The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-12-23 00:00:00

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. AMONG the variov a results which "Merry Christmas" accomplishes, one is to emancipate young and old, pupil and teacher, in our public schools. With beating hearts and joyous anticipations the days are numbered till the coming holidays, by the light-hearted little fellows, idle and industrious. Nor do the teachers require or enjoy their liberation less, though it is desirable to subdue the emotions, so that the period of duty may not seem to be a time of unvarying toil. We have attended the closing scene at two of our institutions within the..st week, and we can bear testimony to the heartiness of the cheering that marked the close of the respective ceremonies. The Royal Institution School, or Schools (for there is an indecision about the use of the singular or plural) were established as part of the institution when it was founded in 1814 ; and it was thought for several years, during the incumbency of the late principal, that fifty or sixty pupils were all that could be expected in Liverpool for a school of that class. While public and private schools offer the advantages of a good education on more moderate terms, one would expect that the preparation for professional studies would be sought in general elsewhere. Yet the pupils of the Royal Institution have been increasing in stead of diminishing ; and though a good many retired with Dr. Iliff until the subsequent success of the school was a matter of grave doubt, it has passed by its former limit, and, as we understood the president on Wednesday, has not merely doubled, but trebled itself within the past and present year. In 1843 the Collegiate Institution was opened. At first the intention was to establish two daily schools only, part of a Conservative and Church Mechanics' Institution. During the progress of the arrangements a third school was added, greatly to the annoyance of some of the best friends of the Institution ; for they held that this was breaking faith with their own friends at the Royal Insti tution, and exciting a rivalship that should never have existed. How well the anticipations of evil were founded may be judged from the fact that the Royal Institution School and the Upper School of the Collegiate Institution now number three or four times as many pupils as were considered a fair average previous to the foundation of the latter. This is not the effect of mere increase in popula tion, though that is one influencing cause. A better appreciation of education, is, we trust, another ; as well as facilities for home education, the establishment of Scholarships and other prizes, and an increased desire on the part of parents to qualify their sons for professional pursuits. Nor must we omit to notice the zealous exer tions on behalf of the teachers. The ignorant parent may not be able to appreciate these, but may regard the educational transaction as a mercantile one like any other, and the young man just launched into public life may forget the hand that moulded his intellect and principles; but the really intelligent among the former know how sacred the trust, how important the duties ; and in the time of sober reflection the latter will revert to the scho lastic hours with pleasant and grateful recollection. The pupils at the Royal Institution do not wear any 'uniform; but on the closing day, which with them is public only once a year, they appear in full dress. And certainly theyareas fine a set of boys as one could desire to look upon, from the embryo collegian, appearing for the first time in his toga virilis, to the tiny youngster who can with diffi step on the platform. The pupils at the Collegiate wear gowns within doors ; they fill two-thirds or more of the body of the lecture-hall ; and they represent three classes of the community. There is a marked difference in the closing scenes at the two institutions. The one addresses its entertainment to the ear, the other to the eye. At the Royal Institution, there are recitations in various languages,French, Spa nish, Latin, Greek,—and the assembled parents and friends applaud heartily, though understanding less than they did of Gavazzi's lectures. On this occasion, only about half the selections were in English ; a proportion which too much resembles " saying mass in an unknown tongue." On the branch of elocution called utterance, the young gentlemen acquitted themselves with great credit, the speaking being neither drawling nor hurried, neither too loud nor in whispers ; and, in general, conveyed the meaning of the respective authors very fairly. But on the subject of action, there appeared to be a want of system ; so that, in future, it would not be without profit to direct their attention to portions of Spalding's Portal or Austin's Chironomia. At the Collegiate Institution , rhetoric bas never been recognised as adistinet branch of education ; and there are no recitations. But in the long room at the top of the building, specimens of the handiwork of the pupils are displayed, consisting of maps, drawings, writing and printing specimens, &c. The proceedings in the Lecture-hall might almost as well be conducted in dumb show ; as they consist of the mere delivery of prize -books and medals, with a few passing remarks respecting each. A portion of a prize essay might be read, or a report stat ing the prominent facts in the schools during the six months preceding ; and it would surely be gratifying to the assembly to hear some one or more brief addresses. Our view is that both systems might be better com bined than they are, with benefit to all concerned. It should be borne in mind that we refer only to the facts on the closing day. For some time previous, the examina tions over the ordinary school work go forward, and parents and friends are admitted to see the ordinary style of answering. This is a much better test of proficiency than the hollow displays by which parents are often de luded : but since something of display is still considered necessary at certain intervals, it ought surely to be as attractive and instructive as possible. ROYAL INSTITUTION SCHOOLS: DELIVERY OF PRIZES. —The annual delivery of prizes to the pupils took place on Wednesday, in the theatre of the institution. The Venerable Archdeacon Brooks, in presenting them to the successful boys, addressed to each of them a few appropriate remarks, impressing upon all the necessity of perseverance in their studies, and uniform good conduct, by which they would reflect credit both on themselves and the institution : thou SCHOOL.—Classical : 1, Duckworth ; 2, Abram ; 3, WCheane.—Mathematical : 1, Preston ; 2, M'Cheane ; 3, Abram—Divinity Essay: 1, Duckworth; 2, M'Cheane.—His torical Essay: 1, Abram; 2, M'Cheane; 3, Crook.—Composi lion : 1, Duckworth ; 2, Abram. •S'econd Class.—Divinity Essay : 1, Jackson ; 2, Parry.— Historical Essay : 1, H. Duckworth; 2, Jackson.—lmprove /tient : Booth. French Prizes, given by Mons. de Finance.-Ist Division : 1, Jackson ; 2, J. Job; 3, Behrend ; 4, Shute.-2nd Division : 3, C. Jeffery ; 2, D. Job ; 3, W. Smith ; 4, Maxwell ; 5, Booth. LOWER ScirooL.--Divinity Essay : Halhead.—Historical Essay : 1, Shute ; 2, C. P. Bushell.—Writing : 1, T. Grundy; 2, J. G. Carter.—Arithrnetic : 1, D. Job; 2, J. Swainson. Good Conduct and Improvetitent Prizes, given by Theodore Rathbone, Esq., President.-3rd Class : Behrend, H. Kewney, J. Dover, Quayle, G. Bird, ➢iilligan, J. Cross.-4th Class: M'Cunn, C. Pemberton, Ready.—•sth Class : C. Booth, D. Duckworth, A. Bald.-6th Class : J. M`lver, D. M`lver, J. Thompson, A. Swainson, J. Seddon. Drawing Prizes, given by Mr. Barber.—C. I. Leather and F. Doyle. MAMMOTH PANORAMA OF THE MISSISIPPI.--Placed as Liverpool is in the position of the great approach for emigrants and travellers of all kinds to the great Western Continent, every means by which information can be ob tained of the features and capabilities of that land of promise to the ejected population of densely peopled Europe must be welcome. On this ground we are gratified by the arrival in Liverpool of Messrs. Lewis and King's panorama of " the Father of Waters ;" and should be still more gratified to see it resorted to by thousands of those —strangers in our town and native born—who are turning their eyes towards Araerica as the natural home of the depressed industry of this country. The information con veyed, with respect to:soil, location,: habits, &c., by a talented lecturer, with a faithful picture before him, is in finitely more impressive than can be derived from guide books and narratives of tours; and the gentleman, who in this case explains the various scenery depicted on can vas is the artist himself, and his statements are conse quently verified by his own personal observation. This panorama commences where that of Banvard, exhibited here a couple of years ago, left off, viz., at St. Louis, and pourtrays the course of the river upwards, through or skirting the states of Missouri. lowa, Illinois, and others of the grain-growing States, towards which the emigration from this country is being principally directed. The artist, Mr. Lea h, commenced his sketches at the falls of the St. Anthony, the highest navigable point upon the river; and proceeded downwards to St. Louis, sketching every settle ment and point* of interest upon the banks of the river, and occasionally taking an overland course to exhibit to us the features of the fertile prairies which abound in the valley. The upper portion of the route is especially inter esting, affording, as it does, excellent sketches of Indian life and manners. Amongst other beautiful views we have one of the famous City of Nauvoo, once the capital of the Mormonites, as it existed subsequently to its partial de struction by the surrouading natives, and a correct archi. tectural view of the famous Temple of the Saints. As a work of art the panorama is well worthy of examination. It is carefully painted throughout, and parts of it painted with a view to exhibit the various phases of the American climate, it gorgeous sunsets and sunrises,'storm,and modn light. High testimonials are also in the possession of the proprietors vouching for its correctness. We can with great confidence recommend our readers to visit the Pan orama Hall, which was formerly Thom's Chapel, in Bold street. We should never wed an opinion for better for worse ; what we take up on good grounds, we should lay down upon better. DR. DUFF'S LECTURE ON INDIAN MISSIONS. An interesting and instructive lecture on these impor tant missions was delivered on Thursday evening, at the Philharmonic Hall, by the Rev. Dr. Duff, a missionary of the Free Church of Scotland in Calcutta. Adam Hodg son, Esq., having been voted to the chair, called upon the Rev. Dr. Craig to commence the proceedings of the evening with prayer; and that gentleman having com plied, the CHAIRMAN, in a few appropriate and eulogistic remarks, introduced Dr. Duff to the meeting. The Rev. LECTURER commenced by stating that it would be altogether preposterous to go through all the details of the subject in addressing a meeting like that ; but if a few statements would serve the purpose of deepening the interest already felt in these important missions, His object would be attained. He contended that mis sionary enterprise was merely a carrying out of the great purpose of mercy which God had ordained from all eternity. At the time our Saviour gave the commis sion to His Apostles, this country ranked among the heathen nations ; and when the commission came to us, end it became our bounden duty to carry it forward, he would not say how our forefathers had neglected that duty. But this country had been dealt with in a wonder. ful manner ; the increase in our colonial possessions dur the last century and a half was unprecedented since the world began, and they now included a sixth part of the territories of the earth, and a fifth part of its inhabitants. God's purpose in this was evident, for they would find that at the beginning of the last century the Churches were not ready for the work, whilst at the present time there was in this kingdom a much larger proportion of God-fearing people than in any other nation of the earth, with whom lay the responsibility of converting the mil lions of Pagans bowing beneath the British sceptre. The lecturer then reviewed the progress of missions in India. The Portuguese took fire, the sword, and the gallows, as their instruments; the Dutch acted more like buccaneers than anything else ; the French propagated infidelity ; our own countrymen came next, and he could riot deny that they had pursued a career of avarice and unscrupu lous ambition sufficient to make us hang down our heads for very shame. But these were not fair specimens of the British people, and God saw that a voice would go forth demanding justice for India, that intolerant laws would be gradually abolished, and the way opened for evangelical instruction. This being the result, we could see the wis dom of God, and His goodness too. It was like the voice of God, saying, " Go, and take possession of this land for me." And it was an extraordinay fact that 50 or 60,000 British-born subjects should hold at the feet of our Queen an empire so vast, that probably if you carried England in your arms, you could lay it down in an Indian forest. The great masses of the people were Brahminical, or Hindoo ; seven or eight millions of British subjects were barbarians ; and there were fifteen or sixteen mil lions of Mahometans. A work of inquiry was going on among the learned Mahometans, and he hoped that men might be raised from among them able and willing to preach the doctrines of Christianity to their own country men. The great difficulty was with the Brahmins. They carried out the pride of lineage beyond our proudest aris tocracy: thelast 5000 years was nothing to them; they went back four millions of years, and claimed descent in pure blood from the god Brahma. The learned Brahmin de lighted in speculations, but he cared not for modern lite rature, and invariably fell back on his four millions of years; and if anything superior is shewn to him, he de clares that it must have been stolen from them originally, and improved. Tell him to respect the power of the British government, and he would say that he did so in the same way that he respected the elephant, who could crush him under his foot. The Brahmins were always dreaming, and if the pantheists of the German school would visit the fathers of pantheism in India, they would be glad to get back to common sense. The Brahmins had schools devoted to the study of rhetoric, logic, &c. ; and first-rate logicians they were ;—schools of materialis tic pantheism, where they endeavoured to prove that there was nothing in the world but matter, and speculated as to how intelligence could be spun out of dead matter; others to demonstrate that there was no matter at all, but that all was spirit—the blazing sun itself was an illu sion ; and a third, that there was neither matter nor spi rit, and they would adduce infinite subtleties to prove that they had no existence at all. These men were not to be dealt with as easily as the natives of New Zealand or South Africa. The masses of the peoplewere polytheists, and had 330 millions of deities, which the Brahmins per mitted for the same reason that we gave children toys ; and when asked why they did not endeavour to improve them, replied that they might as well attempt to turn a cat into an elephant, as to give a man of low caste the intellectuality of a Brahmin. Transmigration of souls was also a principle of their religion. If a man per formed his ordinary duties, he might appea r th e nex t ti me much in the same form ; but if he fell short, he might be degraded in the next birth to a frog, an ass, or even a ve getable, or perhaps forfeit life altogether ; in which case there were innumerable hells provided, and when the amount of demerit was cleared off the soul might appear on earth again, and reach the human form some time or ether. Hence the origin of purgatory, upon a large scale. The Brahmins had every thing on a large scale. A Brahmin, on seeing a vase with holy water, said—" We have a whole river of holy water—the Ganges." On the other band, if a Brahmin A wrformed works of merit, he would rise higher and higlifrr, until he was lifted up from earth altogether. He would tell them what was meant by works of merit. A man vowed to hold up his arm all his life : that was a work of merit. He bound his arm to a tree by a rope, until it became stiff, rigid, and at last shrivelled up, and in this position he remained. Others performed pilgrimages of an extent people in this country could not comprehend ; and some, in order to increase the merit of the task, threw themselves on the ground, marking the spot where their heads touched the ground, and standing up on that spot, repeated the process, and so on continuously, thus actually measuring the distances with their bodies. And these were acts of merit, of which the performers would be proud, as having worked out their salvation. Burning widows alive was another form of meritorious action, by means of which the poor victims expected that themselves and their deceased husbands would be carried to heaven. The lecturer proceeded to give numerous other instances of Brahmin superstition, some very ludi crous, among which he instanced their respect for certain animals. There were Brahmin bulls, Brahmin lizards, Brahmin ducks, &c. •, and if a bull stood in the middle of the street, a poor Hindoo would wait patiently until his worship would allow him to pass. The lecturer then reviewed the position of the missions at the present day, and stated that there was a fair prospect now of carrying out their objects, as all the Churches of Christendom were contending for a share in the work of evangelisation. He had been privileged to visit all the missions —(he could not recognise Popery)—and wherever the work was car ried on steadfastly, God honoured it, and success re sulted. In that great scene of evangelisation, they never asked each other about the peculiarities of their churches. Surrounded by thousands of perishing heathens, they cared not who saved them, so long as they were saved by the means of evangelical truth. In allusion to the go vernment schools, he said that the government system of education was almost the only great remaining evil in In dia—a system of instruction without religion, the Bible being proscribed by law ; and contended that the effect of this system was to produce infidels as regards religion, rebels as regards government, and vicious men as regards society. They were called sectarian ; but the man that cut the soul in two,and left the better half uncultivated, he was the real sectarian. It was an anomalous philanthropy to teach a man to play well his part in life, and leave him desolate on the shore of eternity. Upwards of twenty years back, in Calcutta, he said he would teach all that was taught in the government college, but that he would teach the Bible as well, and that no boy should be ad mitted unless his father or guardian approved of the sys tem of education. After this, the numbers increased un til 1000 were in daily attendance, while in the govern ment college there were only sor 600. There was no thing sectarian about the institution in behalf of which he appealed to the meeting, in proof of which he stated that it acted as a feeder to all the missions, not a few of its members having been ordained ministers. He then de scribed the sacrifices which were made by young Hindoos who were received into the Christian faith—the forfeiture of home, friends, and all the ties of kindred,—and yet they were told there were no real conversions in India. The lecturer concluded by making a powerful appeal on behalf of new buildings for the Central Institution, Cal cutta, and resumed his seat amidst much applause. T.vo resolutions were then put and carried unanimously, to the effect that a subscription should be immediately set on foot to defray the expenses of the erection of a suitable building in Calcutta, and nominating a number of gentlemen as a committee to forward this object. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was next passed, and during the singing of the Doxology a collection was made, with which the proceedings terminated. LIVERPOOL ACADEMY.—Our readers will be gratified to observe that the Exhibition, Old Postoffice-place, is now open to the working-classes at a low rate of admis sion. This is a laudable effort, on the part of the Academy, to improve and elevate the taste of the great body of the people, and we trust will be duly appreciated by those for whose benefit it is intended. The Corporation and other free schools will, we believe, be admitted free. Cllutia's Locus.—We hear that Chubb (still holding firm that Hobbs has never picked his lock till after he had seen its interior) has added to it a kind of guard (pa tented, we believe) that must render it secure even if the operator has a month before him to work at it, as no in struments can get at the bolt and tumbler at the same time ; and unless they can do so, no lock with several tumblers can possibly be picked. THREATENED STRIKE OF ENGINEERS.—It is with Con siderable regret that we hear there is some danger of a strike amongst the engineers, millwrights, smiths, and pattern makers. It appears that some demands have been made upon firms in the district with which they feel it impossible to comply if they are to retain any control over those employed by them. In the event of a refusal to accord what is required, the men have intimated their intention to cease work at the close of the year. On the other hand, the masters have determined that, if any strike does take place, it shall be a general one. We refer to the matter here for the purpose of warning the men against countenancing any a b sur d proce d ure b y a portion of their body which is likely to lead to any such result as that plainly i n di ca t e d. W e h ad hoped that the superior intelligen ce of the present day had put an end to the turn-out system. If the history of all such proceed ings could be traced, they would, in no instance, we are persuaded, be found to have permanently benefited the employed.—MancAester Courier. CHURCH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTION. LECTURE LAST NIGHT. The sixth lecture of the present course was delivered last evening, in the Concert Hall, by the Rev. W. R. B. Arthy, of Macclesfield, on the very important subject of " Dr. Newman's Theology, as developed in his recent lectures." The chair was occupied by Dr. M`Neile, who, with the lecturer and a considerable number of the local clergy, took his place on the platform a few minutes after seven o'clock, and was received with loud applause. The meeting having been opened with prayer by the hon. secretary, the Rev. Thos. Moore, The chairman, the Rev. Dr. M'NEirE, in introducing the rev. lecturer to the meeting, spoke as follows:—The subject for the lecture this evening is " Dr. Newman's Theology as developed in his recent lectures." This is a matter of some importance, because Dr. Newman occupies a very distinguished place in the conflict now going forward —First, as a Protestant writer resisting and rejecting Ro manism, on what appeared to him at that time to be very sufficient grounds—secondly, as a half and half writer, Romanist in sentiment, but still Protestant in position; and by the help of a " non natural" sense of our articles, endeavouring to prove that " to hold all Roman doctrine" was perfectly compatible with holding all Protestant pre ferment ;--and thirdly, as a Romanist writer, heart and soul, embracing the traditions of what he calls the Catho lic Church, alleged miracles included, on the same ground of credibility in themselves, and of divine authority, as that on which he embraces the truths of Holy Scripture. It is of importance that the present sentiments of such a man should be fairly examined, and compared both with what he himself said before he became a Romanist, and with what we still say and think. Dr. Newman cannot consistently object to this course. One of the principles he lays down in the first of his lectures, recently delivered at Birmingham, is this, at page 9, " No conclusion is trustworthy which has not been tried by enemy as well as friend; no traditions have a claim upon us which shrink from criticism, and dare not look a rival in the face." This is bold language, and altogether sound. We highly approve of it. More than •ne rival has respectfully and earnestly invited Dr. Newman to look him in the face : among the rest Dr. Cumming, a man whose qualifications as a scholar and a controversialist are only to be equalled by his urbanity as a gentleman, and his meekness as a Christian. Dr. Cumming went to Birmingham very re cently, and dared to look his rival in the face. But Dr. Newman has manifested an amiable diffidence. Yet he says in this first lecture, at page 23 ". "lade alteram partem,' hear both sides, is generally an Englishman's maxim." Our friend Mr. Arthy takes him at his word, and will now proceed to try some of his traditions. Before I leave him in Mr. Arthy's hands, however, there is a small outstanding debt between him and myself, which I may take this opportunity to pay. You may recollect that, at the close of last year, I intro duced the subject of the Confessional into a sermon, and described some of the disclosures made in that secret tribunal : among the rest that of an intended murder; and that such is the fearful doctrine of what is called the seal of the confessional, that the priest who becomes cognizant of an intended murder, under the secrecy of that seal, cannot interpose by apprising the authorities, or the doomed victim himself, to prevent the commission of the crime. I said that every priest acting so becomes an accessory before the fact, and is as justly deserving of capital punishment as the unhappy wretch who actually commits the murder. I say so still. Why is he deserving of capital punishment ? Because he is guilty of conspiracy to murder. The plea of the seal, set up by Popes and councils, can never be recei ve d as se tti ng as i de the laws of God and man. Why is such a priest deserving of capital punishment ? is it because of religion ? No, but be cause of conspiracy to murder. Ts it because of religion ? No, unless conspiracy to murder be a part of religion. If this be part of what the priest calls religion, then he certainly does deserve to be hanged, for what he calls religion, But this is no part of what we call religion. I now quote from Dr. Newman's Fifth Lecture, p. 210— " But a few months have passed since a clergyman of the Establishment gave out to his congregation that transportation was too good for us, and he thought we all ought to be put to death. So far from the Protestant party feeling any real shock at this avowal, a little while after, a second clergyman, as in- Mien' ial in Manchester as the first mentioned is in Liverpool, repeated the sentiment, and still, no shock, or sensation in the Protestant public, was the result." And again, in Lecture vi., at p. 236, Dr. Newman says,— " I will quote to you the words of an eminent pulpit and platf4 rm clergyman, one of the two eloquent defenders of Protestantism, who lately gave out that every Catholic priest ought to be hanged." Dr. Newman is a great authority now with Romish priests all over the country; and I find in a Sunderland newspaper of last week the following version of this affair, under the hand of a Mr. Philip Kearney : " Protestantism has recourse to penal inflictions, fines, and imprisonment; it has not yet come to banishment and death, yet banishment has been freely spoken of, and, in this enlight ened nineteenth century, the ominous word DEATH—Death to be inflicted on even/ Catholic priest ! for religion, and religion alone (I !) has issued, like a voice from the grave, from the Protestant pulpits; and without, I grieve to add, exciting any very special shudder in the delicate nerves of Protestant libe rality. I allude, of course, to M'Neile of Liverpool, and Stowell of Manchester." Now, you will please to observe, that what the priests say in this matter may be perfectly correct. What I said was, that a priest deserved to be put to death for conspi racy to murder, as abovo explained. Mr. Kearney says, it is for religion, and religion alone. Now, certainly, they ought to know best what constitutes their religion. If conspiracy to murder, as I have described it, and as I described it in my sermon, be, indeed, a part and parcel of their religion, and inseparable from it, then, in their sense of what is meant by religion, they are right. But as I said before, we never mean anything of this kind by religion. Priest Kearney has, indeed, been very explicit on this point. He says, in a letter to the editor of the Sunderland Times (20th Dec., 1851) : "To be sure, APNeile would visit us with capital punish ment for 'the dark, diabolical' confessional, and for what he calls a certain abuse of that confessional. But the dark, dia bolical' confessional is an essential part of our religion ; and the abuse' of the confessional specifi e d b y hi m is the sacred duty of every Catholic priest, who, on no occasion whatever, can reveal the secrets entrusted to him by the penitent. He would, therefore, put us to death for religion, and religion alone." Here is a candid acknowledgment. The abuse of the confessional, as I called it, is not it seems an abuse at all. As specified by me, it is, according to Mr. Kearney, the " sacred duty of every Catholic priest." As specified by me, it is conspiracy to murder. Therefore, according to priest Kearney, and he ought to know, conspiracy to mur der, as already explained, is the sacred duty of every Catholic priest. If this be really so, I would have been per'ectly justified in saying (what however I did not say) that every Catholic priest ought to be hanged for his reli gion: not for anything such as we call religion, whether doc trine or worship. We would not have a hair of their heads touched for religion ; but for conspiracy, for a murderous secresy in compliance with the authority of an apostate Church, and in defiance of the laws of God and nature : for knowing that a fellow -creature is doomed to a sudden and violent death ; and not interposing to avert the fatal blow. What could soy accomplice do more? What Dr. Newman may think of priest Kearney's candour I will not pretend to say, but he will find in this and other imita tors (for Kearney avows Newman as his authority) an edifying illustration of another passage in one of his own lectures. It is pleasant to find something in which we can agree, and in this good humour, I shall conclude for the present with the following observations of Dr. New man, in Lecture vi., pp. 222 and 223 : " A lie is a lie just as much the tenth time it is told as the first, or rather more : it is ten lies instead of one; but it gains in rhetorical influence. Let it be repeated again and again i it matters not. The utterer has only to go on steadily proclaim ing it, and at length it will assume the shape of a very respect able fact or opinion, which is held by a considerable number of well informed persons. This is what is meant by the proverb— ' Fling dirt enough, and some will stick.' * * * And thus, even though a slander he perfectly cleared up, even thongh it be brought into a court of justice, and formally disconnected from the person who has been the victim of it, he is not what he was. It was a saying of the greatest of the Romans, that Caesar's wife should not he suspected.' Th e slander has, as it were, stained the minds of the hearers, and only time, if even time, can wipe it out." Upon this principle the late Daniel O'Connell acted with a master's skill. Disprove a calumny as you might, he gave himself no trouble about the argument, but at his earliest convenience boldly repeated the statement. It is a principle, or rather a want of principle, well understood by Romish controversialists. lam sorry to perceive that Dr. Newman has so thoroughly embraced practical Romanism, in all its parts, misrepresentation of an ad versary included. (Loud and continued cheering.) Of Mr. Arthy's forcible and conclusive reasoning, we regret that we have only space for the following outline : Dr. Newman is a priest of the congregation of St. Philip Neri, and one volume of his lectures is addressed to the brothers of the oratory. The oratory was formed by St. Philip, at Rome, A.D. 1551. Its chief offices were preaching and hearing confessions, and their public ser vices were rendered attractive, especially to the young, by the use of music. Hence the term oratorio. Alban Butler relates of St. Philip, that the divine love so dilated his heart as to break the gristle which joined his fourth and fifth ribs together ; that his body was raised from the ground, during his devotions, several yards high ; and that he could detect all sinners by their smell. Dr. Newman first introduced the congregation into England, which is composed of secular priests, and who are, in fact, Roman Catholic missionaries. The great and leading principle advocated in Dr. Newman's lectures is the duty of sub. mission to the authority of an infallible church. Every where his words are, " Entertain no doubt of the church's teaching ;" " Have implicit faith in her as the oracle of God;" "Never presume a doubt;" " Cease to examine." His first argument is that the being of a God and the infallibility of the (Romish) Church rest on exactly the same foundation. An argumen' which he himself destroys by admitting that the being of a God is ` spontaneously embraced by every one,' —is borne in irresistibly on every mind,' and is ` witnessed to by the experience and conscience of all.' As it is evident that the same fact cannot be alleged in behalf of the infallibility of the Church, since tens of millions deny this infallibility, the foundations on which the two doc trines rest cannot be the same. He next urges that, as we already believe in mysteries quite as great as any which the Church teaches, we might as well go a little further and believe all the mysteries of the Church. The doctrine of the Trinity, of the Incarnation, of the Hypo statical Union, are mysteries which Protestants hold ; "it is not much matter whether it is a mystery more or a mystery less :" why, therefore, not believe the mystery of Transubstantiation, or Purgatory ? It is obvious to reply, that the mysteriousness of the doctrines has no thing to do with the question : we find the doctrines of THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1851. the Trinity and of the Incarnation in the Scriptures, there fore we believe them ; we do not find transtibitantiation and purgatory there, therefore we do not believe them. It is strange to urge us to believe false mysteries, on the ground that we believe true ones. The third argument by which Dr. Newman urges us to submission is, that there is no alternative between scepticism and implicit belief in the teaching of the (Roman) Catholic Church. " Unlearn Catholicism (i. e., Roman), and you become Protestant, Unitarian, Deist, Pantheist, sceptic, in a dreadful but infallible succession—only not infallible by some accident." Against this sweeping theory we can adduce plain facts—the Church of England ; the Presbyterian : 1 , Churches—the Protestant Dissenters— the American Churches—all reject the infallible teaching of Rome—all have unlearned what Dr. Newman calls Catholicism ; yet they are neither sceptics nor deists ; yet these cases are far too numerous to be accounted for by Dr. Newman's chapter of accidents, and hence there must be an alternative, beside that suggested, between sceptism or submission to the Church of Rome. Not only do the arguments of Dr. Newman fail to produce conviction but the great arguments against the assump tion of infallibility are left unanswered by him. We have a promise from God that the universal Church shall never fail, but no promise on behalf of any particular Church, e.g., of Rome, of England, of Scotland, that it shall never fail. Peter, the pretended fountain of Papal infal libility, though he wrote by inspiration, was, in other, respects, a fallible man—(Gal. ii, 11, 14.) We have con tending Popes, contradicting decrees, and councils opposed to each other; and there is no agreement in the Church of Rome herself as to the seat of her own infallibility. But the most important appeal which Dr. Newman makes is to the miracles of his Church—and, if genuine, no doubt they oblige us to submit to her teaching. To induce us to yield our consent to them, he argues that if we believe the mystery of the Incarnation, we need not scruple to believe any other mystery. "No miracle can be so great as that which took place in the holy house of Nazareth; it is infinitely more difficult to believe than all the miracles of the breviary, of the mar tyrology, of saints' lives, of legends, of local traditions put together." But, we reply, it is not on the ground of their mysterious and marvellous character that we reject the popish miracles, but because of insufficient evidence. As miracles are suspensions of the laws of nature, they are all equally marvellous, i.e. they cannot be performed save by the power of Him who has all nature under His control. Let a miracle be supported by well authenticated testi mony, and we will admit it ; but that we believe the well attested miracles of scripture is no ground why we should believe the ill-attested miracles of Rome. Next, Dr. New man proceeds to argue that as God wrought the scripture miracles, this of itself affords a presamption tkat he will work more. "We conceive that when he first did a miracle, he began a series ; when he commenced, he continued, what has been, will be." But it is certain God may work miracles in one age, and not in another, because His wisdom may decide that one age requires them, and that another does not. We know that He saw them necessary at the first promulgation of the faith, be cause He wrought them then ; that He has wrought them since is what we require Dr. Newman to prove, which he must do, not by presumptive arguments as to what God may do, but by positive testimony as to what He has done. In page 298 of his Lectures on Catholicism in England, Dr. Newman records his own creed respecting popish miracles ; and it is necessary to remark, in reference to it, the insidious attempt which he makes to connect together the miracles of Scripture and the legends of the Church of Rome. when he asks us, why, if we regard those as weak minded persons who believe in the legends he has enumerated, we do not also regard those in the same light who hold the mystery of the incarnation, when he tells us in another passage that he has known Catholics who never had any difficulty in believing the miracles of the Church, very much startled at the first reading of the Scripture miracles ; the object is to connect these miracles in one series, to make popish miracles a continuation of Scrip ture miracles, and to give monkish tales with the most sacred verities of the Christian faith. It was for this rash and profane attempt, tending as it must do to produce a spirit of scepticism and infi delity, that the Bishop of Norwich severely rebuked Dr. Newman. " What I fear is (writes the bishop), not indeed that the generality of your readers will exalt legends into Scripture ; but that seeing grounds for discrediting the legends, they will look on all narratives of miracles, scriptural and legendary, as alike doubtful, and more than doubtful." Another characteristic of Popish miracles is their antecedent improbability. Are they conformable or not to the wisdom and majesty of God ? Do they harmo nise with what is revealed to us of His character? e.g.: St. Agatha stopping an eruption of Mount Etna with a veil—the Virgin's house of Loretto carried through the air by angels—St. Francis crossing the sea on his cloak — St. Anthony preaching to the fishes—a fox struck dead for stealing a saint's shoe. Are not the marks of impro bability broadly stamped on such miracles? Dr. Newman thinks it "impossible to withstand the evidence which is brought for the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius." Mr. Whiteside, in his " Book on Italy," tells us that there is not one person of rank in all Naples who believes it. And a most suspicious circumstance attaching to all Popish miracles is, that they are always wrought before friends, whereas the Scripture miracles were wrought in the presence of enemies. Dr. Newman's appeal to miracles is a complete failure, and will certainly induce no Protestant to receive the notion of his Church's infallibility. And if any one wishes for a sample of the doctrines which Dr. N. believes on Church authority, his curiosity may be gratified by a reference to his lec tures on " The glories of Mary," in which he will learn that Mary was baptised, confirmed, chosen to be the mother of the Saviour, because she had vowed perpetual virginity, although the Scriptures tell us she was " espoused to a man named Joseph ;" that Mary died, but on the third day her tomb was found empty, her body being taken up into heaven, whilst lilies grew where it lay, and the voices of angels were heard singing. Such is Romish tradition, and such are the child's tales gravely written by a man who once certainly possessed a powerful and vigorous mind. How must a man, who has been familiar with the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church of England, pervert and mystify his mind before he can credit the superstitcous miracles, or reconcile himself to the unmistakeable idolatry, of the Church of Rome! A vote of thanks having been passed to the rev. lec turer, and also to the chairman, the meeting separated. EVERTON REPOSITORY. The annual repository, in aid of the Church Missionary Society, commenced yesterday morning, in the National Schools, Mill-lane. Two of the upper rooms were very tastefully fitted up for the sale of work, and one for re freshments. The larger room especially presented a very pretty appearance, having twelve tables on either side, running almost the entire length of the apartment. while the space between was decked out with a great variety of smaller articles. The supply of work was very good, and consisted chiefly of useful articles, though some very elegant speci mens of fancy work were to be seen, though, perhaps, not so many as on some former occasions. We noticed, in particular, some very beautiful ottomans, ladies' work baskets, &c. This is, we believe, the tenth year of this sale, which is conducted by the ladies of the Rev. W. W. Ewbank's con gregation, under the very active superintendence of Mrs. Ewbank, and the amount realized has been the sum of £lOO annually, and it is fully anticipated that this year the com plete sum from the commencement will be £lOOO. On yesterday a sum exceeding £5O was received, and the sale will continue to-day and Wednesday. DINNER TO MR. THOMAS SPENCER. Previous to the departure of Mr. Thomas Spencer, from Liverpool, a testimonial was got up for him among his friends and admirers, and he was entertained at a public dinner last evening, in the Waterloo Hotel ; George Holt, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Spencer has been a resident in this town, we think, about fourteen years ; and it is well known that he has made great advances in the study of practical chemistry, as well as discovered the electrotype process. He was one of the ablest advocates of the Rivington Pike water scheme ; and some of his strictures on his opponents obtained more notoriety than praise. At the late Natural History Society, and, more recently, at the Literary and Philosophical Society, Mr. Spencer has read papers of great merit ; and of his intellectual abilities there can be no doubt. We intended to give a full account of the proceedings, but no arrangements were made for the admission of our reporter. DR. GILLY, the learned historian, and for many years the warm friend of the 'Waldenses, a short time since re turned from a visit to that ancient and most remarkable people. We understand that this learned divine will shortly be in Liverpool, to deliver a lecture on the present state of the church of these children of the valleys of the Alps. It is, we believe, to the Church of England Insti tution that the public will be indebted for the pleasure of having the condition of the Apostolic Vaudois Church brought before them, by one so well fitted for the task. The testimonial in favour of Blair's Gout ana Rheuma tic Pills, from Garret Foster Gill, Esq., concludes by saying, " Whenever I feel any symp he disease approaching, I have instant re se to this medicine, which to me is so valuable t , were it not that the days of magic have ceased ould certainly attribute the relief I obtain to t cause. Moreover, I rejoice to say, that my health not in any degree suffered ; but, on the contrar believe the tendency of Blair's Pills is towards i improvement." Sold by all medicine vendors, price 2s. 9d. per box. TILE CASE OF MR. DEANE.—Yesterday a sub-com mittee of the General Committee constituted to determine upon the propriety of adopting measures with a view to a mitigation of the sentence passed by Mr. Justice Erle, at the late assizes, upon Mr. Deane, chemist, of Castle-street, for forgery, was held at the office of Mr. Curry, solicitor, Lord -street. The form of a memorial to Sir George Grey was read by Mr. Curry, and was highly approved of by the committee. The memorial does not in any way find f au lt with, or attempt to impugn the justness of the sentence passed; but points out the matters favourable to a mitiga tion, the age, respectability, and circumstances of Mr. Deane at the time of the committal of the offence. To day a meeting of the General Committee will be held, for the purpose of adopting the memorial in its engrossed form. It will then be sent round for the signatures of gentlemen and firms to give weight to its prayer. The way in which the memorial is framed is tarlbjectionable and its object is highly commendable. The time for re ceiving signatures will be very limited. MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. M. JTTLLIEN will give a grand concert at the Philhar monic-hall on the 2nd of January next. Miss Cicely Nott will be his vocalist, and Signori Sivori and Bottesini his principal instrumentalists. THE ORATORIO OF THE MESSIAH was performed last night, at the Collegiate Institution, for the benefit of St. Anne's Dispensary and Eye and Ear Institution, by the practical members of the Philharmonic Society, forming a chorus of 180 voices, who, along with Miss Stott, Miss Parsons, Mr, Miranda, and Mr. Armstrong volunteered their services gratuitously ; also Mr. E. F. Smith, as organist, and Mr. William Sudlow, as conductor. The attendance was numerous and select, and the piece passed off with great eclat. We have not heard the amount of the receipts. THE EQUESTRIANS AT THE AMPHITHEATRE.—A9 Christmas approaches, there is a growing appreciation on the part of the public for this species of entertainment, and better houses have lately greeted the performances. Mr. McCollum, Mr. E. Stone, an d Mdll e . S ou lli er, continue to elicit applause by their graceful and daring acts, while the Brothers Elliott succeed in placing the audience under the most painful excitement, by their very hazardous gymnastic feats on the " aerial cords." The American portion of the company will secede from the establishment in the course of the present week, in order to appear at Birmingham, where they intend opening a monstre circus, capable of accommodating nearly 10,000 spec! ators. The French troupe. however, will remain for some time longer, and arenowmaking considerable additions to their number, which will enable them to offer a variety of novelties for the gratification of the public. THEATRE ROYAL. — To-night will be the last of the present season and of the performances of the Italian company of vocal and instrumental artistes; after which the theatre will be closed, to complete the preparations for the Christmas burlesque. Mr. Buckstone again con tributes the opening part of the pantomime, which, we understand, is even more replete with fun than his pro. duction of last year, " The Child of Hale." The story is taken from the writings of "Tim Bobbin," and abounds with jokes in the dialect of Lancashire. The scenery is entrusted to Mr. Dearlove and assistants, and will con sist of some beautiful views of different parts of Lan cashire in ancient and modern times, with the usual concomitants of fairy temples and demon caverns. The dresses are elegant and elaborate, and the masks ludi crously absurd, being furnished conjointly by Mr. Dear love and Mrs. Jeffries. Indeed, the whole of the "get ting up" has been on the most liberal and extensive scale, and the lessee deservedly anticipates a successful run. LIVERPOOL MUSICAL UNION.— On Friday evening last, this association held its third meeting. Hummell's Quintett in E flat minor, for piano-forte, violin, viola, violoncello,and contra basso, stood first in the programme, and was beautifully performed. The finale, " Allegro Agitato," was executed in the most brilliant style, and drew forth rapturous applause. Then followed a Sonata, by Corelli, for the violoncello and contra:basso. We apprehend this was inserted for the purpose of exhibiting prominently to the audience the powers of the latter in struments, for certainly there is very little in the leading idea of the piece, and not much in the mode of its develop ment. A Trio, by Beethoven, for piano-forte, violin, and violoncello, concluding the first part of the concert, was excellently rendered by Mrs. H. Beale, Mr. Baetens, and Mr. Haddock. Beethoven's Sonata, in A minor, be gan the second part of the evening's performances, which were brought to a close by Onslow's admirable Quintett in F minor. The arrangements of the entertainment reflected the highest credit on Mr. Haddock ; and we were glad to see so good an audience. PHILHARMONIC EXTRA CONCERT.-01 all t'Le odd per formances that we ever heard, this was the oddest. The contrast between the sacred, first part of the concert, and the secular, second part, was not, it appears, sufficiently marked, but there must needs be introduced, not only operatic music, but operatic actors and operatic costumes. Our readers may fancy the extravagant result. The in congruity was so great that, when the concert was an nounced, musical people stared, and wondered what would come next. But if the anticipation caused them to stare, what must the reality have done ? The band and chorus, who were excited by the beauty of Handel's " Messiah" and Mendelssohn's " Elijah," were half an hour after wards splitting their sides with laughter at the antics of Figaro in the " Barber of Seville !" and, if this were not enough, there was Mr. Armstrong, who a short time be fore had sung the solo in " David"—" God is the King of all the Earth."— was pa i n f u ll y alive to the necessity of taking care of his toes, lest the volatile Figaro should, in the midst of his gyrations, tread upon them ! The ab surdity was too great : we could not settle down, after the first part was over, to listen with any patience to the efforts of Signors Montelli and Guido and Madlle. Sain ville on a platform, where half an hour before some of the most sacred of all our sacred pieces had been performed. How far the public may enjoy such olla podridas, we nei ther know nor care to enquire; but this may be safely asserted, that men of taste have not for a long time past had such an incongrous mixture of things sacred and pro fane presented to them. The associations which have been called up by this performance quite unfit us for criticising the second part, and we shall, therefore, merely make a remark or two on the first. The chorus consisted of but few members of the society, owing to the recent disputes being still unsettled. The deficiency was supplied, as far as possible, by strangers, who certainly did not give pro mise of great musical proficiency. The alto and tenors had only half the proper number on the orchestra, and the basses were very weak ; while the whole effect was marred by great coarseness in the execution. This was more observable in " For unto us," the running passages in which were very badly done. Yet this was the very chorus in which the Philharmonic Society excelled so much the last time they performed it. In "Thanks be to God," from " Elijah, too, the difference between the old chorus and the new was painfully observable. " God is the King" was pretty well done, the solo part being well performed by Mr. Armstrong. The brass instru ments, however, were badly managed, and they were out of tune a great part of the evening. The band performed the overture to " William Tell" admirably, and it was encored. The concert concluded with the National An them, which was badly sung by the chorus. They had no copies, and each singer was allowed to choose his own harmonies. MRS. FANNY KEMBLE'S FOURTH READING.—On Fri day evening, at the Philharmonic Hall, Mrs. Fanny Kemble read to a delighted audience Shakspeare's comedy of " A Midsummer Night's Dream ;" and that most sportive and imaginative of all the great playwright's works—fairy-like, yet identified with no elfin legend ; mythic, yet assimilating with no mythology—derived ad ditional beauty from the extraordinary rhetorical power which this talented lady brought into action in the charac teristic delivery of language displaying so great a diversity of feeling and sentiment as that contained in this singular drama. In the first scene, the timid, trembling, pleading voice of Hermia was admirably contrasted with the stern, though friendly tones of Theseus. And when, as in the concluding line of some of Byron's verses, she descended from the sublime, and enacted, con amore, the ludicrous scene between Quince, Bottom, Snout, and Co., the effect was electrifying —so much so, indeed. that we almost thought the scene was over-acted. It was like a giant condescending to be playful. The fine poetry which oc curs in the two first scenes of Act H. was delivered with precision and taste. The haughty reply of Titania, be ginning with the words " Set your heart at rest, The fairyland buys not the child of me"— was enunciated with more than fairy—with womanly dig nity. In the third scene, where Hermia awakes to find Lysander gone— " Lysander ! what remov'd ? Lysande,r! lord !" —the audience was thrilled with the extacy of her despair. And when, in the cross-purposes brought about by the mischievous Puck, Helena fancies herself the victim of a confederacy, which she suspects Hermia of having joined, her address to the companion of her childhood,--half sar casm, half regret —was given in a tone and manner power. fully indicative of the painful position in which Helena supposes herself to be placed. But anon Hermia winces under the supposition that she is flouted on account of her lowness of stature, and the passage concluding with the following lines— " How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;— How low am I ?—I am not yet so low, But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes." —was given with such right good will, that we almost thanked our stars we were not within reach of the offended lady. Another little passage, where Titania addresses Bottom— " Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy, And stick musk roses on thy sleek smooth head, And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy"- - - - produced considerable amusement from the inimitable spirit of tender cajolery in which the lines were delivered. The gem of the performance, indeed, was in the low comedy line, when Bottom awakes and finds the ass's head gone, and himself no longer attended by Messrs. Peas-blossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustard-seed. His astonishment when he finds his head no longer orna mented with such aural longitude, and his ineffectual at tempts to recollect what has taken place since he was enacting the " most fair Pyramus," were expressed with a mastery of intonation and countenance we never remem ber having seen surpassed. Mrs. Kemble retired at the conclusion of the reading amidst the applause of her gra tified auditors. CHURCH OF ENGLAND INFANT SCHOOLS, CORN NVALLIS-STREET.—The half-yearly examination of the Infant School, Cornwallis-street, was held on Friday evening last, in the school-room, which was densely filled in every part. The examination was conducted with great spirit by the talented and respected master of the school, Mr. William Clark, to the great satisfaction of all present. After the examination, a subscription was set on foot, among the parents and friends, and warmly taken up, with a view to present Mr. Clark with some testimonial, as a mark of respect for the zealous and efficient manner in which he has, for the last 13 years, discharged his duties. LECTURE ON ORANGEISM.—On Friday evening, the first of a course of lectures was delivered b y M r. H. i M'Leod, to a large audience n St. Simon's School-room, Bolton-street ; the subject was " Oran ge i sm — what it is : and the contrast which it forms to other secret societies." The Rev. J. T. Brien occupied the chai r , an d, i n a neat and eloquent address. introduced Mr. H. M'Leod to the meeting. The lecturer, who spok e f or nearly an hour and a half, was listened to with great attention, and received much applause. After the clos e o f th e proceedings, a vote of thanks was given to the Chaii:man for his able conduct in the chair, and the meeting separated. The second lec ture will take place on Friday evening next. ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. Letters addressed to the Editor should be accompanied by the real name and address of the writer, not for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith ; this is indispensably requisite in any statement of facts. The Editor wishes it to be understood that he does not hold himself responsible for the opinions or statements of his correspondents. SCHOOLS FOR THE POOR. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD: SIR,—I have before me the report just published of tile Medical Officer of Health for the Borough, Dr. Duncan; and I find, in reference to schools, that he says—" I am unable tO give the statistics of this inspection, which I propose shortly to renew." He, howe ver , s t a t es t h at h e " commenced an in spection of the schools connected with the various places of worship in the borough, with the view of ascertaining their arrangements for securing efficient ventilation—a point on which the health of the scholars so materially depends. In very few cases indeed did I find these arrangements satisfac tory, although in nearly all, the teachers, when questioned, seemed to be fully aware of the importance of the subject, some of them complaining of the injury to their own health, caused by the air of the room becoming vitiated after the. scholars had been some time assembled. Notwithstanding this, in some schools where no special provision for ventilation existed, I found the windows carefully closed. In such cases I gave the best advice in my power for the improvement of the ventilation, by window or chimney ventilators, shafts, Bw., or recommended that the architect of the schools should be consulted on the subject." Sir, when it is considered that many very of the public elementary schools in this locality, for the education of the poor, are most objectionably situated underneath churches, &c., some eight, t,n, and twelve feet below the earth, as the Government School Inspector expresses it, this statement by the Medical Officer must be regarded as hopeful by those who take an interest in the mitigation of human suffering, the promotion of the public health, the well being of society, and the g:od of the country at large. Let us hope that the promise hereby implied by the "Officerof Health for the Borough" may lead to a complete change in regard to school premises in each district at no distant day, so as tO afford scope for the physical as well as the moral, religious, and intellectual training of our infant and juvenile poor ; and may God prosper the work, is the sincere desire of yours, faithfully, JAMES GILLESPIE. Liverpool, 17th December, 1851. THE PORTERS AND THE HOLIDAYS. To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SlR,—Merry Christmas, with its festive enjoyments, is come once more in its annual round, bringing mirth and happiness to some, misery and want to o th ers. I wish to put in a plea for the poor, and in particular the porters of this town, who have had a long period of scarcity of employment, extending over nearly three months, and from my own knowledge there are hundreds whose average earnings have not amounted to ss. per week during that period. The Brokers have come to a resolu tion to suspend business for three days this week, the effect of which will he to throw out of work many men, creating for them a gloomy instead of a cheerful Christmas. Let me solicit those gentlemen, who to add to their comfort set aside busi ness. that they may enjoy themselves, not to forget their poor depend:ints, but see that they are paid, that they may also at; ford to rejoice. —I am, Sir, most respectfully yours, B. TO THE REV DR. CAHILL SIR,—As I understand that you preached a sermon yesterday morning, the subject of which, as publicly placarded, was " The Bible alone as interpreted by Private Judgment a False Rule of Christian Faith," and as. in your visit to England, some months a;o, you preached on the same subject and printed your sermon, a copy of which is now before me, some notice of your views on this important question will not, I hope, be considered unseasonable. In the second paragraph of your printed sermon or lecture you say, "a large section of your countrymen and mine (mean ing the Protestants of this country) say that the New Testa ment, interpreted by the private judgment of every individual in the world, is the sure, clear, decided, determined, infallible rule of faith." This, sir, is a most incorrect definition of the rule of faith received by Protestants. What their views really are on this subject, you could easily have ascertained by referring to their creeds and articles. But without producing one passage bear ing on this question from their own standards, you choose to attribute to them a doctrine which we must continue to believe all Protestants reject, till you furnish us with better proof than your own unsupported assertion. - Compare with your definition the very different definition in the Vlth Article of the Church of England: " Holy Scripture conteineth all things necessary to salvation ; SO that WHATSOEVER IS NOT RFAD THEREIN, NOR MAY BE PROVED THEREBY IS not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith," &c. It is not, then, as you would have your hearers believe, that every vagary and folly and delusion that any may fancy to be the Bible—it is not, 1 say, these opinions which constitute our rule of faith. F. , r otherwise. The Bible, God's own Word, in its true and proper meaning, this, this alone is our standard of faith and practice. And can you say that it is inconsistent with reverence for this Glorious "eing, or gratitude for His Revelation, to assign to His Word this office of guiding our life and regulating qur doctrine? Only apply the principle to some one of yout own creeds, which you have thought proper to apply to this Protestant doc trine, and see if it will give a correct representation of the doctrines of your own church. The creed of Pope Pius IVth contains a short summary of your faith. We are in the habit of controverting the doctrines of that creed understood in its true and proper meaning. But if we were to borrow a lesson from your Lecture, it is not this creed, in its legitimate accep tation, but this creed as interpreted, to use your own words, "by every doating dreaming old woman, and wild foolish man" in Ireland, or in Italy, or in Spain, which, according to your theory and language, would be the Sure, clear, decided, de ter m i ned, infallible rule of your faith." Are you willing to have your own principle applied to your own creed? I think not. But what are your arguments to prove that the Bible is net to be received as a Rule of Faith? Those who have not heard o read your Sermon will be sur prised to learn that not one single reference is made to the Bible itself to disprove our Protestant doctrine. Ah ? sir, this, to say the least, looks suspicious. It appears as though you feared an appeal to this blessed volume. And well you might. For there we read that ignorance of the Bible is the source of re ligious error, " YE DO ERR," says Christ, " NOT KNOWING THE SCRIPTURES."—Mat, xxii.29. We read that laymen are com mended for testing, by this standard, doctrines taught by apostles, "These were more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so."—Acts xvii. 11. Here is an example sanctioned by divine anthority, for the laymen of your church to imitate,—an example many of them in Ireland and elsewhere are not slow to follow in the present day ; and the result is what we should expect : thousands and tens of thousands are forsaking the accumulated and still accumulating errors of Romanism, to embrace the pure Scrip tural and apostolic faith of the Church of England. In the absence of Scripture proofs, you attempt to show that the Bible cannot be the rule of faith, because, as you tell us, "we find no less than 240 faiths in the world;". and Paul says there is one God, one faith." but let me ask where is that "one faith," of which the apostle speaks, to be found, if it be not contained in his own writings, and in the writings of prophets and apostles inspired like himself? Are we to forsake this "one faith" to adopt the novelties of your church ? Are we to worship the blessed virgin, to pray to saints and angels, to believe in purgatory. to have public prayers in a language not understood by the congrega tion, to refuse the cup to the people? Are we, I repeat, to accept all these novelties from Rome, for which there is no authority in S'cripture, or to adhere to the one ancient apostolic faith taught us in the inspired volume? Concerning the 239 false faiths to which you refer, you give us no information except something very scanty about three sects, viz., the Anabaptists of Germany, the Swedentorgians, and the followers of Joanna Southcote. The force of your argument, in connexion with this statement, I understand to be this :-Ist, That the numerous sects among Protestants prove that the true faith is not with them. 2ndly, That these sects originate in an indiscriminate perusal of the Scriptures. And, 3rdly, That the extravagances of those Protestants you name ought to deter every one from embracing or maintaining Protestantism. As a minister of the Church of England, I am only concerned to maintain the truth of her doctrines. I have no more to do with the errors of those named above than with the errors of the Romish Church. I equally renounce them all. And a man might, with equal reason, in which your theory would sustain him, reject Christianity because divisions exist among its pro fessors, as reject Protestantism because divisions exist among its professors. But a man's duty is precisely the same in both cases, to distinguish between truth and error by the aid of that Book which all professors of Christianity acknowledge to be divine, embracing the one and rejecting the other. But is it true that divisions are confined to the Protestant body ? Have you had no controversies in the Romish Church? You, at least, sir, are not ignorant of the protracted contro versies between the Thomists and the Scotists, the Dominicans and Franciscans, the Jansenists and the Jesuits, not to name the opposite decisions of Councils, and the fierce disputes be tween Popes and Popes. It is not the Bible but man's fallen nature which is the origin of divisions. And if these be not multiplied tenfold more than at present in your church, it is because you have appliances to silence them which neither Fcr;pture nor humanity will permit us to employ. The weapons cf our warfare are not the carnal' weapons of the Inquisition, the ack, or the fire. By these yon may suppress divisions and then boast of your unity. But you do not thus follow Christ, but the pattern of heathen Rome with her enemies, " Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant." But you endeavour to alarm men's fears against Protest autism by reciting some of the doctrines held by the German Anabaptists, which Luther condemned, and the whole Pro testant world with one voice reject. "They professed," you tell us, " to hold immediate communication with God, and to be commanded by him to kill all the wicked." We may indeed consistently repudiate this doctrine—we who follow the Bible, which says, " Thou shalt not kill," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbOur as thyse'f." But how, sir, can you condemn this doctrine without con demning your own Church, which prescribes in one of hel . oaths, Hcereticos, schismatlcos aut rebelles cidem Domin o nostro vel successoribu s prcedictis, pro posse persequar impugnaho.—" Heretics, schismatics, or rebels to our same Lord (the Pope) or his successors aforesaid, I will to the utmos t . of my power persecute an d a tt ac k . " Th e R om i s h bishops v",' swear this, or the priests who obey them, c annot fi n d ,1, fault with Carlostadt, and others, for teaching what they ha d so often learned in the schools of Rome. A nd as they may h to tb e have been, theyJoanna a are not to c h o t e , e and others, , to what ever o follies and absurdities abounding in the Histories of Romish Saints—Saints preaching to Fishes and t o B easts , an d convert ing them too—Saints sailing on their cl oa k s acr oss the seas Saints discerning holy souls by their smell: these, so u ,o, thousand other extravagances, are found in the Rom Church; ; not, as such follies are with us, rejected, re . discoun tenanced, repudiated,. but cherished, acknowledged, n not h l d o f R o nie responsibleis accountablefor an absurdity follieso r o t i s ceived. So that, while we of the Church of England ca she' for she withholds not her sanction from them ; and while. keeps God's Book from the people, and encourages her Irg es ters to disparage and depreciate this Holy Volume, sh e ' o ber her imprimatur to tales of folly enough to make the in the C be hu h rc e we gOuld that you might be led to examine these thin, light of Scripture, and then you would hold a different la g respecting this sacred Book.—Your obedient servant, TER.. St. Michael's, Dec. 22,1851. HENRY CARPbr 4. e r nature, membertbse; We are glad to find, by an advertisement in a N evi York paper, that the firm of Harnden and Co., have made an arrangement for the payment of th e sight draft?. and we have every reason to believe that they will be Ia a position to resume their general business as heretofore. FINE ARTS.—A splendid portrait of the Hungsri a° patriot, Kossuth, has been published in Lon don withi.ll the last few days in a lithographed form. The artisnatil!! ls Mr. Thomas Skaife, well-known in this town , a nd a of this county. The original drawing was exhibited tis the Guild-hall, on the evening of the Polish ball, as the portrait in which the committee had full confidence. represents the hero at the close of his reply to the depai tation with meek look, and arms folded on his bosom the bottom is a stiring quotation every way characteristic of the MD.