His Majesty has studiously abstained from the exercise of his
undoubted prerogative of founding and endowing literary or
religious corporations, until he should obtain the advice of the
representatives of the people in that respect.

He concluded the appeal with these words:--It becomes every man who
properly appreciates his civil and religious rights and privileges, and
those of posterity after him, to give his name, his influence, and
exertions, in the final effort to place those rights and privileges upon
the broad foundation of equal justice to all classes of the inhabitants.

In a subsequent appeal, issued in November, he said:--Let every man who
has a head to think, a foot to walk, and a hand to write, do all in his
power to circulate the petitions for the entire abolition of high church
domination, and the perfect religious and political equality of all
denominations of Christians.... The majority of the people of England
are willing to have glebes, rectories, tithes, church rates, etc.; but
the majority of the people of this Province want nothing of the kind....
The right of the inhabitants of this Province to judge, and to have
their wishes granted on everything connected with the disposition of the
clergy reserves, and the proceeds of them, has been formally recognized
in gracious despatches from the Throne.

Few in the present day can realize the storm which these petitions and
appeals provoked. Every effort was made (as will be seen) to silence the
voice and stay the hand of Dr. Ryerson, the chief promoter of the
petitions, and the able opponent of the establishment of church
ascendancy in Upper Canada. Thus matters reached a crisis in the latter
part of the year 1838. So intense was the feeling evoked by the ruling
party against Dr. Ryerson's proceeding, that in many places the
promoters of the petitions were threatened with personal violence, and
even with death, as may be seen by letters published in the _Guardian_
at this time. The publication of these letters at the present time would
excite feelings of amazement that such a state of things was ever
possible in a free country like Canada.

Not only was this policy of intimidation pursued in the rural parts of
the country, but the newspapers in Toronto and the larger towns,
controlled by his opponents, made a combined assault upon Dr. Ryerson,
as the central figure in this movement. On the 19th December, 1838, he
inserted an abl