Just at this time, early in 1844, a minister from Canada came on a visit
to his friends in Bovina. This was the Rev. James George, then a
minister of the Church of Scotland in Scarboro, in Upper Canada. Mr.
George's father and brothers were nearest neighbors of William Black and
his family in Bovina. Mr. George was at this time an examiner in Queen's
College, Kingston, and, indeed, afterwards became a professor in that
institution. Young John Black called upon Mr. George during his visit to
Bovina, and enquired as to the opportunities for studying for the
ministry in the Canadian Church. He also sought information as to what
the Church in Canada would do in view of the disruption which had taken
place in the mother Church in Scotland. Mr. George stated that he had a
strong hope that the Church in Canada would satisfy all parties, and
thus prevent a division on this side of the Atlantic. Having examined
Mr. Black, Mr. George expressed himself as highly satisfied, and advised
the young student to come over to Canada in the autumn and to enter
Queen's College. Mr. George returned to Canada, the Canadian Synod met
shortly afterwards in Kingston, and there the disruption took place. Mr.
George thereupon wrote to Mr. Black informing him as to what had
happened, but still urging him to come over and enter Queen's College on
its opening. After all the kindness which had been shown him he felt it
to be a painful trial to refuse; but John Black's sympathies were with
the Free Church in the struggle, and he could not accept the kind
invitation of his friend. It was with great grief that he saw the
division in Canadian Presbyterianism. He never ceased to desire
reconciliation, and he was greatly overjoyed that he lived to see the
happy reunion in 1875.
COLLEGE LIFE.
John Black had not an acquaintance in Canada other than Mr. George. He
had noticed in the newspapers that the Rev. Mark Y. Stark, of Dundas,
had been moderator of the synod at the time of its division, and that he
had taken the side with which he himself sympathized. Accordingly, he
wrote to this gentleman about the arrangements for starting a college in
connection with the new body, and the answer came, greatly to his
satisfaction, that the commission of synod would meet in October to deal
with this matter, and that it would be well for him to be present at the
meeting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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