Rev. George Webber left the Island in 1875 for Toronto and was succeeded by Rev. William S. Pascoe who served four years as Superintendent. Rev.

Edward A. Tonkin and Rev. John Ball entered the ministry in 1876, and in 1877 Rev. George Smith was accepted while Rev. William Bryenton was received into the district from the Union Circuit during the same year.

In 1876, the Conference voted to abandon the churches in Bideford and Northam against the advice of Rev. Pascoe. These two appointments had been transferred to the West Cape Circuit only the year before. Despite the loss of Bideford and Northam as well as a declining membership in Summerside, in 1879

the district contained 603 members.

Rev. John Harris was selected to take the place of Rev. William S. Pascoe as Superintendent in 1879. During the same year, Rev. John Ferry entered the district, followed by Rev. James A. Dafoe in 1880, Rev. Wesley Down and Rev. John M. Tredrea in 1881, and Rev. William E. Reynolds in 1882.

Rev. John Ferry commenced the construction of two church buildings in the West Cape Circuit, one at Miminegash and the other at Knutsford. Both of these buildings were completed by Rev. William Bryenton in 1881. In every part of the district, the pastors and the people continued to make a determined effort to raise money for current expenses as well as to build new churches and parsonages as needed and repair existing property. Despite the effort made and the money spent, the Bible Christian Church never attained the growth and success original-

ly envisioned.

28. REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE BIBLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Instead of the answer to the lack of progress being the unfaithfulness and in— stability of the people concerned, we must realize that the majority of the Island population has been made up of Roman Catholics and Scottish Presbyterians which gave limited opportunity available to the Bible Christians to establish a

new denomination.

Another factor which must be considered as a reason for the lack of a strong, independent Bible Christian Church in Prince Edward Island was the transient nature of the population. Originally, many people left the Island and went west seeking better economic opportunity. In later years, the direction of the movement away from the Island changed from western Canada to the area in and around Boston, Massachusetts. In a three and a half year period, from 1879 to 1883, the Bible Christian Church in the Island lost one fourth of its members due to migration. At that time, it was thought that there were as many Bible Chirstians formerly from the Island living in Boston as there were Bible Chris- tians still living in Charlottetown. Therefore, it would seem that the Bible Chris- tians were victims of circumstances beyond their control rather than a lack of

physical or financial sacrifices, or any demonstrated incompetence.

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