Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs The Protestant-Catholic divide on Prince Edward Island, Canada: its creation, growth and resolution Thesis How to cite: Beck, Callum Vere (2010). The Protestant-Catholic divide on Prince Edward Island, Canada: its creation, growth and resolution. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2010 The Author Version: Version of Record Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk THE PROTESTANT-CATHOLIC DIVIDE ON PRINCE ED~VARD ISLAND, CANADA: ITS CREATION, GRO~VTH AND RESOLUTION By Callum Vere Beck B.A.. M.A.R. Submitted fix the Degree of PhD in Religious Studies Open University May.2010 IMAGING SERVICES NORTH Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ www.bl.uk CONTAINS PULLOUTS ABSTRACT This thesis traces the origin and growth of the sectarian divide between Protestants and Catholics on Prince Edward Island, situating it in the wider context of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, the north-eastern United States and Britain. All of these areas had relatively good relations between Protestants and Catholics from 1780 to the mid-I 830s, then experienced a period of intense sectarian conflict into the late 1870s, but thereafter the Atlantic provinces took a unique path in mmaging sectarian tensions. The event which brought buried religious anirrosjtes to the surface on P.E.t. was the Belfast Riot of 1847. These negative feelings grew until a sectarian firestorm was ignited by the Bible Question of 1856. For the next two decades battles over religion and education kept the two groups so divided that for rruch of that rrre political affiliation was determined by religion. The education wars were resolved by 1877, but the sectarian tensions that fuelled them were only sublirmtcd through the use of elite accomrmdation and the implcnx:ntation ofa defacto separate school system These 'gentkrren's agreements' circumscnbed relations between the two denominations on the Island for the next eighty years. They proved quite effective in keeping the peace but with the side effect of institutionalizing religious division in the society. A second round of education battles (1957-69) ended the separate school system and was the rrain factor in healing the divide on P.E.I. This work's uniqueness lies prirrarily in its focus on the Belfast Riot as a seminal event in articulating sectarian division, and in its extensive use of oral history in the study of Protestant-Catholic relations. Its main contribution. in addition to enhancing understanding ofP.E.I.'s history and Protestant-Catholic relations in general is in suggesting a frarre of reference for similar oral research to be done in other religiously-divided cormnmaics. III ACKl\OWLEDGEl\IEl\TS This dissertation was completed under the guidance of Prof J.R. WoltTe, Dr Marion Bowman and Dr Edward MacDonald. It was from beginning to end a pleasure to work with all three. They were unfailingly insightful, helpful, supportive and understanding. I would also like to thank Paul O'Connor for his support throughout this process and especially his help in developing the map in the Appendix; John Eldon Green for his time and insights; my P.E.1. Seniors College students and my senior correspondents for their stories and feedback; my University students for their help in researching papers and conducting interviews; Simon Lloyd and Leo Cheverie, archivists at U.P.E.I., for their patience in assisting me in conducting my research; and Dr David Weale for his foresight in having his students interview Island old timers about 'them times,' for keeping their reports and for allowing me to use this invaluable material. Most of all I want to thank my wife who continually encouraged me in this work, who carefully read and edited all I wrote, who worked so faithfully to keep our financial ship afloat while I was busy researching, and with whom I spent countless enjoyable hours discussing all the new "stuff' that I was learning. This work is dedicated to my mother, whose emotional and financial support throughout this process was unstinting, and to my late father, whose efforts in bridging the divide in the universities and hospitals on the Island was the catalyst for the topic I chose. IV TABLE OF CO~TE1'ITS Abstract. .. III Acknowledgements IV Map of Counties, Lots and lrrportant Communities on P.EJ. VD INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW PART I "The Pioneer Years: A Time of Borrowed Peace" 1720-1847 Chapter I: Introduction 38 Chapter 2: Sectarianism in Early Politics 59 Chapter 3: Relations Between Protestants and Catholics Outside of the Political Arena 77 PART II 'The Sectarian Wars" 1847- 77 Chapter 4: Popular Anti-Catholicism in Britain and North America in the Mid-1800s 99 Chapter 5: The Belfast Riot - Preliminary Matters 117 Chapter 6: The 1847 Riot 135 Chapter 7: Irmact and Interpretation of the Riots 151 Chapter 8: The Begirming of the Sectarian Wars on the Island 169 Chapter 9: The Education Questions (1856-77) 179 PART III "Gentlerren's Agreements" 1877-1966 Chapter 10: Introduction 195 Chapter 11: Education 203 Chapter 12: Medical and Social Services 217 Chapter 13: Politics 223 Chapter 14: Religious and Group Relations 231 Chapter 15: Personal Relations 247 Chapter 16: Community Relations: The Geography of the Divide 266 Epilogue: The Bridging of the Protestant-Catholic Divide (1966- Present) 277 CONCLUSIONS 288 APPENDICES Appendix A: "The Belfust Riot" 306 Appendix B: "Oral History Map: Distribution of Protestants and Catholics on P.E.I." 310 BIBLIOGRAPHY 313 ~ ~ -z-. ~f > ~ --:::Ie ~~..;i -e ~CJQ ... ", ;0:;- - 0 ... --:::I ~ ", ~ o a= :.. s: 0 ",~ ~~ c: l o'Cb z :::In ~ ~ ~ -m -:a~. ::. ...C/J l ~-a ~ r- 0 ~ C/J -,;:H > Z ~ -0 ~ ~ 1.1) ~ == 0 ~-~~t:: :::0 o ;:w ~ ~ > Z ~ o 0 3: ...v- 3: ...~ ", c: Z -~ tT1- C/J 0 ..,AI ...C Z 0" ... o AI -e §i< . .-m Introduction and Literature Review We have heard from the Hon member for Charlottetown - that this feeling is but in its infancy - I trust that it will die so, and never again attain stature or growth. There should not be these distinctions on account of creed, and he is the enemy of man who would go about saying to the peaceful people of the Island "vote for this man, he is a Presbyterian;" or, "do not vote for that man, he is a Catholic." The man who does this is an enemy, and were we to look closely perhaps we should see the cloven foot (Politician Robert Mooney in his comments on the Belfast Riot, Royal Gazette, Mar 16, 1847). Introduction Of all the great sociological changes that took place in my home province of Prince Edward Island during the twentieth century perhaps the most profound began to take shape in the mid-1960s when the dividing wall between its two main faith groups, Protestants and Roman Catholics, began to be dismantled. Island historian David Weale has dubbed this "the mend";' my preferred terminology is "the bridging of the Protestant - Catholic divide." Before "the mend" the officially non-sectarian public school system on the Island was unofficially a sectarian one; most people patronized doctors, dentists, pharmacies, hospitals and sometimes even businesses which shared their denominational affiliation; Catholics' and Protestants tended to live in their own little enclaves; dances were usually segregated while inter-faith dating and marriage were decidedly taboo; and gentlemen's agreements governed patronage appointments, even to how many Catholics and Protestants would get elected. All of this came to an end in the last four decades of the twentieth century, the key turning point being the integration of the schools in the capital city of Charlottetown from 1966-9. The original intention of my research was to investigate how this dramatic sociological shift occurred. My father was the Protestant co-chair of two committees which publically advocated uniting the Catholic and Protestant/public universities and hospitals on P.E.I., so I had a strong personal interest in this topic. In laying the groundwork for the I David Wcale of Charlottetown. interview by author. June 6.2005. tape recording. 2 All references to "the Island" in this thesis mean Prince Edward Island. J When I use the term Catholic in this thesis I mean Roman Catholic. 2 3 bridging period (1957-82), however, it was recognized that I was biting off too big a slice of history. So it was decided to change the scope of the thesis to cover just how the divide came to be and give but a brief glimpse as to how it was mended. P.E.I., though it can make no claim to having made any major impact on world history, is not for that reason incapable of making a significant contribution in understanding larger historical events. Due to its small size the historian can do a thorough survey of a large historical period, and yet due to it being a full fledged province of Canada he or she is not just looking at a small out-of-the-way place but a complete society. Two Islanders. who made an impact on the larger stage, make this point. Frank MacKinnon, who taught political science in three Canadian universities and was the principal of Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, commented that: "The Island is a useful place in which to study priests, parsons, and politicians, it can aid research on larger systems by illustrating ideas and actions on a small scale.?' Andrew Macphail, McGill University's first professor of the history of medicine, noted that: "James Mavor, that famous geographer and economist, during a visit made the discovery that Prince Edward Island was more than an island.