Rev A Brandram No 104 105
Fredericton, New Brunswick, 5th July, 1841.
My Dear Friend,
From this city as a marked place in my movements, I send you some little notices of my progress in this province since my arrival in it on 17th of May.
My first business was to consult with our friends in St. John as to the best plan for me to pursue during the time I could probably allot to the district of the province embraced by the New Brunswick Bible Society, and this I may say takes in five or six counties. Two committee meetings were held for this purpose, the one in general to treat on the subject at large, and the other specific in order to fix on particular places, and to make the proper previous arrangements.
The plan adopted was, that I should first visit Charlotte County lying to the west, and that on my return, there should be a special general meeting held in St. John of the New Brunswick Bible Society. In accordance with this I set out for St. Andrew's on the 24th of May. On the 25th we had a public meeting in that place, which was well attended, not a few of the best and of all ranks being present. Not the least interesting part of the meeting was the presence there of Capt. Owen, of the Royal Navy, and an interesting speech from him, in which he mentioned some of his own individual efforts for the distribution of the Scriptures on some of the distant and foreign coasts, which he had visited in his official capacity. He closed with a warm recommendation of the reading of the Bible in the family and otherwise. Captain Owen is brother to the admiral of the same name, and resides on an island connected with this province, called Campo-Bello, and lying close on the American coast of the State of Maine. Of this island he is the sole proprietor. It contains upwards of 700 inhabitants, and he is anxious to have a Bible Society formed among them.
Your last report, and several preceding ones, contained in your list of societies and item of one in St. Andrews, which once existed, that has been dormant for a long time. Please to cancel all the office bearers there mentioned. On the 4th of November last a new society was formed in St. Andrew's, and as a branch of the New Brunswick Bible Society. The office bearers names you will find in an appended list. This society I think is likely to do well, and I trust it will not die as its predecessor did.
On the following day, the 26th, we had a public meeting at St. Stephen's. Here a Bible Society formerly existed, but it had become extinct. I hope the time will soon come, when it shall be said of all Bible Societies on this side and on that of the world, "And there shall be no more death." A very good will was shown at our meeting in favour of reviving this society; and it was accordingly revived, or more properly re-created. The meeting was opened by prayer, in the Wesleyan chapel, by the Rev. Dr. Thomson, rector of the English church in the parish, and who afterwards, in a short and well-spoken address, expressed his cordiality in the object, and his desire of lending it his aid. There were more satisfactions than one in seeing this gentleman so frank and full in our favour; and to me also of course the very name gave some zest additional.
Next day, the 27th, a meeting was held at a village called Mill Town, in the same parish. It was well attended; several came from a distance, and subscriptions were put down at once to the extent of 59 dollars. This is to be a branch of the St. Stephen's Bible Society. Mr. William Todd, of that place, kindly lodged me, and next day forwarded me in his vehicle to St. David's, a neighbouring parish. Here a meeting was held on the 28th, and another branch was formed of the St. Stephen's Bible Society.
On the 29th I returned to St. Andrew's, through which I had to pass to St. George's, where a meeting was appointed, availing myself of the public every-other-day stage, which was to go that way on Monday, the 31st, our meeting being on the evening of Tuesday.
Previous to my leaving St. Andrew's for St. Stephen's, the Hon. Col. Wyer, the Vice-President of that Society, kindly asked me to come direct to his house on my return, which I accordingly did, and where I received very friendly and marked attentions. There was a desire manifested for a second meeting at St. Andrew's; but there was no blank day till Col. Wyer made one, by offering to forward me to St. George's on Tuesday morning, so as to reach in time for the meeting there.
About the time the new society in St. Andrews was formed, towards the end of last year, the Rev. Mr. McLean of the Scotch Church there got up a society as a branch of the Edinburgh Bible society. There was thus in St. Andrew's something of a Bible division. I have a little above mentioned the friendly cooperation of Dr. Thomson of St. Stephen's. But you know that all the persons of this name in the world in all ages have not been favourable to you as was this gentleman. One of these[1] in days gone by, as you will recollect, tarred you well all over, intending afterwards to add feathers, and something else, in order to make you disappear in a flash, and for ever. This exit was prevented: but nevertheless I find here and there as I move along a good deal of the tar formerly stuck on you still adhering in the sight of many. My business is to rub off this tar, and to make you appear as clean as I can. Now for the application of the figure, though I dare say you see it before I explain. Mr. McLean sees some tar still upon you. In my previous visit I rubbed it from you before his eyes till he had to confess he could no longer see it. But he said he had compromised himself to the Edinburgh Bible Society, and felt therefore under obligation to aid it: and besides this there was the fact of the Scotch psalms being obtainable through the Edinburgh Bible Society, and not through you. I urged him for the sake of the Bible unity, the only visible union, I may say, of the church at present, to coalesce with us. Thus things stood when I went away. But our second meeting at St. Andrew's, we desired for more reasons than one, to have it in the Kirk. We asked Mr. McLean for it, and obtained it. Our meeting was well attended and Mr. McLean himself commenced it with prayer and reading a portion of Scripture. Both at tea with him in his house just before the meeting, and also at the close of it as we sat together in the pulpit, I urged him for the sake of the great Bible cause, to think over the subject and you, and as early as he well could to join us. I have hopes that he will.
Col. Wyer's son drove me to St. George's on Tuesday. In the evening we had a fine meeting; many were there from considerable distances. They hung together unbroken till a late hour; a society was formed, about seventy subscribers put down their names, and more than this number of dollars were obtained. This will be an excellent society, I think. The Baptists are the most numerous body in the place, and they are also numerously the friends of the Society. Some days afterwards I received a note from the President of the Society, mentioning another meeting held, and the lively interest manifested in the object, with increased subscriptions.
On Friday, the 4th of June, our public meeting was held in St. John. It was a numerous and a delightful meeting. The date was befitting. You will recollect old George III of dear and famous Bible memory, and who no doubt is now in heaven, to which the Bible he loves carried him. I need not further describe this meeting, as a newspaper has been sent you detailing what took place in a fuller manner than is usual. This was my parting interview with my Bible friends in St. John, all of whom are dear to me, and many of them very dear. I bade them adieu, and have now parted from them for ever, so far as the period of the world is concerned. Oh! on that day when the world closes, and eternity begins, that we may all be found true to the Bible, and may obtain those immense and eternal blessings promised us in it through our Lord Jesus Christ!
After this I visited a place called Quaco, lying upwards of 30 miles to the east of St. John, on the Bay of Fundy. Here we had two meetings, on the 9th and 10th, and formed a new society, which promises to do very well. It is called the St. Martin's Bible Society, after the name of the parish which it embraces. The Baptists are the chief body here, and most of the rest are Roman Catholics.
On returning from Quaco, I made arrangements for proceeding to Fredericton, not direct, but going from side to side, and visiting a number of places. To facilitate my work in these movements, the Committee of the Society in St. John had selected an individual to go with me who was well acquainted with places and persons in the quarter to be visited. This was the Rev. Mr. Wills, who for several years had travelled in these places to preach to the settlers the Lord Jesus. When he began among them, there was little fear of God in many of those parts; but his labours were wonderfully blessed, and not a few were truly converted unto God, and a general religious influence took the place of the previous carelessness and wickedness. In moving along I saw the good effects of his labours, and rejoiced with him in the result. The country is now tolerably cultivated, with fair roads; but when Mr. Wills began, the forest mostly prevailed, and the roads were few and bad. I should mention, too, that in these early times in the settlements, Mr. Wills would carry through the woods, on his back, large supplies of Bibles and Testaments for circulation in his course; thus acting the part of a veritable colporteur when perhaps but few of these people were employed in France, the proper country now of the name and of the employment. Personally, as well as generally, Mr. Wills was of great service to me; and I feel grateful to him for his attentions, and to the Committee in St. John for providing me with such assistance. Eighteen meetings were held, in as many distinct places, in sixteen days, in uninterrupted succession, during this tour. Several new societies were formed, and some existing ones were revived or restored. Mr. Wills thinks that if he were to visit these parts during the winter season with a large supply of Bibles, he could dispose of a very considerable number. I intend, therefore, to recommend to our friends in St. John that Mr. Wills should make this round, and I hope his expectations may be fulfilled.
I omit particulars of this journey for the present in order not to tire you; but, nevertheless, one place and circumstance I must mention. Milkish, not many miles from St. John, was the first place we visited. Mr. Wills and I started at seven in the morning for this place, in the steam-boat, up the river. When we got near to Milkish, we found a boat in the middle of the river waiting for us, manned by two men with two oars. In the steamboat hurry in getting into our boat, I did not much notice the boatmen; but when I had sat down, I found, by their individually and particularly saluting me with cordial welcome, and by Mr. Wills's explanation and introduction, that one of the boatmen was Squire Wightman, the Magistrate of that quarter, and the President of the Bible Society there. The other was Mr. Gifford, the Secretary. We then rowed along, and talked until we came to the Squire's house, where we breakfasted. Early in the afternoon was our Bible meeting, which was well attended. Next morning, after an early breakfast, the President and the Secretary again launched their boat, and took to their oars, and rowed us till we got on board the steamboat, to go some miles up the river to meet our appointment for that day. These two gentlemen have read your Reports for years, and had long been looking for this personal visit from you. Their kind expressions of satisfaction with our interview, led me anew to bless the Lord especially for the many favours I have experienced from strangers. By this particular interest in our work, and by their many prayers for us, we may say we hold a continuous fellowship with these two worthy friends.
On the 1st instant I arrived in Fredericton, and within an hour after I reached the city, I waited on the Governor, Sir William Colebrooke Mr. Wills, accompanied by Mr. Taylor, the President of the Society, to beg he would have the goodness to take the chair at our public meeting on the following day. This he readily consented to do. On the 2nd our meeting was held in the Wesleyan chapel, and a full assemblage was present. Sir William well presided, and in a short address expressed his cordiality in our object, and his wish to support our and similar institutions. Everybody was pleased with his Excellency's conduct on the occasion; and his thus coming forward we all looked upon as a public good, and the more so as it was a new circumstance in Fredericton.
Today I met the Ladies' Committee. There were 17 present. Of the other nine, six were absent from town, and three ill, so that we might be said to have had the whole. This Society, you will recollect, was formed last year on my visit to this place. It has proved a valuable society. The ladies have collected much, and they are going on with zeal and wisdom. The city is divided into thirteen districts, and everybody is called on without exception.
I now move on northward up the river St. John, but know not yet how far I may proceed, as I will be guided in this by circumstances.
For the present adieu,
James Thomson.
[1] This is a reference to Rev Dr Andrew Thomson of Edinburgh, a fierce critic of the BFBS in the Apocrypha controversy. (BM)