our brethren in Russia ; the other signed by about
thirty of the principal nobility and gentry of the three kingdoms to
the same purpose, and ser.t them to Rome, wheie I procured them
to be privately presented to His Holiness. On reading them His
Holiness most readily consented to everything we asked of him,
and lifting his hands and eyes to heaven, he gave thanks to God
that the spirit of St. Ignatius still subsisted and declared it was the
happiest day he had seen since he was Pope. Being pressed to
give a public testimony of his approbation, he answered that it
was not necessary, and that he could not do it in prudence, as he
knew most certainly that such a deed would aggravate the perse-
cution of the Church, and involve the Holy See in fresh difficulties,
but that as soon as circumstances would permit it, he would not
fail to confirm the Society in the amplest manner. This answer
was communicated to the General of the Society the Rev. F.
Gruber, and by him to us by the Pope's express orders, *
On this footing we now stand, viz : on the vivae vocis oraculum
* Still stronger proofs of the Pope's approbation of
all we have done might be given ; but this I cannot give without
betraying a confidential communication, which might expose the
person of the Pope to new troubles."
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We have only given the merest summary of Father Burke's long
and earnest quest tor teachers ;* but it is amply sufficient to vindi-
cate him from any charge of indifference to the educational require-
ments of his mission, or of blame for the long delay which had yet
to intervene ere his hopes should be realized. We may add that
he proposed to the Bishop of Quebec to affiliate his school either
to the Seminary of Quebec, 01 that of Montreal, adding : " The
funds are in my hands, and I can dispose of them as I will without
consulting any one." But this project was never carried out.
To close this chapter, we may add that after the completion of
the college building, Father Burke, seeing no immediate prospect
of opening the school, rented the lower part to a Mr. Doyle. In a
letter of loth August. 1805, Father Burke relates that Mr. Doyle
whilst excavating the basement found a " spring of running water
capable of supplying half the town; we have put a pump in it."
That same spring < f deliciously cold water was used by the various
inmates of the old Glebe House for the next eighty five years. In
the new Glebe House it holds its place of honour and usefulness.
*The Jesuit Fathers in Baltimore named two of their number for Halifax,
but the troubles of the period prevented their coming.
CHAPTER XIV.
WITH TONGUE AND PEN.
N some natures strong literary tendencies, and studious habits
are mated with physical vigour, and an activity of spirit which
cannot be confined within the walls of a library. The indi-
vidual so endowed may never attain to a commanding rank in
literature, but. it he uses his talent aright, he will do more for the
cause of God and truth than the greatest masters of literary style.
The best balanced character, the character most desirable in a
churchman, in this country and age, is that in which the habits and
tastes of a student are cultivated, indeed, and encouraged, but
never indulged in at the expense of the active duties of the sacred
ministry. It is a question if this shutting oneself in a cabinet, and
being unapproachable to all, is not simply a mixture of selfishness
and an inane vanity to be considered peculiarly gifted above ones
fellows. In any case it is certain, that whilst men of true genius
are unaffected, and entirely free from peculiarities, the reverse is
believed by very many, and idios)ncrases, whether natural or
affected, are held to be the outward tokens by which genius is
revealed to the common herd. Hence the seclusion, the unap-
proachableness, the wild eye, the unkempt locks, the moody spells,
the shocking rudeness, the air of mystery, and other laughable, or
boorish expedients adopted by some, who thereby have gain-
ed the name of poet, artist, thinker, or genius. The world dearly
loves to be humbugged, and it is full often gratified
The qualities of the zealous missionary and of the industrious-
student were harmoniously combined in the mental structure of
Father Burke. He gave splendid proofs of the former during his
sojourn in western Canada ; nor did his activity cease after his
arrival in Halifax. We have already considered some of his work
here, but before passing on to his literary tournaments we must
note the gradual expansion of the Church under his supervision.
88
His own letters, cited above, and the testimony of Bishop
Denaut who, on the occasion of his visit in 1803, found peace and
harmony, and a love of religion prevailing in the congregation of
Halifax, bear ample witness to the tact and zeal of the pastor, as
well as to the thoroughly solid nature of the instructions imparted
by him to his flock. Although he took no praise to himself for
this happy state of affairs, attributing it all to the good dispositions
of the people, we can gather from what he incidentally mentions in
a letter to the Bishop, that his share in the work was not light. On
23rd July, 1802, he says : "I have just received an account of the
Scotch Catholics settled at Cape Louis and neighboring districts.
They number about 1500. They are without a priest, excepting
when Mr. McEachan visits them." (The Rev. James McDonald had
become unfit for duty). "They tell me they expect two priests this
year, and that your Lordship has empowered Father McEachan to
give them faculties." Then he goes on to refer to the dangerous nature
of the practice of allowing the people to procure pastors, and cites
the difficulties that existed at Halifax as a case in point. In Sep-
tember, of the same year, he reports that the Church must be
enlarged, it is already too small, and "our congregation is increasing."
At that time there were seven warships of seventy-nine guns, and
several frigates in the harbour. They had come from Jamaica
under sealed orders, and until they had reached the "entrance of the
harbour not a soul on board, officer or sailor, except the Com-
mander-in-Chief, knew whither they were going, * * if a vessel
appeared in sight the whole fleet raised the French flag, in order to
make English ships keep at a distance, and to deceive the Yankees."
He quaintly adds "even in this hell there are some saints." The
sailing master who gave this information was a "zealous and pious
Catholic."
In April, 1803, he writes that the "Scotch (Catholics) are gather-
ing in Pictou." In the summer of 1802, eight hundred Scotch
Catholics and two priests, had come to Nova Scotia, they settled
chiefly at Arisaig, in Pictou county.
In the summer of 1805, his congregation was suddenly augment-
ed by several hundred soldiers. He says : "Our new general on
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his arrival gave orders that the soldiers should attend whatever
Church they wished ; more than half the garrison came to us.
Nearly all the Germans, and all the Irish are Catholics * * *
we are terribly crowded, your Lordship must either send me a
priest to say an early mass, or grant me the privilege of duplicating
on Sundays and holidays." An incident that happened during
this same summer will serve to illustrate his sense of responsibility
and care for souls. A prominent member of the congregation had
given occasion for serious scandal. The man was truly repentant,
and as Father Burke says, "took all the means which I suggested to
atone for his fault. The wardens who had been so imprudent, and
several others, some through jealousy, others through other motives
perhaps equally unworthy, but all under the pretext of the glory of
God, have urged me most strongly to turn the man out of the
Church, and to let his pew to another. I shall not do either the
one or the other, what has to be done, is to rescue this man from
his misfortune, not to overwhelm him with despair."
In 1806, Father Grace was building a small church in his mis-
sions along the western shores of Halifax County. Father Lejamtel
was winning souls to Christ in Cape Breton ; The governor of
that island reproved him for receiving converts into the Church,
and forbade him to continue the practise ! This amiable governor
evidently imagined himself another Cromwell : but Father Burke
merely remarked : "that they have only to come to me and I shall
receive them, and laugh at his prohibitions."
It is well known that the first house of the Order of Trappists in
Canada is that at Tracadie, Nova Scotia ; it may not be equally
well known that some years before the arrival of Father Vincent,
its founder, Father Burke was desirous of introducing them, and
of locating them on land which he had acquired in Antigonish.
As we shall see he was largely instrumental in promoting the
foundation of their Monastery at Tracadie.
The success attending the labours of Father Burke ; the increase
both in numbers and influence of the Catholic Congregation ; and
perhaps, principally, his determination of opening a college,
aroused a spirit of hostility which soon found vent through the
90
public press. We have seen how the Anglican Bishop Inglis
succeeded for a time in inducing the governor to refuse permission
for a Catholic school. The opponents of the Church dread nothing
more than real education. They may favour a knowledge of
languages and the sciences, indeed, but history and philosophy they
cannot abide. It is only by distorting history and suppressing
philosophy they can hope to exist. Bishop Inglis had a college,
built and endowed by Government ; he would brook no rival in
the field of education. Catholics and dissenters alike must
receive their college training after a manner approved of by
him, or remain in outer darkness. Father Burke was not the man
to bow to such lordly tyranny ; he even dared attack the would-be
tyrant. No small courage was required to do this in Halifax in
1804, when the Church of England was " by law established," and
the Catholics few, and in many respects under a ban. Intellectual
ability, too, was needed, and with this Father Burke was abundant-
ly furnished.
In February, 1804, Father Burke addressed a "Letter of instruc
tion to the Roman Catholic Missionaries of Nova Scotia and its
dependencies." In it he discusses very fully the nature of the Oath
of Allegiance required of priests, and shows that w'hilst it is in
part, insulting by implication, still it may be conscientiously taken.
After various instructions on this head, he adds : " Let us then,
my dear brethren and fellow-labourers, by our whole conduct, by our
public instruction and private advice, by all the influence which our
ministry gives, endeavor to silence misrepresentation. Actions are
more forcibly persuasive than protestations; let that universal benevo-
lence without distinction of friends or enemies which is the true char-
acteristic of Christianity, appear in our actions ; that meekness, that
modesty, that humility, that patience, which the Saviour enjoins,
distinguish us as Christians and disciples of a God who taught and
preached all these virtues in his adorable humanity. Let us not
only practice these virtues ourselves, but impress on the minds of
our respective flocks, the indispensable necessity of practising them
also : let us in a particular manner enforce that doctrine taught
by Christ and his Apostles, ' Obedience to the ruling powers in all
91
simplicity and submission.' These are the moral principles of
Catholics, this is the doctrine taught in our churches, in our uni-
versities, in our schools; contained in our catechisms, in our
authentic professions of faith : there the principles which we
believe and profess are to be found, not in lying pamphlets. These
productions of ignorance, malevolence and fanatical phrensy, which
wild enthusiasts, and canting hypocrites, self-taught and self-constitut-
ed teachers and judges of the world, disseminate without number."
The letter contains nothing which should excite the ire of any-
one; but a postscript is added which constitutes the first shot of the
controversial campaign on the part of Father Burke, It explains,
also, why it was fired. He says : "The last sheet of this letter was
in the press, when a charge from a Prelate of the established Church
accidently fell into my hands. What was my astonishment at
seeing an official letter, from, a man high in office, added to the
many pamphlets which already disgrace our language, manifestly
tending to excite dissensions and discontents, at a time when sound
policy dictates the indispensable necessity of unanimity, and when
all good men are endeavouring to draw more close the bonds of
society." The ball is started with a strong initial velocity, and it
does not decrease as it proceeds. "The Prelate in his great liber-
ality pretends to exclude from the public schools, all non-Conform-
ists and Roman Catholics * * he may rest assured that few
Catholics or non-Conformists are envious of the sock of science
which he possesses." Again : "The Prelate recites the tragical
events of the seventeenth century, the murder of Charles the first,
and thence takes occasion to make strong allusions and invidious
insinuations against the non-Conformists of the present day. Surely
the good man does not suspect any of those now living to have
imbrued their hands in the King's blood." How clearly and
accurately he distinguishes between the truth or falsity of a relig-
ious belief, and the civil rights of the individual, appears from the
following extract.
"The Prelate roundly asserts that the the tenets of the Methodists
are hostile to good government. With one dash of his pen he
stigmatises a great proportion of the inhabitants of this province,
92
sober, industrious, inoffensive men. Upon a close investigation of
their tenets, as assigned by him, I can discover nothing hostile to
government. A man may be subject to the illusions of a heated
imagination, without being an enemy to the state, or to any one
member of the state. Agitations or contortions may make him an
object of pity, or even a fit subject of ridicule, but not a rogue or a
rebel, * * he may roll himself on the floor, distort his eyes r
his mouth, and nose to expel the devil. What then ? Call it
simplicity, folly, stupidity, extravagance, give it what name you
please, but it is not treason, nor any offence against the law."
Of course the poor Catholics fared badly at the hands of the
irate Prelate. On this head Father Burke says : "That part of the
charge which describeh the pretended superstitions of Catholics, and
the abandoned profligacy of the clergy, is a mere echo which
repeats calumnies as often refuted as published." He promises a
full and fair discussion of the whole charge, and to set forth the
genuine principles of Catholic morality. His opinion of the
Bishop's charge is not flattering : "I don't remember to have seen
a more wretched performance ; it seems composed of borrowed
pieces badly assorted, written in a languid style, replete with dark
insinuations against all those who have the misfortune to disagree in
opinion with the author."
This daring and unexpected assault ruffled his Lordship, and
created consternation in the camp of his admirers. It was all very
well to denounce and vilify dissenters and Catholics, but that one
of the vilified should turn and fiercely grapple with the head of
the Church "by law established" was intolerable, yet it had to be
borne ; for Father Burke was now a recognized factor in the com-
munity, and his ready pen, and courteous manner of controversy,
in striking contrast with that of some of his assailants, did valiant
service in the cause of truth and equal rights, for many years. From
a letter written to the Coadjutor Bishop of Quebec, iyth July,
1804, we learn Father Burke's view of the case. "Our Bishop
Inglis was completely upset by the dose he received. It is good for
him ; perhaps it will cure him of his itch for calumniating Catholics,
all of whom this bad man would annihilate, if he could. During
93
six months he and his pretentious son, did not cease to cover us
with obliquy in the Church of Halifax, before publishing his
calumnies, and the good man had so blackened us that people be-
gan to mistrust us. The devil is the father of lies, and those who
are of his part imitate him, says the wise man. The postscript was
severe ; I shall tone it down."
As was to be expected writers innumerable seized the quill, and the
newspapers of the day became the theatre of a wordy war.
Father Burke singled out for attack the Rev. Mr. Stanser, afterwards
Bishop, and Rev. Mr. Cochran, President of Windsor College, and
replied to them in a pamphlet of over two hundred pages, printed
by A. Gay, 1805. Subsequently he took up the letters of other
correspondents, and gave very complete refutations of their
attempted impeachment of Catholic doctrine and practises. Al-
though his thrusts were keen, and his blows direct, he never lost his
temper, ror indulged in abuse, that universal resource of the shal-
low controversialist. In 1805, Judge Cochran was drowned in
Lake Ontario, the Rev. Mr. Cochran lost his place as President of
Windsor College, and the wife of a third opponent "played him a
bad trick," as Father Burke relates in a letter to the Bishop of
Quebec. These events apparently ended the first campaign.
Later on the Rev. Mr. McCullough, a Presbyterian minister at
Pictou, brought out a pamphlet, " Popery condemned," which drew
forth a reply of more than three hundred pages from Father Burke,
bristling with facts and unanswerable arguments.
Thus with tongue and pen he was at work, spreading the truths
of religion, strengthening the faith of Catholics, giving them reason
to rejoice at his eminent scholarship, dissipating the misconceptions
of the well-meaning, silencing detractors, and winning respect for
himself, and for his religious belief. How well he did all this, his
own Bishop will tell us in another chapter.
CHAPTER XV.
HALIFAX IN 1815.
HE subject of these Memoirs had now laboured for fourteen
years in Halifax. Single handed he had attended to the
spiritual wants of his flock in the town, and directed the
operations of the missionaries, in the various parts of the large terri-
tory over which he had supervision. He had also ably explained
and defended many points of Catholic belief through the press, and
had completed the manuscript of an important work on " The min-
istry of the Church," which he purposed publishing in Ireland.
After thirty years of arduous labour in Canada, and being now in
his sixty-third year, he might well claim a short respite from work, and
the pleasure of revisiting his country.
In a comparatively new and small community, such as Halifax
was during these fourteen years of his ministry, a man of Father
Burke's mental and moral parts, must have exercised no small
influence in moulding public thought, and in establishing whatever
social relations existed between Catholics and Protestants. His
high literary attainments had commanded the respect of all; his
zeal in the discharge of his spiritual duties had won the love of his
people : and his manly championship of his faith, combined with an
affability of manner, and respect for the honest opinions of others,
had broken down the prejudices of the past. A brief survey of
Halifax, in 1815, will be interesting historically, and it will enable us
to guage more accurately the result of Father Burke's years of toil.
To those who have been born within ear-shot of the screech of
steam engines, the whistle of steamers, and the click of the telegraph
operator, the Halifax of 1815 will appear almost mythical in its
quaint primitiveness. If they can be persuaded that there were no
steamers, no railroads, no telegraph poles, they will never admit
that life could have had its joys, and society its amusements, men
95
their hopes and ambitions, and women their glamoured romances,
e'en as they are had to-day.
Taking up the " Acadian Recorder," of 1815, (a paper still pub-
lished in Halifax), we read in the issue of i4th January, that it had
" 1300 subscribers, of whom forty had been added since the first of
the month." The editor had been modest in his forecast, for he
assures us '* such unprecedented success has far exceeded our ex-
pectations." We learn also that smallpox continued, especially
" among the negroes and' poor."* There was little or no local
news. In fact that which we should wish to have is not there. In
its stead we have clif pings from English and United States papers.
Ships of war were on the move, and troop-ships scurrying from port
to port.
On January 28th, we have late news from Quebec of 2oth Decem-
ber. Coming down to May we light on many items regarding the
state of France, one of which informs us that Bonaparte's carriage
broke down as he reached the barrier of Paris. Looking on it as
an evil omen his wrath was without bounds. On 3rd June, the
editor tells us that he had been favoured with Liverpool papers of
i5th April, and Cork ones of 22nd April. Issue of July 22nd
reports arrival of ship "Trial," thirty five days from London, twenty-
five days from Land's End On 26th June, off Cowes, ship spoke
Plymouth pilot who told of reported defeat of Napoleon, near
Brussels, witn loss of 40,000 men and 150 pieces of ordnance.
This was the first news of the battle of Waterloo. In the issue of
August 5th, Wellington's report of the battle is published.
News travelled slowly in those days. Now we should expect
Wellington's despatch, almost before he had dried the ink by using
as a blotter the drum which had served for a desk, The unhealthy,
feverish excitement of to-day, a disease unknown in 1815, goes far
to offset many of the disadvantages of that period. The Haligonian
of that day was not less happy because he did not breakfast on the
crimes of the world, and sup on its scandals.
*Smallpox had carried off many victims in 1801
96
Let us now see what Halifax was like in its material aspect, and
also in its religious and social state. We have not to draw on our
imagination for our facts, nor have we to trust to uncertain tradi-
tions, or memories liable to fail. We have the shrewd and appre-
ciative observations of a cultured stranger, jotted down at the time.
Bishop Plessis of Quebec visited Halifax, and other parts of Nova
Scotia, in his official capacity, in 1815, and kept a diary, hitherto
unpublished. From it we shall quote extensively.
His Lordship and suite left Quebec on 2Oth May, and after having
visited Cap Chat, Arichat, Louisburg, Sydney and Bras d'Or, arrived
offHalifax on i4th July. Nearing the harbour he says : " One notices
here and there, some fine settlements ; well built houses, meadows
abounding in hay, and vast fields of potatoes, but little grain
except rye, buckwheat and oats, and these in small quantities
only * * We passed Devil's Island before arriving at Halifax
harbour, formerly called Chebucto, This harbour has two separate
entrances formed by several islands, some of which are covered
with cheerful looking houses. The nearer one
approaches Halifax along the coast the more interesting do its
surroundings become. * * The most striking edifice is that
containing the town clock. It is a square tower, and its ground
flat which is very large, is occupied as a guard house. *
Its situation is extremely well chosen.
"Soon after this the barracks of the troops came into view, and
then those of the artillery, both situated in the upper part of the
town. The citadel with its flag, and signal staff, is visible at the
same time. After this we see the steeples of the various churches,
and then other buildings, public as well as private, which seem to