The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-11 00:00:00

MELANCHOLY A6IDENT.—We regret to state that an accident of a melancholy and serious character occurred to one of the Rev. Mr. M'Neile's sons on Thursday, which, wt sincerely hope, may not be attended with fatal consequences. It appears that the young gentleman, who is a fine lad of about 13 years, of age, was returning from the Park with Master Sothern and an acquaintance of Sothern's, nan,ea Ashton, to whom M'Neile had been introduced the same morning. Ashton had a pistol, and the three boys amused themselves firing with balls at birds. This they continued to do along the Park road. On reaching town, they went to the house of the Rev. Mr. Nolan, in Mill-street, and it was close to his hall door the accident occurred. The three boys were standing close to one another, and in high spirit s , While laughing heartily, Ashton bent forward, and the pistol, which he held in his hand, accidentally went off. The ball with which it was loaded entered M'Neile s right side, near the groin, and passed, as it is supposed, downwards into the t tigh. Sothern, in alarm, called Mr. Nolan, who immedi- M‘Neile in a coach to Mr. Bickersteth's, in hod e his wound was examined, and every at- Mr. Bickersteth took him to Roscommon- ney-street. The tention paid him. street in his own ca to his parents so far as well stand thnt the younggentiem; and heroic manner. He was n than se iron railing in one hand to the other to shake hand, mith Ashton cry, you would as soo❑ bCII us nic—irum heart I forgive you." Similar language was repeated by. bin to Ashton, who stooi by much distressed while Mr. Bicker steth was examining the wound. The alarming nature of the accident has, or course, much afflicted Mr. and Mrs. M`Neile. The sufferer was named Hugh after his father, and was, it is said, a peculiar favourite of the family. Nu merous inquiries after his state of health were made at the house in Roscommon-street yesterday, and the days prece dinz ; and we are happy to say the answer given last night was that he was better. ROYAL INSTITUTION.—The second takes place this evening. Mr. Wh:te expected to be extremely interesting. The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire Henry Potts, Esq., deputy clerk of thi Charles Potts, Esq., resigned. of the si re on mu s appointed Charles ace, in the room of STF.ALING CLOTH ES FROM A LIN a good looking but poorly dressed yc day, placed at the har on a charge c of wearing app are l. It appeared tl] Shaw had received some clothes f , etii Williams as, yester- various articit an named For -7eßt parties to wash, which 31 Potteries and an take them off and to fold them up 11, other woman was apprehended and was c n were nt alon mitted - for trial on Saturday. 'roe bit.... then made her escape, and was afterwa.,. Her case was also referred to a jury at the next quarter sessions. identified the prisoner, who found concealed THEFT FROM A DWELL OF AN INNOCENT PARTY BY Tl_ _ coarse-looking female, named Bridget day charged at the Police-cot Ellen M'Culloch said she 1 at, eet, with Mrs HOUSE:, AND ACCUSATION -A DELINQL ughes, was yester- ng a sovereign 5, Bat lington nt the prisone was. She was in the habit orputtirigl in her room, and on Friday missed mentioned it to the prisoner, who said have dots,sueli a thing—addinz. that ,ey in a drawer 'ould not saw young mistress — Come out of h er (witness's) room on the er T uesdhy before. The prisoner soon afterwards said that she was il' and would in find ..----.• • - to th house. u, _ prisoner, en that she had taken it, or the room. Finding the prisoner she insisted on searching her before she NN took off her clothes, but refuied to take off her 5t4,.. compelled, however, to unloose them, the sovereign, had been ingeniously concealed, dropped out. The prism when apprehended, admitted that she had taken it. 'l'l. prisoner was committed for trial,—Mr. ltushton . remarking, that but for the firmness of the young woman accused by her, she might have remained under the imputation of being the offender. It was, in fact, a scandalous case. FINE ARTS.--UNION GALLERY. —There are at present M`Cull accused 1 return by the ever been in lout to leave the house some fine specimens of art, masters, now exhibiting at the Union Gallery, The collection is small, but very choice. There art markably fine pictures by Egbert Hemskerk ; a magnificent Rubens." A Sea Storm, by Satvator Rosa, is a very rited picture. There is also a capital picture by A Carucci, entitled, " Christ's Charge to P - ^ Coast, by Wilson, is a very favouraP lish Claude. An Alonzo Can° ;. are also works by Cuyp, De Witt, and others. A very cu ous Sedan Chair, sweetly painted, is also exhibited. Th pannels are from the charming hand of Boucher,. and might be readily taken for Watteau. All these works -- fine. There is a group of statuary, which is st• have no reason to doubt the assertion—to b spired chisel of Michael Angelo. It is a representing the well-known story of Ptetu' noble conspirator is in the act of stabbic devoted wife, the life-blood streami sunk, exclaiming; " group alone is worth going mend our readers, who tat, pay this collection a visit. the modern and ancient Slater= well. worth notice .e very Ind we n the in- s work, a. The ;elf, while hi, from her, has just See, my I recom- the fine arts, to stay in Liverpool is limited OPERATIVE PROTESTANT MSOCIATION TEA PARTY AT THE MUSIC-HALL. OUR " CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRACY THE GOOD CAUSE lOn Friday evening our operative Prot, their annual tea party in the Music-Ila which occasion the room was crowded wit] happy faces of a goodly number of their wi to whom the tea and Christmas ance, and of excellent quality, and t proceedings tbrou ds held Ad-street, on cheerful and I daughters, nd gratifyir gilout, imparted un sfaction. The room was decorated very prettily v, the flags and banners of the assnri .eens, and with resented tram the platfor m a very p l easing and animating sce p ne. The chair was cccupied by the Rev. H. S. Joseph, who addressed the assembly its a long and appropriate speech, which was responded to with great applause. Several other gentlemen, amongst whom were Mr. Howard, Mr. Cri Mr. Green, Mr. Cleaves, &c. subsequently t _ proceedings, and were also well received; and the enthusi k part in the asm which w=is created when the recen tism in the council, upon the school que, to by the different speakers, afforded sa the strong feelings existent in the minds c servative democracy" of I verpool as to t triumph of conserra- was referred .ctory proof of loyal " con- e importance of Scriptural education for the children of _ We could only regret that one or two of the professing churchmen and conservatives in the council, who hate halted between principle and expediency upon this question, bad not been present to witness the sterling protestant integrity evidenced by their humbler fellow labourers, to whom they and the cause which they profess to advocate, owe so deep a debt of gratitude. ing classes To our " conservative democracy" we repeat—to the loyal protestant operatives of our town —the cause of good order and good government, national as well as municipal, owes everything ; and however loudly our "liberals" may sneer at and exclaim against such a proposition, AVE shall never cease to maintain, that by such spirit-stirring demonstrations as that which we witnessed on Friday, the growth of conserva tism, of protestantism, and of a sound and healthy social feeling, cementing together all classes of the community,— binding in one bond the throne, the altar, and the people—is most materially promoted. We know that the contempla tion of this spirit amongst the working classes of Liverpool is a sore grievance to the eyes of our opponents ; and we re joice at every opportunity which its display amongst our operative brethren affords us of holding it up to their view, and of contrasting the indissoluble bond of unity which con servative protestantism constitutes in the hearts of a people, by whom it is entertained, with the " rope of sand" which connects the ill-assorted materials of the levelling radical faction. Upon this subject we cannot resist quoting may appear out of place in such a notice as the pres,.. following remarks from an able article entitled " The State of the Nation, in the number of " The Church of England Quarterly," just published : " The labourers, mechanics, and artisans of this country, in their social character, are essentially conservative. We state this broadly and plainly. We do not say that, politically, they are either whig or tory. They are not so ; but, socially, they are conservative : they respect their employers • they love the church ; t h ey d esire the religious education of ' their children ; they are no levellers in their notions of property ; and are rarely deceived by the representations made to them of the advantages which would result from their becoming the masters, and their masters becoming their labourers. The mere possession of land, without capital to work it, is no utopia of theirs. They prefer the marriage state, and family life ; have a great love for their offspring ; a great attachment to their localities and local authorities • and, on the w h o l e , a feeling of respect and quiet submission for those whom God, in his providence, has placed in thi s wor ld a b ove them. " We a re well aware that the chartists and socialists can not be included in this number, especially the latter ; and we are likewise aware that many thousands of members of trades' unions profess subversive doctrines : but they are doctrines they would not fight for; they would fight for their hearths and their homes, poor though they be, but very few indeed would fight fo r th e c h arter; and even all these socialists, and chartists, and ultra-radicals combined, what are they in num ber when compared with the inert, though not less sincere, mass of the right-thinking poor ? " And it is just because there is this conservative social feeling amongst the working classes that we feel so strong an interest in their welfare. How different are their hearts to those of the French labouring people! or to the Belgian la b Th e ourers! or to the Spanish, or Portuguese, or Italian poor! English cottager, and even the mechanic, with all his desultory notions on some subj ects, i s sta i d and steady in his trad-h earth conservatism ; whereas in the countries to ch we have alluded, their social state is even more in jeo pardy than their political government." —although they It—the Lord Wharncliffe has---a W ounced his intention to re ti re from the chairtnanship of the est-riding sessions. TRIAL OF A Y OUNG LADY ON . A CHARGE OF FELONY. —At the Glocester Sessions on Friday the trial of Miss Allen, the daughter of the wealth lColonel Allen, well known in the county of Glocester, took Y in the Court-house. Miss Allen, on her name being e P a i a l e i l presented herself, attended by her mother and some tnaleeft! attired, but kept anxiety on her behalf. sh e Was t eds, who manifested great her face closely enveloped in a elegantlythickt!ra. pe veil. When called upon to plead she trembled violently rand would have fallen m e i. Ng s.humratccoofmtnhieodtuartend to the ground had she not received' key. The chairman ordered that she voice ,p thatlead pleaded "not ha.d, with a chair, and she then, in a feeble e guilty." The charge against the prisoneer on the 22d of November, gone into th e and druggist, named Joslin, in the Hi g h_chemist shot' of a answered and inquired if Mr. Joslin was in. returned,ii L street,beCheltenharn, in the neg&tive, she went away, but subsequenitl'; and asked liberty from the apprentice to sit down, prentice went up stairs, and took . his position near • 'e g 31). which was suspended from the ceiling, and upon ‘'vhiali-lass reflected all the things in the shop. Whilst so occupiedwhich w l a i s (the apprentice-boy) observed the prisoner go towards the counter, and take up a packet of perfume, and place it undere her cloak. Mr. Joslin shortly afterwards returned, who, when told by his apprentice of what had occurred, took th prisoner up stai rs sod c h arge d h er w ith the ro bb ery. she denied it at first, but upon Mr. Joslin's sending for a police man, the prisoner gave up the packet of perfume, reinarkin,, ,, that her head was so di stracte d t h at s h e did no t k now what she was doing. It wss contended on behalf of the prisoner that she was subject to fits of abstraction and weakness of intellect, and that she was not at all times mistress of her own actions. Medical and other testimony having been ad duced in support of this defence, the jury, after a short deli beration, returned a verdict of acquittal. I even r, said le pri- ,bund- LIVERPOOL INFIRMARY The annual meeting of the trustees and friends of the Li verpool Infirmary was held yesterday, in the board room of the institution, Brownlow-street, for the purpose of receiv ing a statement of the treasurer's accounts, the appointment of the annual officers, and the transaction of the usual busi ness appertaining to such a meeting. Not more than from twelve to fifteen gentlemen were present. Edward Gibbon, Esq., chairman of the committee, took the chair. The proceedings commenced with the offering of prayer, by the Rev. R. Davies, chaplain to the institution. Mr. E. W. JACKSON, the treasurer, read a short sum mary of the accounts for the year just terminated. The re ceipts consisted of £3053 17s. in subscriptions, in addition to which £lO are in arrear, making the total subscriptions £3093 17s. ; on account of the Lunatic Hospital, £llll 55., and on general account, £1954 Us 9d. The payments were for the Infirmary, £4275 14s. Id. ; the Asylum, £B6B 12s. 3d.; the Lock Hospital, £623 Os. lid., making £5767 7s. 3d., leaving a balance of £352 9s. 6d., of which £l3O 15s. 4d., had heen disbursed, leaving £221 14s. 2d. cssh in hand. The only sums he had to receive were the half-yearly divi dend of a London and Birmingham railway bond, £6O ; bones manure, &c., £2O ; and the arrears of subscriptions (men tioned above), 130 ; making the total cash in hand £3ll I4s. 2d. The sums to pay were, to the bank, £llB 13s. 7d. ; and the estimated bills were, to the Infirmary, £lOOO ; the Asylum, £270; and the Lock Hospital, £2lO ; making £159 13s. 7d. ; so that he estimated there would he owing to the bank on the Ist February next, the sum of £1331 19, 3d. (Hear, hear.) lie would next read a statement of the comparative receipt.; of 1840 and 1841 : 1 - .. '-' t 7 OcD CORRESPONDENCE, MR. M‘NEILE'S ANSWER DR. YOUENS SIR,—I have just received a copy of your " Remarks" on a speech of mine, delivered at a public meeting in this town on the 20th of December last. That speech was brief and supplemental, and I rejoice in the favourable opportunity afforded by your publication to call attention more extensively to the whole statement. In the speech on which yon comment, reference was made, as you remark, to an occasion when Live men (one Italian and four Irishmen) protested against the novelties of Roman.- ism, and conformed to the ancient Church Catholic in England. Also, reference was made to an address which I delivered on that occasion, and which I proposed partially to repeat, but only partially, as it had appeared in print only three days before. It was reported with substantial, though not exactly with verbal, accuracy, in the Liverpool Standard of the 17th of December. It refers, at the outset, to an important dis tinction, carefully kept in view to the end. It is thus re ported : " In offering an historical statement, a distinction must be borne in mind from the very outset, from the want of which, as appears to me, much confusion hangs apon the supposed history of this great question The distinction I refer to is between the history of the public authura• tati re documents of the church, and the history of individuals leach ing in the church." This distinction is of the utmost moment. The error of an individual as such, whether priest or layman, is not fairly chargeable upon the church to which that individual belongs, particularly if the recognised standards of his church be wholly free from such error. But when the error is adopted by authority, and by authority imposed upon others, as necessary to their salvation ; then it may, I , should railer say it must, in all fairness, be regarded as part of the system. Errors of a very flagrant description arose among members of the Christian church, and were propagated with much zeal, even in the apostles' days; but the church, as a body, was not chargeable with those errors. The inspired apostles reproved them, and condemned the false teachers of them as " deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apos tles of Christ; and no marvel," adds St. Paul, " for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness ; whose end shall be according to their works." (2 Cor. xi. 13-15.) Having made this distinction, I proceed as reported thus:— " I invite your attention first to a very brief sketch of the history o the public authoritative documents of the church. This will throw light upon the question of antiquity which is so much discussed. The basis of all Christian faith we believe to be the holy scriptures ; but I must advance from that at once, in the present instance, to consider the authorised documents of the primitive church. These are in number, three ; they are brief, they are explicit—the Apostles creed, the Nicene creed, and the Athanasian creed. The date of the apostles creed is not known; it is found to have existed from a very early period. The date of the Nicene creed is from the council of Nice, in the year 321 ; and until then there does not, appear to have been any public authoritative Catholic document except the apostle's creed. The date of the Athanasian creed is nearly the same _as that of the Nicene creed. These three compose the faith, the saving faith, of the Christian church ; they contain the " trinity in unity, the unity in trinity, neither con founding the persons nor dividing the substance;" they contain the in. carnation, the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; the person and agency in the prophets, as well as in the Christian church, of the Holy Ghost; the existence of a body distinguishable from all bodies, and called by the frame of the church ; the communion existing among the members of that church; the•fact of forgiveness of sins in that church ; the belief of the resurrec tion of the flesh ; and the anticipation of eternal life after death. This was the Catholic faith. Observe, I am not now speaking of the opini ons that individuals held. The distinction I made atthe outset keeps, or is intended to keep, those out of sight for the present. I sp€ak of the public authoritative Catholic documents of the church— they were these three, and none other. These three were received by public assemblies of the church AS containing the faith. The second general council was held atConstantinople in the year 381 ; and these three creeds, or rather the Nicene creed, as it is comprehensive and sufficient, were received by that council as the faith of the church. The third general council was held at Ephesus in the year 431. In this council the decision of the church as an aggregate body went still fur ther. It not only recommended the Nicene creed as the faith of the Christian church, but it rejected all attempts at substituting anything else, or adding anything to it. The decree of the council of Nice con- cerning the faith of the church at that time is most impot taut. It is transcribed in this pamphlet, and I will read it. Having read it, be continued—Murk the determination of this holy synod, that if any person should propose, should offer, should profess auy other form of creed than that which was agreed upon by the council of Nice, the persons so doing, if they a ere clergy, should be degraded, and if they were laymen, should be anathematised. So stood the faith of the Christian church to the year 431 ; the Nicene creed, and the Nicene creed alone, was the recognised symbol of the Catholic faith The decree of this council seemed to set the matter at rest for many centuries. No attempt was made for centuries to interfere with, to add to, or diminish from, the Nicene creed. When the coun cil of Trent met in the sixteenth century, they, too, recognised the Nicene creed as the faith of the church. During all their sittings, whatever matters they may have discussed, they recognised the Nicene creed as the Catholic faith. It was not till thy conclusion of the sittings of that council that any other form of faith was proposed; no one had dared to do it; the decree of the council of Ephesus was against it; and until the close of the sittings of the council of Trent, no one prestimed to do it. Who, then, was it that had first presumed to do it Who was it that first propounded another form of faith, to be received as Catholic faith without which no one should be saved ? It was not a layman, it was not a common clergyman, it was not merely a bishop, nor even a cardinal only—it was a Pope himself! Pope Pius IV., who was the reigning pontiff at the time the council of Trent closed their sitting, commanded, (and they yeilded,) to add, as the Catholic faith, a uew, a totally new creed, consisting of twelve articles which, whatever individuals may:have said about them, had never till that hour been propounded as the Catholic faith. Till that time the Nicene creed, with its companions the Apostles' creed and the Athanasian creed, were fhe only authenticated Catholic documents of the church. Now my brethren, with this brief sketch of history as regards the public documents of the church, look at our present position. For the last 300 years there has been the old creed and the new creed. The old one originating with the apostles, confirmed at Nice, guarded at Ephesus, continued for centuries till Trent—and continued till now. We hold the old creed still— open your prayer-books and there you have it—the Apostles creed, the Nicene creed, the Athanasian creed — and we utterly reject, in compliance with the decree of the Council of Ephesus, any attempt to propound a new creed different from that which was approved by the Council of is ice. Along with this for the last 300 years, thers is a new creed, the creed of Pope Pius IV. Our creed was 1500 years old before his creed was propounded. The members of the Romish church adhere to his creed, and they are contending for a creed which is but 300 years old as a public document. We protest against it as au innovation upon the ancient apostolical creed, and we have stood in au attitude of protesting for the last 300 years—protesting against novelties, protesting against innovations. Now as regards the public documents of the church, the authorized, the authoritative, Catholic documents, this sketch of history is undeniable ; and see where it places us now; see where it places our friends who have just renounced it. It will be a consolation to them if they understand it; it will be a consolation to them to know that they are not forsaking Catholic antiquity, to know that they are not giving up the old faith, that they are in no wise giving up the old creed When they take the Church of England prayer-book in their hands, they will find the true Catholic faith. They have professed faith before you all in the Apostle's creed. They will find also the Nicene creed, and indeed all that the church ruled as her faith for fifteen huudred years. They will not find the creed of Pope Pius IV. there: they will not find that. What is it, then, that they are leaving behind them? They are leaving behind them the novelies of the sixteenth century, and they are cleaving afresh to the antiquities of apostolic truth. lam persuaded that this will be a satisfaction to their hearts, and I hope it will throw light upon the subject, in this general view of it, to all your minds. With regard to this view I must say to them in the langnage of Jeremiah of old — "Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for you souls." Here I must supply what the reporter omitted, and tran scribe the decree of the Council of Ephesus : " These things having been rend, the holy synod decreed, that it should be lawful for no one to profess, to write, or to compose any other form of faith than that defined by the holy fathers, who, with the Holy Ghost, had been assembled at Nice. " But those who shall dare to compose, or to profess, or to offer, any other form of faith to those wishing to be converted to the acknowledg ment of the truth, whether from Paganism or from Judaism, or from any sort of heresy ; that these if they were bishops or clergymen, that the bishops should be deposed from their episcopacy, and the clergy from their clerical office ; but that if they were laymen, they should be sub jected to an anath ema ." M ans i. V o l. iii. p. 1362. In this decree, neither the Apostle's Creed nor the Atha nasian Creed are referred to. The creed defined by the holy fathers assembled at Nice was comprehensive of all. The Athanasian Creed, though more amplified, in a strain of scholastic controversy excluding and condemning all forms of heresy, yet contains no truth but what is distinctly stated in the Nicene Creed. Our readers will observe that the Council of Ephesus re cognise the Nicene Creed as defined by the holy fathers as sembled at Nice, and limit the authorised standard of the Catholic Christian faith to this symbol. This is perfectly intelligible, whatever brief additions may have been made to it at a period subsequent to the Nicene assembly. As we have it now, it was recognised as the Catholic faith, and sufficient to express the same, by the Council of Ephe sus. This you do not deny. You say that " in the third general council, which was held at Ephesus in 431, prohibiting any other profession of faith to be required from converts in future, except the Nicene Creed, as amplified of course by the previous Council of Constantinople." Re marks, c., p. 13. Here you state an important truth, in which I am happy to observe you entirely agree with me, viz., that the Council of Ephesus prohibited the profession of any other faith to be required from converts in future, except the Nicene Creed. Against this prohibition, Pope Pius IV., and all of you who agree with him, have very flagrantly transgressed : fir he introduced, and you all require, as necessary to salvat in, a profession of faith, containing a quantity of new matter, never once alluded to by the holy fathers assembled at Nice. Even the Council of Trent resisted the innovation, but, by a subtle contrivance, the Pope carried it. _ _ This new matter contains what we take the liberty of call ing the novelties of Romanism, as contrasted with the ancient creed of the Catholic Christian Church. This new matter is the cause of all our controversy. For the information of such of our readers as are not in the habit of studying this subject, I shall here transcribe this new matter;— ' t zc ^ • • OOtz MefD W. • • • • • • • g I • . . OCZ:DC• I• t. ' O "" -a4 - C. r • g-4 0 47,1 o 4.7 ',-, g:l4 cn It would be observed, that the greatest_ deficiency was in the donation but at the same time it should be stated, that those for 1840 included the portion of " The Queen's Mar riage Fund" allotted to the Infirmary. After a very brief discussion_,_ a motion was proposed by Mr. REAM:, seconded by Mr. HOUGHTON, that the accounts do pass, and it was carried unanimously. The other resolutions were afterwards carried unanimously, but being altogether of a formal and routine character, it is unnecessary to specify them. William Brown, Esq., of Richmond-hill, was elected president for the ensuing year. Some conversation took place on the necessity of obtaining increased subscriptions in order to maintain the efficiency of the charity, and it was understood that the committee would press this subject on public attention. The meeting then separated, the proceedings not having oceupied more than half an hour. LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER AND MANCHES TER AND LEEDS RAILWAYS. Our contemporary, the Railway Times, in replying to a few remarks which we offered, on Tuesday last, upon the subject of the proposed junction line between the above rail ways, infers what we really cannot allow him to do, that the article in our columns must have emanated from " a partizan" deep in the secrets of the Liverpool and Manchester board. We can assure the Railway Times, that in any opinion which we have at any time offered upon the comparative merits of of railway undertakings, our motives have been equally pure as Lis own, and our mind perfectly unbiassed • and If, on this question, we could see, in the conduct of the Liverpool board, any leaning to individual interests, as opposed to the interests of the shareholders at large, or the convenience of the public, we should be as ready to denounce such a leaning as our con temporary himself. We cannot, however, we must confess, discover any such unworthy spirit in the conduct of the directors of the Liver pool line, in resisting the attempt of the Leeds and Manches ter directors to hurry them into the formation of the proposed junction between the two railways. On the contrary, we are, on a more mature consideration of all the circumstances of the case, even strengthened in our conviction that the Liver pool and Manchester board have a perfect right to pause be fore adopting the views of the Leeds Company, and with three railways, each seeking, a communication with them through the town of Manchester—and that communication necessarily a somewhat expensive one—to give their sanction to such a scheme as would satisfy at once all interests, rather than to enter upon the formation of a separate junction with the Leeds line, leaving two other important lines entirely un provided for. We can see nothing either very reprehensible, on the part of the Liverpool board, in wishing to postpone any present steps -in the matter, even supposing —(and it is a mere supposition)—that they are convinced of the superiority of any particular scheme. It is quite possible, as we remarked in a previous article upon this subject, that circumstances may develope themselves, during th e present session of parliament, which will force upon the mind of every prudent man the conviction that the formation of a junction line through Manchester, so expensive as either of the competing schemes, is very inex pedient ; and independent of this consideration, the present position of commercial and monetary interests, and of rail way interests as well, is quite sufficient ground for unwilling- ness to embark in new undertakings not urgently required. We did not, whilst alluding to the "unfair spirit" mani fested by the Leeds company at their recent meeting, or when expressing our confident expectation that the Liverpool board could not be turned from their course by the paper pellets directed against them by their " detractors," include our contemporary amongst the number. And yet on the principle that a journalist is in some measure responsible for the statements of his correspondents, any one, not so well acquainted as we are with our contemporary's general fair ness in " hearing both sides," might almost have done so. For weeks past his columns have teemed with the contribu tions of the Manchester and Leeds gentlemen, impugning the motives of the Liverpool board in no very measured terms, and decrying the merits of other undertakings, in par ticular of that much vilified one, which is the especial object of their jealousy (the line between Manchester and Sheffield), and which for the last five years their scribblers have been sedulously endeavouring to write down ; and coupling with these attacks the total omission, (for which our contempo rary offers a very lame excuse,) of the claim of that under. taking to be considered in the settlement of this question of a junction line, we are convinced that we were fully justified in charging them with both " selfishness" and "unfairness." But pass we to the main point in dispute ; the question as to the relative advantages of the two competing schemes, for after all, that question is the most important one to be settled. The Standard, our contemporary, says, " Asserts, but does not prove that the other junction line" (the line to connect the Liverpool with the Birmingham and the Sheffield line) " would be more advantageous and less expensive than that to Hunt's Bank. We should be glad if this could be satisfactorily made out, for in that case we should urge the Liverpool directors and all concerned to give it the prier ence. Our reply to this passage shall be very brief. In the first instance, we did not say that the line to join the Liver pool with the Manchester and Birmingham and Manchester anal Sheffield could be made for less than that to Hunt's Bank. We said that it had been estimated at and could be made for one-third the cost (£650,000) put down for it by the speakers at the Manchester and Leeds meeting ; and is it be the case that the estimated cost of the line to Hunt's Bank is £450,000, then, of course, we may in substance have made the assertion which is here attributed to us. We have no great confidence, however, in exparte estimates, or indeed in estimates of any kind. It is not, however, a dozen years ago since we saw a plan and estimate of a line of railway over this very part of Manchester, commencing from the Liver pool line at Oldfield-lane and terminating at Sheffield—a route of 44 or 46 miles, and comprising eight miles of tun nelling—the cost of which was stated at, if we remember right, the very same sum of £650,000, by no less celebrated an engineer than Mr. George Stevenson, the projector of the Leeds line ; and we cannot think that such great improve ment has been made in the art of spending money upon railway works that two miles of railway now will cost as much as 46 miles, including the same two miles, would have cost ten or twelve years ago ! This estimate, it is true, may be too absurd to be noticed ; and so may be, and so is, the estimate which the Leeds gentlemen would palm upon us. The same line has, however, been surveyed at a more recent date by more than one eminent engineer; and we are much mistaken (and we can be corrected if we are) if the estimate of any of them exceeded £250,000! Our contemporary can readily satisfy himself, if he possesses the inclination, by an application to the parties in Manchester, one of them a com pany proposing to make the line in question, for whom these surveys were made. If we mistake not, some information upon the subject will be found by a reference to the early numbers of his own publication. With respect to the comparative advantages to the Liver pool company of the two connecting lines, we presume that company is very competent to judge for itself. We have no wish to undervalue the importance of a connection with the Leeds line, and do not think that that line ought to be with out a junction with Liverpool ; at the same time we are as little disposed to overlook the advantage of a connection with the important towns upon the other two lines, some of which —and we allude to Sheffield in particular—do not possess already the advantage of water communication with Liver pool. On these grounds we do not wish to see a decision upon the line to be adopted hurriedly arrived at; and would suggest, that it would be infinitely better that all the compa nies should consent to abate a portion of their preset de mands, and seek a line of which all might partake the ad vantage. _ In Conclusion, we should be very happy if we could on all occasions copy entire any remarks of our contemporary addressed to us. We believe, however, that he will not suffer greatly by the omission, his journal being generally read by those of our townsmen who are interested in any subject likely to be discussed between us. A recent grant of the House of Commons placed at the disposal of the government a sum of money to be appropri ated in aid of the formation of public works in the vicinity of large towns. It is a condition that the town or corpora tion thereof should contribute land of the value of an equal sum of money to that granted. DEATH OF WALTER HENRY WATTS, ESQ.—This gentle man died on Tuesday last, aged 64, after many mouths of severe illness and painful suffering, which h e en d ure d w ith heroic patience. Mr. Watts was the son of Capt. Watts, of the royal navy; and from his earliest youth devoted himself to the congenial exercise of the pencil and the pen. Mr. Watts was very many years a reporter of the debates in parliament for the press, a nd in the disch arge o f th e d u ti es thus imposed upo n hi m h e has not been surpassed, and seldom equalled. He was one of the most zealous founders of the institution for the benefit of newspaper writers, and always took an earnest interest in its prosperous establishment. Mr. Watts was no less appreciated as an artist and a writer on art ; and was also the author and editor, for a considerable time, of the Annual Obituary, published by Messrs. Long man and Co.- and of the Political Memento, a curious se lection o f stri k ing passages from par li amentary speeches. or more than twenty years Mr. Watts wrote the moat con siderable portion of the criticisms on the fine arts in the Liter ary Gazette. —Lite r a r y Gazette. 1w -- ; 1 , i , co = r.. CX) MCI C+.l ~...0 1 , c ; it-- cn v 1 ~L cc c 4 ,57.4., icy 0" CO CD 01 •-• I Ce ? c-. g.O CREED OF POPE Plus IV " 1. I most steadfastly admit and embrace apostolical and ecclesias tical traditions, and all other observances and constitutions of the same church. " 11. I also admit the Holy Scripture, according to that sense which our holy Mother, the Church, has held and does hold, to which it be longs, to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the scriptures: neither will I ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the fathers. " 111. I also profess, that there are truly and properly seven sacra ments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and neces sary fur the salvation of mankind, though not all for every title ; to wit, baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders and matrimony, and that they confer grace; and that of these, baptism, confirmation, and orders connot be reiterated without sacrilege: and I also receive and admit the received and approved ceremonies of the Catholic church, used in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid sacraments. " • - - - " IN. I embrace and receive all and every one of the things which have been defined and declared in the Holy Council of Trent, concern ing original sin and justification. " V. I profess, likewise, that in the mass there is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead ; and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; which conversion the Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation. I also confess that under either kind alone, Christ is received whole and entire, and a true sacrament. " VI. I constantly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls therein detained, are helpekl by the suffrages of the faithful. " VII. Likewise, that the saints, reigning together with Christ, are to be honoured and invocated ; and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be held in veneration. " 4 VIII. I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, of the Mother of God, ever virgin, and also of other saints, may be had and retained; and that due honour and veneration are to be given them. " IX. I also affirm that the power of indurgences;;;:left by Christ in the church, and that the use of them is most wholesome to Christian people. X. I acknowledge the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman church for the Mother and Mistress of all churches; and promise true obedi ence to the Bishop of Rome, successor to St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and vicar of Jesus Christ. " XI. I likewise undoubtedly receive and profess all other things delivered, defined and declared by the sacred canons and general councils, and particularly by the Holy Council of Trent; and I con demn, reject, and anathematise all things contrary thereto, and all heresies which the church has condemned, rejected, and anathematised. " XII. I, N. N. do, at this present, freely profess and sincerely hold this true Catholic faith, WPTHO UT WHICH NO MAN CAN BE SAVED ; and I promise most constantly to retain and confess the same entire and inviolate, with God's assistance, to the end of my life." Here are the novelties, and, I must take the liberty to add, the heresies of Romanism, to none of which is th ere th e slightest allusion in the Nicene creed. if these be Chris tianity, the holy fathers assembled at Ephesus were blind indeed. If on the other hand, those fathers were enlightened and competent judges, then this profession of your faith forms no part of the Christian religion. 'You must relinquish one or other, either this profession of faith, or all claim to an tiquity—utrum_horum movie accipe. ---• • _ . You say, " It was intended that this profession of faith should be subscribed by persons about to be promoted to ecclesiastieal dignities, and by converts, on their reception into the church. In England, however. little use is made of it, except by Protestant controversialists."—Remarks, 4^c., p. 14. Is this so? Why, Sir, are not you, and all the Romish priests in England, continually making use of it, in all your teachings and preachings ? Is it not made use of in all your catechisms ? Is it not made use of in the notes to the Douay Bible ? Is it not required to be subscribed " by converts on their reception into the church," in direct and systematic violation of the decree of the Council of Ephesus, which, as you say yourself, prohibited auy other profession of faith to be required from converts in future, except the Nicene Creed ? Yes, Sir, it is so used, and while it is so continued, those who obtrude it, in defiance of both Scripture and antiquity, are justly responsible for all the controversy, agitation, and collision, inevitably consequent 'thereupon. If you would retrace your steps, renouncing the new matter defined and required by Pope Pius IV. • and abiding by the ancient veri ties defined by the holy fathers assembled at Nice, our con troversy would be at an end ; or at least reduced to matters so comparatively non-essential, that the liberal forbearance you advocate might be exercised without incurring the charge of indifference towards the fundamental truths of the Revela tion of God. As it now stands, the whole truth is at stake ; and although I love peace and quietness and good will as much as any man, and am cordially ci.sirous to obey the Apostle, and " if it be possible live peaceably with all men ;" yet I must candidly confess that I do not see how any man can in this great mat ter practice forbearance without betraying indifference, nei ther can I see bow indifference in this great matter can exist, except where, after all, infidelity is the real root of the man's character. This I say because the additions of Pope Pius IV. are not merely additions, leasing the ancient faith, so far as it goes, to be received in its original integrity : but the additions are so constructed, as substantially both in doctrine and practice, to supersede the ancient faith, and introduce a system which wears the outward appearance at least of an idolatry in w)r ship distressing to every Christian heart which is tenderly alive to the honour and glory of the true God. I now revert to my discourse, as reported in continuation, in the newspaper. The rev. gentleman having addressed some appropriate exhortations to the converts, in most affectionate language, then entered upon the consideration of the history of individual teaching in the church, from which he had before distinguished the history of its public authoritative Catholic documents. Of this part of his discourse a short summary will best suit the state of our columns. The first teachers of the Christian church had themselves been either JeWs or pupils in some school of heathen philosophy: they had been either Jews or Platonists or Pythagoreans. When these men were converted, they were not inspired as the apostles were, and therefore it is but fair• to look upon and judge them according to the common principles of human nature. The prejudices of education are strong; they cleave to men's minds; and it was difficult for even a converted man, honestly so, to shake off the early prejudices of his education. We can understand very well how these early teachers iu the Christian church might be orthodox in sentiment, and that when cool and calm they sat down to construct a creed, they should construct an orthodox creed—as that of Nice; but we can also understand very well 'that the same men, when warmed in their subject in teaching, excited in their studies with the pen in their hind, and writing at large, or still more excited' in their pulpits when speaking to the people, would draw upon the stores of their early education: nay, we Cannot understand how •they could avoid it. It was miraculous buw the .apostles themselves avoided Judaising; indeed, it is a proof of their inspiration; for they were educated as Jews, yet, from the moment the Holy Ghost descended upon them, there was no Judaising in their teachings. Not so was it with the men who were uninspired; the effects of early education broke out in them; and they engrafted the remnants of Platonism and Pythagorism and Judaism upon the doctrines of the gospel of Christ. Hence, the worshipping of angels—which Paul cautioned the Colossians against, or demi .gods—which made part of the Platonic philosophy. Iso with regard to the Pythagorean philosophy. An important feature in Py thagorism was celibacy, another was abstinence from certain meats, another keeping the secrets of their profession—the arcane—from the public, and practising reserve in the communication of their sacred knowledge. We see the elements of Popery in the Pythagorean philosophy. Here was the commencement of the individuals false teaching in the church: but for 1500 years they did not go so far as to affect the public authoritative documents which were to bind the church catholic. These errors were found among some individuals: other individuals opposed them : there were controversies going oil. Many of these errors were embraced and preached by the celebrated men whom we called the fathers of the church, to whom we were now referr ed for the true view of Christianity, and invited to receive all that they said. . Now bow should we distinguish between what they said after Christ, and what -they said after Pythagoras or Plato? How should we determine but by comparing it with what Christ and the apostles said? But you do not approve of appealing to the holy scriptures, and seem to think that as " the minister of every dissenting denomination thinks his peculiar opinions are the doctrines of the Bible," (Remarks, &c., p. 6,) therefore all such ap= peals must be useless. This part of your pamphlet is liberal —according to the present fashionable acceptance of that word. It is a bait skilfully prepared for the unwary •, and coming from a papal priest, (you must excuse me when I say, without meaning anything personal,) it reminds me of the latitude secured to the disciples of Cardinal Allen in their pledge of allegiance to the See of Rome.* Whatever tends to shake confidence in the holy scriptures, tends ultimately to the extension of the Romish system. To acquiesce in your view of an appeal to the Bible would be practically to neutralize altogether the certainty and efficacy of divine revelation, and so give ourselves up to the mercy of man's teaching. It would be to set sail without chart, or compass, and after being tossed to and fro for a while by every wind of doctrine, at last either to be shipwrecked and perish in open infidelity ; or, in the desperation occasioned by protracted uncertainty, to rush reckless into the arms of the great pirate, and be water-logged and enslaved in the dead sea of the assumed infallibility of the papacy. But he who indeed believeth the scriptures " shall not make haste." He is taught by the Spirit of God •, and his confi dence in the word of God is not a mere peradventure, to be shaken by the subtleties of man's argumentation. The gospel has come to him, "not in word only but in pdwer, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance."—Thess. i., 4. True, he cannot convey his convictions to another. He knows this well. Such convictions are not conveyable by man. They are of God, and of God only. No man can have them but he who is born not of blood (by hereditary descent) nor of the will of the flesh, (by any exercise of his own carnal mind,) nor of the will of man, (by any effort of his parent, or pastor, or friend,) but of God.' "—St. John, i. 12,13. " It is written in the Prophets," said our Saviour, " They shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that bath heard, and bath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." — St. John, vi., 45. . This you will call enthusiasm, and under the plea that every one may appeal to the Bible for his opinions, you will continue to insinuate that no one can appeal to it with certainty, i. e., that the Bible is useless. But sir, christian men are not so easily deceived. We know better, and are not at all staggered (nay rather we are confirmed) by the reception which spiritual truth meets with in the world. We know that " the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolish ness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually (and not otherwise) discerned."-1 Cot. ii., 14. But you appeal to ni‘mbers as a test. or religious troth. You say " If, indeed, my arguments appear conclusive to the generality of mankind, this affords a strdug presumption of the truth of .my opinions. If, on the other hand, I have argued with many, and convinced few, the presumption lies the other way." Remarks, &'c•, p. B. I venture to affirm in r e ply, that the principle here laid down, tho' sound generally in things pertaining to natural reason, and the affairs of this life, is unsound in religion : and I do so, because HE who iS THE TRUTH says, " wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strai g ht i s the gate, and narrow is the way that leaded' into life, and few there be that find it." St. Matthew, vii. 13 and 14. In the light of this awful truth, to glory in being in the majority in Christendom is an unenviable boast. You write like an Unitarian who denies the fall of man, and therefore argues as if man's mind were naturally inclined to truth instead of being as the Apostle St. Paul declares it to be, "enmity against God," the fountain of all truth. Rom. viii. i. According to your argument, the presumption as you ex press it, (for your liberality ! is so great sou seem incapable of rising into any certainty,) the presumption is that our Sa viour himself did not advocate truth, for certainly he argued with many and convinced few. Romanian], ou the con trary, argues with few, and yet convinces many. Her en ticements, like those of the harlot, are numerous, vhried, and most convincing to the flesh, while attempts at argu ment serve but to raise impediments in the way of her full indulgence. . On the subject of majorities in religion, Dr. Arlin has well remarked—" Is not universality , or wide extent, a mark of true religion ? Not at all. Truth is truth, and error is error, whether the multitude think so or not. Numbers are a mere accidental circumstance which determines nothing in point of reason. How long, I pray, have men been so pious, and judicious, that the majority must be decisive of right or wrong ? Idolatry, absurd as it was, once overspread the face of the earth. Let not the Church of Rome boast of her supe rior numbers. If true religion were confined to one king dom, to one tribe, to one family, to eight persons, as it was in Noah's ark, it would still be what it is." When we repeat our question, concerning the early wri ters, or fathers as they are called, of the Christian church, how are we to distinguish between what they said after Christ and what they said after the Jewish Rabbis, or after Plato, or Pythagoras ? Some of the defenders of your faith, equally repugnant with yourself to our appeal to Scripture, and not willing to expose the hollowness of their argument by an appeal to modern majorities ; have recourse to ancient majorities under the imposing title of " Catholic consent." They grant that no individual among the fathers is entitled to our entire deference ; but that whatever has their universal consent is so. To this I answer first, that taken absolutely, no such thing as universal consent, in any great truth of Christianity, ever existed —no, not in the Trinity, for there were Arians in opi nion, though not in name, from the beginning, and Arius himself was a distinguished father and bishop of the church. But, secondly, I answer that, taken relatively, a general (though not a catholic) consent may be pleaded, and we are willing to appeal to it. Upon the only documents concern ing which such consent existed, we have no controversy. It existed concerning the Nicene creed, and we receive the Ni cene creed. Upon other points they differed one from ano ther. Many errors were taught: many individuals went astray; and there was much controversy. But the Nicene creed, as comprehensive and inclusive of the truth stated in the apostles' creed, and the creed of St. Athanasius ; the Ni cene creed as defined by the holy fathers assembled at Nice; the Nicene creed as we have it, was the only catholic docu ment, and therefore to this alone could there be any recog nised catholic consent. 'We challenge Rome or Oxford, with all their learning, to produce catholic consent for any one of the points now in controversy between us. When the new creed of Pope Pius IV. was promulgated (new as a general creed of the church, though hot new as to many of its falsehoods, held by particular individuals), it was so constructed with a view to embrace existing profitable falsehoods, that the teachers of Judaism and Paganism, un der Christian names, could adhere to it. It was natural to the corrupt heart of man ; and the old creed, in its Christian simplicity, was not natural. The old creed could not be cordially received but by divine grace. It ,was as the strait gate opening on the n arrow wa y, an d comparatively few could find it. The new creed, flattering and sup ers titi on o f f a ll en man, the pride, self-righteousness, was readily received by thousands, or rather recognised as a catholic creed by thousands who had already, as individuals, imbibed its special poisons. It was as the wide gate, opening on the broad road that leadeth to destruction. The apostacy became general, though never absolutely uni versal. God never left himself without witnesses; hearts that clave to the primitive truth ; and tongues that protested against the innovating falsehoods. Here is my answer to another of your obje c tio ns . " B u t, waiving all argument," you exclaim, " does Mr. M'Neile really believe what he states to be a fact, viz., that all had been Protestants from the beginning of Christianity up to the year 1500, and that, at or ab ou t th a t per i o d, C a th o li c it y , which he calls Romanism, appeared in the world for the first time ?"—.Remarks, S7c., p. 16. I made no such statement as yo u he re i m p u t e t o me . I spoke of public authoritative documents, not of individuals. Speaking of individuals, I said, and say again, that Catholic truth and Romish errors (errors no t at fi rs t R om i s h i n name , but such as, originating in perverted Judaism and the various schools of heathen philosophy, were eventually adopted, sys tematised, and enforced by Rome, a n d a re no w h es t an d mos t readily understood by the title Romish errors), Catholic truth and such errors existed from the beginning; but Catholic truth wns not thrown into an attitude of protest, properly so called, until Romish errors were proclaimed and imposed by authority. The individuals who resisted and endeavoured to remove such errors previously, were Reformers; but could not with strict propriety be called Protesters. The church in England reformed itself, throwin g off t i e R om i s h errors , and proclaiming by authority the sufficiency of the ancient faith for the salvation of every man who in heart embraces it. Here again I find myself anticipating an answer to another , of your queries. You ask , How can he (Mr. M`Neile) con strain his conscience to subscribe to the thirty-nine articles, which, to all intents and purposes, are a creed to him, and a creed to which he is most stringe n tly b oun d ? Wh at answer would he maim to a dissenter, who, sub s tit u ti ng th e A t h anas i an creed, or the thirty - ni ne articles, for the creed of Pope Pius, should urge his own argument against him, almost in his own words ?" Remarks, 8 . 4 C., P. My answer concerning the thirty-nine articles is this. I am not required to subscribe them as a creed, without the belief * According to Strype's account, the Pupils in the College of Douay, were permitted, in case of persecution, or otherwise, to pretext to be heretically disposed. Or otherwise! This phrassgiree tolerable latitude, e sia b rac i ng a season Like the present, [dam It is Politic in Popery, to appear tolerant. of which no one Can be saved ! No power on earth could induce me to sign them with a clause such as this, which you sign in the creed of Pope Pius. But being required to subscribe the thirty-nine articles, as being in themselves agreeable to the word of God, and in their effects consolidating and guard ing from heresy the English church, I do so most cordially. I-1 ere, then, is an essential difference between the two cases. The twelve articles of Pope Pius are a creed to you, and very awfully pronounce them, and require your converts to pro nounce them necessary to salvation : our thirty-nine arti cles are not a creed to me, I neither think of them, nor say of them, nor write of them, that they are necessary to, sal vation : neither are any of our converts required to do so : but we use them for the avoiding of unnecessary and extreme diversities of opinions in the English church. Concerning the Antbanasian creed, I answer, that we re ceive it, not because of its authority ;_ but because of its scriptural contents. This is consistent in us, seeing that it is only on this ground we receive any creed—nut because the Council of Nice defined; or because the council of Ephesus approved ; but, as it is expressed in our article viii., because " they maybe proved by most certain warrants of holy scrip ture." But now let me ask, upon what principle do you receive the Athanasian Creed? you who deny that any thing can be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture? You cannot plead authority in this case. You cannot show for the Athanasian Creed the authority of any one general coun cil ; neither can you show fur it the authority of consent sooner than the seventh or eighth century. It is highly inconsistent, then, in you to receive it, seeing you refuse to plead the authority of Scripture. Not - so in us ;we most consistently receive it because of its scriptural contents. I must here conclude. I truly rejoice that you have at last come out with your remarks on a speech of mine. It was high time. If you think proper to vindicate your re marks against these observations of mine, and to grapple with my argument, now that you have it in a more correct form than a hasty report of an extemporaneous speech could be expected to present, 1 shall be happy to see your further remarks. I hope you will not now retire behind your "natural antipathy to controversy," as it would look like having availed yourself of what you fancied was a slip of mine in a speech ; but inability to maintain your ground, now that you have my argument more closely and correctly in a letter. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, HUGH M'NEILE. St. Jude's, 10th January, 1842. POPISH SCHOOLS AT PRESCOT TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Slrt,—l see in your paper of Tuesday last an excellen letter on the subject of the applications lately made to Pro testants to aid in establishing Popish schools in Prescot. Allow me, Mr. Editor, to ask the Protestants of Prescot how it is that there is so much room for this application to them. Do they support no schools to which the poor, whe ther Protestants or Romanists, can have access, and in which the simple TRUTH (not a Popish per-version of it) is offered to all ? Alas, no. It is true there are Sunday schools ; and a free school, established by the liberality of bygone times, accommodates a limited number only of the Protestants ; but there is unhappily no national school, no infant school, no attempt to make the instructions of our national church commensurate with the wants of the rising generation, in this centre of a most important parish, from which the church derives an income of some thousands annually. This is the reason why Popery demands schools in Prescot ; and, in so doing, she cries shame on the Church of England, which has not anticipated her. Other questions might be asked respecting the Church of England's duties in Prescot. Why are there so many dis senters there—Unitarians, Independents, Methodists old'and new, to say nothing of Romanists ; and all, except the first named, apparently flourishing? Why are so many of the lower orders chartists ? Can it be expected that one elderly clergyman, however respectable, can make head successfully against such a host of active enemies, even though he be as sisted from time to time by a deacon, who is always removed as soon as he becomes tolerably acquainted with the field of labour. Let the college which derives so much from Prescot be invited to give liberally towards the erection of a national school there; but whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, let the Protestants there do their duty, and call on their neighbours to help them, and they will find help; and before the year is out, they may have both a national and an infant school adequate for the wants of their own poor children, as well as those of their Romanist brethren. FELLOW-CHURCHMAN Jan. 7, 1842 THE PARISH BURIAL GROUND TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR.—Every one possessing the feelings of an Englishman who read the account of what took place at the Police-court on Saturday last, in the case of an unfortunate roan, who was found dead in Dublin street, must have felt the greatest disgust at what was then disclosed relative to the mode of burial \t ' W burvio& --- • ' T at the orkhouse burying ground ; and i think this case should not be allowed to pass without further remark or comment. It appears, by the evidence, that the body was conveyed to the place of burial and put into the ground without the burial service having been read over it, a: that would be per formed the next day; and further, it would appear that this is the custom when bodies arrive after the service is over. I ask, is this in accordance with the rubric? Is it in accor dance with the dictates of our blessed religion ? Or, rather, is it not an insult to some of the holiest feelings of our nature? I will now say a few words respecting die graves. Mr. Dowdall stated, that 350 bodies, or thereabouts, were put into one hole ! That such a thing should be allowed in a civilised country almost surpasses belief; but such is the melancholy fact. I trust, however, that the disgrace as regards Liverpool may immediately, and without loss of time, be wiped away by discontinuing such a system ; but the slain will long continue. Harassing, indeed, is it to every one who has the feelings of a man and a Christian to think that the unfortunate should be treated in such a manner,—that the sailor who has met with a watery grave and been cast 'on our shores,—that the stranger who has died friendless and penny less in our streets,—that those who hare not a friend to shed a tear at their graves,—should, after all their misfortunes in this world, and when death has put a period to their suffer ings, be treated in a manner so revolting, and be denied the last boon which man confers on his fellow—a decent burial.— Yours, respectfully, R. P. B. Everlon, 7 tit January, 1842. SCRIPTURAL EDUCATION AND THE MERCURY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR,—The Editor of the Mercury will not allow that there was either argument or reason on the conserv a ti ve s id e i n t h e debate on the school question. Permit me, through your columns, to ask him these questions:—Which of the two schemes does be think the devil would prefer, supposing he was obligated (as in this day he is) to choose between the two ? Would he not prefer the national ? If so, how can Christians conscientiously support it? If he cannot com prehend such an argument as this, I give him up as wooden head indeed.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, PHILO JUSTICIA FOREIGN LETTERS, TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR,—Permit me to call your attention to a great incon venience which merchants and others have to contend with, and which might be immediately remedied at a very trifling expense; it is this. that although we have receiving boxes in almost every part of the town, yet we have no place for the Eosting of foreign letters except the General Post-office. The xchange box for the stamped letters has been a very great convenience to the public, and if a person was either placed there or somewhere very near to receive the postage of foreign ones, what a very great deal of trouble it would save us and the community at large. One hour in the day would be quite enough, say from 4 to 5, p.m., as the time for these letters leaving the general office is either with the London mail or in the middle of the night. I sincerely trust you as well as the other newspaper editors will use their endeavours to the furtherance of this desirable object.—l remain, &c. A FRIEND AND A MERCHANT TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD SIR.,—We have heard of an English monarch who won "golden opinions of all sorts of men" by his noble and chi valrous bearing alone. We live now, however, it would seem, —at least in the opinion of a councillor for the ward in which I live—in a different age, when to win these opinions from Popish radical opponents, a conservative must come down with a handsome donation to a Papist chapel, or to a " testi monial" to the memory of some defunct radical. Perhaps, Sir, you will permit me to suggost to conservative gentle men, who wish to purchase such valuable commodities as the good will of the Lives-pool Mercury, the advantage of bid ding at once a price proportionate to the boon to be gained ; for it does look a little awkward to see a gentleman paying £5 for that which is riot worth, in my opinion, five-pence, and yet not getting it after all. What a triumph it must have been to the well-known malevolence of the conductors of the radical rag, whilst vent ing on Friday a portion of their concentrated scurrility upon the family of one of his colleagues, to be enabled to parade in their advertising columns the name of the can didate for fame, whom that gentleman himself introduced into his present position in the council, in the humiliating act. of endeavouring to propitiate the lash which was preparing to flagellate himself, by an offering to the memory of the radical pen which had never ceased to heap calumny, the most rabid and venomous, upon his patron and his patron's family !—I remain, sir, yours, tkc. A VOTER IN ABERCROMBY WARD. PUBLIC TEA PARTY IN HONOUR, OF THE REV. H. STOWELL.—The friends of the Rev. Hugh Stowell have celebrated the recent decision in the case of Hearne versus Stowell by a public tea party, given in the Corn Exchange on Monday evening week. Upwards of 900 persons, chiefly females, were present ; and several were refused admission for want of accommodation. PORT or AMOY.—The news of the recent victories of the British arms in China, invests Amoy (the principal scene of those successes) with much interest at the present moment. This celebrated part of the celestial empire is situate in the province of Fe-kin, and, in the Mandarin dialect, is called Hea-mun, which is pronounced by the natives Ha-moy. It is stated by Davis to be " a fine shelter for any number of large ships ;" and the town itself is represented to be the emporium of the commerce of the province. The province itself, however, is the most barren of all China, and nut only yielding nothing for exportation, but being dependent even for the necessaries of life on the neighbouring island of For mosa. Still the merchants of Annoy are characterized as among the most wealthy and enterprising in the empire, having formed connections all along the coast, and esta blished commercial houses in many portions of the Eastern Archipelago. Most of the Fermosiun colonists arc emigrants from the district of Amoy, with capital supplied by its mer chants ; and in proportion as the island has flourished so has Annoy increased in wealth and importance. The fort was re sorted to formerly by Europeans, but was abandoned when foreign commerce was restricted to Canton. There are se veral temples in the place, particularly one of great cele brity, dedicated to the god Fo, or Budha (who according to the homilies of the priests, exists " in forms as numerous as the sands of the Heng-ho.") This temple contains a statue of the god, of colossal size. During the south-west mon soon the merchants of Amoy freight their vessels at For. mosa with sugar, which they dispose of at different ports to the northwSrd, returning home with cargoes of drugs. They maintain commercial relations with Manilla, Tonquin, and Cochin-China, and Siam ; and many of the junks annually go to Singapore to procure goods of British manufacture. The port has not always been closed against European ves sels; as, according to the records of the East India Com pany, we find that " the King of Tywan, on taking Annoy in 1675, issued a proclamation inviting both Chinese and foreign merchants to trade thither, exempting them from the pay ment of all duties for three years." In consequence of this, numerous vessels went; but the exemption was soon revoked. The town was then taken by the Tartars, six years after wards : but the Europeans still resorted to it until 1734, when the exactions of the Mandarins deterred them from continuing so unprofitable a trade. Since that time many attempts have been made by English ships to induce the Chinese to trade, but without success.. The recent events w ill, probably, produoe more favourable results. DISTRESS IN LIVERPOOL Last evening, a public meeting of the burgesses of Lime street Ward, called by the alderman and councillors, was held in the York Hotel, Willi amson - square, for the purpose of considering the best means of re li ev i ng t h e di stressed poor in this ward during the present cold and inclement season. There was a large attendance of men of all parties. On the motion of Mr. Councillor Rigby, seconded by Mr. Councillor Kiishaw, JOHN BRAMLEY-MOORE, Esq., the alderman of the ward, was called to the chair. The CHAIRMAN, after few nreliminAry •...... .aluiluary utnerVaLIODS, Sala the object of the meeting was to take into consideration the best means of raising a fund towards the relief of their poorer brethren in this ward. Every one knew what they must ch a season as the present must en thereby of them we nun to make an appeal to their feelings or passions to induce the meeting to subscribe, for they all came with benevolent intentions, to do whatever they were able to do, and in sub, scribing their mite to think they had aided and assisted tl• poor man, if it were only for one night, to enjoy a cow° bIP • 4e fireside with his wife and children about him. Mr. BLACKBURNE moved the first resolution, which ex pressed the deep sympathy of the meeting with the situation of the poor inhabitants of the ward during the present in ^t weather, an , ', pledged itself to use every means to their sufferings. He trusted that all element weather, and raise a fluid to au- would feel great pleasure iu contributing for this purpose but, at the same time, whatever was contributed must be dis creetly and properly distributed to meet the wants of the really deserving poor. It was an undoubted fact that much distress existed, but there was also much simulation of dis tress, and unless due care was taken much property might be wasted upon those who were not worthy of it, whilst the really deserving, who required to be sought out, were for gotten. One advantage of association for this purpose was, that persons went from house to house to ascertain where real distress existed, and to provide means for its alleviation. It would not be in his power to take an active part owing to his professional engagements, but he should be willing to contribute his mite towards accomplishing this important object. With these remarks he begged to move the first resolution. Mr. Councillor Ittcny had very great pleasure in second ing the resolution, and said, that if every gentleman would assist in this object with his money, that would be the best speech he could make. The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, and it was unani mously adopted. Mr. WILLIAM BE:s7SON moved, and Mr. WIGHTMAN se conded a resolution, appointing several gentlemen, with power to add to their number, a committee, to obtain sub scriptions and to distribute relief. On the motion of Mr. Councillor KILSHAW, seconded by Mr. COOPER, Mr. George Riding and Mr. A. King were appointed trrasurers of the fund, and Mr. Henry Holt and Mr. George Silk Harris secretaries. Mr. Councillor Ittnny said the next business would be to send a subscription paper round the room, that gentlemen might put down the sums they intended to give; likewise that sections of the committee should take districts in the ward, and collect as much money as they could. Mr. CROSMELD said, as there was no doubt of the exist ence of distress, he hoped the committee would go to work immediately, and that, to enable them to do so, a consider able sum of money would be put down before the meeting separated. If any gentleman would take the trouble of visit ing the soup shops, they would see how thankful the poor people were to get the soup ; and if any person would distri bute sixpence in copper there, he would be surprised with what gratitude it would be received. He had no doubt that, if applied to, the soup committee would make the committee just appointed a grant of tickets, as they had already granted £5O worth each to the District Provident Society and the Friendly Society. Mr. C. E. RAWLINS, although not a burgess of Lime street Ward, but of the neighbouring ward of Rodney-street, begged to be allowed to make a few observations. Last year when he went to the alderman of his own ward, Mr. Evans, requesting him to call a meeting in consequence of a good deal of distress existing in the ward, Mr. Evans thought it was very doubtful that distress existed, although he and some of his own family had gone round on a personal inspection, and had made a report of it. He had adopted the same course the present year. He spent the whole of yesterday (Sunday) and part of to-day (Monday) in visiting the poor in their own habitations; and as Rodney -street Ward was suppdsed to be one of the heist in the town, as far as regarded the wealth of the inhabitants, he would give a few records of the visits he had paid. There were in that ward families composed of two hundred men, women, and children who were so destitute, that any ,gentleman in that room with ordinary sympathy and humanity who had gone into their wretched cellars, would have felt himself imperiously called upon to relieve their distresses. As some index to their actual condition, he would state, that among those two hun dred men, women, and children, he found only five blankets to cover them. He found five women, all within three weeks or a month of their confinement ; and of those five there were only two that had baby linen ; three out of the five had obtained the valuable aid of the La dies' Charity, and the other two were seeking for it, but hitherto they had not succeeded. The destitution of the poor in Jones-street, and the other similar streets bordering upon Lime-street Ward, was 50 per cent. greater at the present time than it was twelve months ago. The poor were more destitute of clothing of every description, and some cases of this description which had come to his knowledge were really distressing. In one instance, a man, who had a wife ill, and seven children, told him that on Saturday he had been obliged to sell the bedstocks from under his sick wife to pro vide her and the children with food till Monday. (Hear, hear.) Indeed, he had found several cases in which be could not avoid administering as much relief. as was in his power both on Sunday and yesterday; and he unntionecl these facts in support of the suggestion offered by Mr. Cross field, upon the necessity of domiciliary visits. It was very true that when the poor found their distresses relieved, their gratitude was beyond bounds. The point, however, was to clothe them in these cold night times. To think of them being entirely destitute in this respect, as 51 families were In most cases they had nothing' but a bit of carpeting and and some old clothes to cover them ; and in three instances he found three children stark naked, whilst their mothers were washing their clothes! It being Sunday, they were crawling round the tire, whilst this office was done for them, as they had no change! And•this lamentable destitution did not arise merely from the present severe frost, for the parties had been out of work from three weeks to three months, and many of them were a class of persons whom he had never met out of work,—that was the coopers. The frost did not prevent them from working ; and it the frost went to-night (Monday), of which there were some signs, the distress would still remain. Indeed, it would take these pour families weeks and months before they could get those little necessaries about them which were absolutely necessary for their comfort and subsistence. The CHAIRMAN said the meeting were much obliged to Mr. Rawlins for the statement he had just made, because Rodney-street was one of the wealthiest wards in the borough, and if destitution prevailed in that ward how much greater must it be in Lime-street ward ? It had been stated that it was not intended to distribute anything in the shape of money or clothing, as it was thought more prudent to distribute coals, potatoes, and meal; but, he supposed, it would be open to the committee to distribute blankets in any extraordinary cases which might come under their observation. Mr. CROSSFIELD remarked that there must be limits to relief in this way, otherwise, from the experience he had had three or four years ago, it would be abused. The CHAIRMAN replied that all such cases must be left to the discretion of the committee. A Subscription paper then went round, headed by the alderman and the three councillors, who put down their names for £lO each. When it was returned to the chair, The CHAIRMAN said he had the pleasure to announce that the subscriptions obtained in the room amounted to £64 Gs. ; and he thought with so good a beginning the list could not fail to meet the expectations of all. The meeting then separated. On Tuesday next, there will bean annular eclipse of the sun. It will be invisible in this kingdom, but visible at the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, Bcc. On the 26th of th e present month there will be a partial eclipse of the moon, visible in this kingdom. GETTING ON WITH A BARROW.—Thomas Louth, better known by the appellation of the " Crowland Barrow-man," has, until lately, regularly attended Spalding market twice a week with his barrow for 30 years, and during that time has wheeled a load of between 1 and 11 cwt. a distance of 62,400 miles, the distance between Crowland and Spalding being 10 miles. In addition to this labour, Louth has for the last 20 years visited Deeping Fen (distance eight miles) once a week with his ponderous vehicle—making altogether the astonish ing number of 79,040 miles. During the period, lie has worn out three new barrows and several old ones. This singular individual, although in his 80th year, still continues his visits to Deeping Fen and Cowbit, and performs his herculean task with the greatest ease.—Slam ford Mercury. ACCIDENT ON A RAILWAY.—On Thursday morning, at seven o'clock, as a train of laden coal waggons was coming down the branch of the St. Helens and Runcorn Gap Rail way, close by the Union Plate Glass works, at Pocket Nook, the swing bridge, by which it should have crossed the Sankey Canal, was withdrawn to allow a flat to pass ; and, it is stated, without giving the usual signal. As soon as the cir cumstance was seen by those having the care of the train, the steam was thrown off from the engine, and the break applied ; but, finding that an accident was inevitable, the engineer and stoker jumped off, safely; and the engine, which had lately been repaired at a cost of .£5OO, with the tender and two of the coal waggons, were precipitated into the canal. The en gine was under the waggons lying on its side, and the damage it has sustained is not yet known ; but the tender and wag gons were much broken. The - water was immediately let tiff (rain the canal, and preparations made for getting the wreck out ; but it is probable that the engine must be taken to pieces ' as there was no tackle on the s p o t th at wou ld lif t one fourth of its weight. At the time of the untoward accident, the flat had not approached near enough to be injured. POISONING THE MARQUIS OF WATERFORD'S HOUNDS. —A most influential meeting of the gentry of the county of Tipperary was held in Clonmel last Wednesday, for the pur pose of expressing their regret and indignation at the perpe tration of the atrocious act of poisoning the Marquis of Wa terford's hounds in the covert of Dangan. On the sugges tion of the chairman, Mr. Stephen Moore, of Barn, it was agreed that an address should be presented to his lordship in accordance with the object of the meeting, which i n a f ew minutes received upwards of 100 signatures, comprising the names of gentlemen of all creeds and parties. The noble marquis, notwithstanding his many unaccountable freaks, is greatly beloved by poor and rich in the district where, as is unfortunately too seldom the case, he spends the princely fortune he draws from a contented tenantry. But if his lordship's patriotism is to be reciprocated in the way it has been, by the commission of such a wanton outrage as that which has disgraced the county, it is only natural to suppose that the marquis's name will be speedily added to the long and dismal list of Irish absentees. The radical papers de clare that " the people" were guiltless in the matter. Do they mean to insinuate by this that the wanton act was per petrated by the gentry of the neighbourhood ? Ye that sit ,easy and joyous amid s t y our commo di ous apartments, solacing yourselves in the diffusive warmth of your fire, be mindful of your brethren in the cheerless tene ment of poverty. Their shattered panes are open to the piercing winds ; a tattered garment scarcely covers their shivering flesh ; while a few faint and dying embers on the squalid hearth rather mock their wishes than warns their limbs. While the generous juices of Oporto sparkle in your glasses, or the streams, beautifully tinged and deliciously flavoured with the Chinese leaf, smoke in the elegant porce lain, 0 ! remember that many of your fellow-creatures, amidst all the rigour of these inclement skies, are emaciated with sickness, benumbed with age, and pining with hunger. Let " their loins bless you," for comfortable clothing. tiestore them with medicine, regale them with food, and baffle the raging year. So may you never know any of their distresses but only by the hearing of the car, thclseeetiini i nks of the eye, or the feeling of a tender commiseration. the bitter, blustering winds plead for the poor indigents.—bi' ohard w May they breathe pity into your breasts while flames they ships into their huts. Observe those blue a nd ruddy coals in your chimney ; quickened by the cold, they look more lively and glow more strongly. Silent but s easonable admoni tion to the gay circle that chat and smilea_to need,und them. Thus, k indle into a piles of may your hearts, at such a juncture of peculiar benevolence ! Detain not. your superfluous wood. Let them hasten to the relief of the starving family ; bid them expire in many a willing blaze, to mitigate the sever ity of the season, and c heer the bleak abodes of want. S o shall they ascend, m ingled with thanksgiving to G o d and a_rdent prayers for your. welfare—ascend more grateful]. to Heaven than columns of the most costly ineenee.—Rerrey. AVARICE OF POPISH PRIESTS In a recent number of the STANDARD we inserted a letter from Mr. Eastwood, a zealous and conscientious Roman Catholic, to his confessor, the Rev. Richard Brown. Mr. Eastwood, who resides near Lancaster, is the heir-at-law to a gentleman who died recently, aud, owing to a most unjus tifiable influence, lett nearly the whole of his property to the Popish priesthood. Mr. Eastwood pressed his claims before a court of law, but the ingenuity of the Papacy was too much for him ; and now that some demands, which appear to Mr. Eastwood to be unjust, are made upon the congregation, that gentleman has felt it his duty to require some explanation on the subject from his pastor. Hence have arisen the letter to which we have alluded, and also the following, which ap pears in the Lancaster Gazelle of last Saturday, addressed to the Rev. Richard Brown. Mr. Eastwood administers a well-merited castigation to his pastor, and, through him, to Romish priests generally, for subjecting their already -too closely-clipped flocks to such frequent shearings. Are you aware, rev. sir, that some of these wills, written by sacerdotal hands, are base frauds; impositions of the blackest dye; fabricated for •the purpose of hoodwinking re latives, and deceiving the public ? Are you aware that the hand which but a short time before had offered up the sacred elements at the altar hesitated not to trace those solemn words—" In the name of God, Amen,"— on a foul, detest able lie that calls to heaven for vengeance, since the God of all truth is invoked to bear witness to it? Are you aware that these wills, purporting to be the last testaments of poor infatuated creatures, are mere records of sordid avarice,—of the profanation of the confessional ? Have you not heard of a will being made by a reverend gentleman, who disposed of his penitent's property, consisting of some thousands, to a person in his congregation—another penitent—no relation whatever to the testator? Do you not know that this testa tor had brothers and sisters sin very indigent circumstarees, and yet this confessor, with this knowledge, did not insert the name of every one of them in the will? That not even the smallest article of the wardrobe was left by this will to the relatives who stood in want of clothing? Have you not heard of a will being made by a reverend confessor for his penitent, legally proved by the pseudo sole executor and sole heir, which was all deception ? Have you not heard of poor relatives being informed by a reverend, that their relative (whose will he had made) had left all her pro perty to a gentleman, whose name does not appear in the will, but who had, with extraordinary kindness, offered to give to the brothers and sisters £lOO each, which he advised them to take, or else they wouid get nothing? Do you not know that wills ate made, giving to confessors a moderate legacy, whilst there are spiritual wills behind, which convey to these confessors the larger portion of the property ? I fear, rev sir, that I am fatiguing you. I could pursue this subject to a much greater length. I could show you how very pious, very holy, very parental have been the labours of a reverend confessor. I could explain to you how mock sales of property have been effected ; how bonds have passed from hand to hand ; how heirs-at-law have been disinhe rited ; how it happens that the will of an old maid in this county is a verbatim copy of the will of an old maid in ano ther county ; how bankers' checks, deeds of gift, wills, spi ritual wills, and other abominable means are invented to circumvent weak, deluded vietims, and to injure surviving relatives. This is only a slight sketch of the picture I have in hand. • I must now, rev. sir, call your attention to a few extracts from the discourse of a very holy man, the virtuous and and pious Bishop of Clermont. As some of my Catholic neighbours do not, I fear, examine sufficiently into the works of Catholic writers, they may be pleased with this digression. " That which the Apostle requires in the first place of a minister is, (says Massillon,) that he do not even allow a sus picion to be entertained that be administers his holy and sublime functions for sordid gain. Our whole ministry is a ministry of charity, of disinterestedness, and of edification : what a character, therefore, must that pastor and father bear, who vigorously exacts a price for the cares and tenderness bestowed on his own children ; being, as regards them, a cruel and inexorable extortioner, a degraded mercenary, equally indifferent as to the salvation or to the loss of his flock, and solely occupied with the sordid and temporal gain to be derived from it ! * * * Has not the avarice of priests become so common, that it has passed into a proverb ? I feel that the dignity of our ministry blushes at these re proaches ; and it is with grief that they hill from my lips. But with whom'can I console myself for these scandals, un less with you, my brethren, to whom they are known, and who with me daily lament them ? If these wounds were, like many others, concealed in the secret of the sanctuary, we might cast a veil over them ; but from this grasping avarice there daily arise such contests and scandalous law suits, that even the secular courts of justice resound with the shame of the priesthood." Mr. Eastwood then denounces some further abominations so prevalent in the church, of which he is a member, but says at the same time, in terms of true sincerity, that the vices of the clergy shake not his faith, which is his greatest comfort, and though he firmly believes in the sacrament of penance, &c., he doubts very much the right of confessors making their penitents' wills. This power, as he acknow_ ledges with sorrow, he has severely felt. SECOND .EDITIO&- Standard-office, Eleven o'clock DREADFUL ACCIDENT AND EXTENSIVE LOSS OF LIFE AT COMBE, NEAR BATH. (From Me Morning Post I We ha , eived the following letter : hiORNING POST " Sir,-1 an directed by the office to let you know that a tremendous and most singular occurrence has just taken place in the immediate neighbourhood cf In the confusion which prevails I cannot, our city of course, be expected to transmit particulars with any thing like accuracy ; but rather than delay, I send you a general statement. notice will be interesting to the public through the medium of your popular journal. Between four and five o'clock this evening, and when almost twilight, the entire surface of a very large piece of ground more than seven acres, at Combe Down, gave way, owing to the workmen having conducted their excavations in a stone quarry far beneath an angle, or rather street, of that populous village, of which above 18 houses, with its beautiful new church, school-house. &c., were thus completely undermined, and have been, by the in stantaneous subsiding of their foundations, involved in ruin ; and multitudes in the buildings and accidentally assembled on the spot have perizhed. " Though late when I write, the various avenues in the outlets of the city are thronged with anxious thousands crowding towards the scene of desolation. The bells of the Abbey and other churches are ringing violently, and the authorities are hastening to Combe to render what assistance they can to the surviving sufferers. Nothing like truth can be obtained. as to the loss of human life and property by this strange calamity. Report speaks of hundreds slain and mu tilated. " This hurried account shall be speedily followed by a les confused detail of what has happened.--I am, Sir, &c., " ARCHD. SISsON " Warden Offiee, 53, Itlilsom-street, Bath, Sunday, January 9. THE COURT. WINDSOR, SUNDAY EVENING.—The severity of the wea ther during the past week has prevented the Queen taking her accustomed carriage airings in the vicinity of the great park. • Her Majesty, however, accompanied by his royal highness Prince Albert, has promenaded tor a short time each day in the grounds attached to the castle. Prince Albert enjoyed several hours' shooting in the royal preserves on Monday, Wednesday, and yesterday. His royal highness, accompanied by Lord Charles Wellesley, Sir Frederic Stovin, Colonel Bouverie, and Mr. G. E. An son, had some excellent sport yesterday morning at Cran bourne. Her majesty, after attending divine worship to-day in the private chapel at.the castle, walked with Prince Albert, un accompanied by a single royal attendant, through the earl: to the new riding school, and returned to the castle to lun cheon at two o'clock. It is most gratifying to observe that both the Queen and the Prince were looking remarkably well. The Earl and Countess of Delawarr, accompanied by their accomplished daughter, the Lady Elizabeth West, took their departure from the castle, yesterday ; the noble earl having left instructions for the completion of numerous arrange. ments connected with the royal christening. In order to give every facility for the completion of some alterations in the private apartments, rendered necessary to be made for the forthcoming important and joyful event, the court will take its departure from the castle on Tuesday next, for Claremont, where it will remain, according to present ar rangements, until Saturday. His royal highness is desirnn , of enjoying some sport " with his dog and gun" in the well stocked preserves of his royal uncle the King of the Belgians' The young Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal are both in the enjoyment of very excellent health. Quadrilles, gallops, &c., were introduced at the Castle on the evenings of Monday, W e d nes d ay , an d F r id ay , her 1 1 a jesty dancing with the P r i nce , t h e L or d Chamberlain, and 00 ,,, was Lord Charles Wellesley. The crimson drawiTr n (anus. used for the occasion. " Der Grossvater's tans, wou :d u p the ing and lively dance, i m p or t e d f rom G erman y, evening in the ball-room on Friday. 13 to the Lord Possession of Progmore House has been Chamberlain, and the necessary preparatio g n ie s re the r eception of proceeded with to render it in a fit state forts now being who have been several of her Majesty's distinguished E -ue2 o f the Prince or invited to be present on the christening Wales. BeCallbe ,America lost h er blow to two great countries ? en President and England her Po e w ns Why was the loss of the celebrated s team-ship .‘ val circles, that the uniform It is currently reported in th a gain substituted for the red. forthwith changed, and that the accepted the invitation of the conser n to come forward to represent ofwhite the collar several a nd classes cuff areis t ot to b b e e of Commons, the tv ha a V t it v i Viscount oe o Jocelyn rl u eo n cu t tgohrs i, King'sb e h a oo yo d Canning's going as Ambassador to Constantinople. 'cc! coastwise from the River Tyne, it is said, The coals carried Right Hon. Sir Stratfor half millions of tons, and the quantity arts exceeds a million and ex ported a half tons an to foreign P nually. exceed two and s or CANTON.—The CAPTUREtba Queen has b een p l eased to forces employed at the capture of the outworks grantt Canton, donat i on equal to one year's amount of the Indian allowance by the name of " batta." kn will o The shares of colonels vi be £9OO each, of lieutenant-colonels £720, of majors X 540, of captains £216, of lieutenants £144, &c. ; the offi cers of the navy sharing according to their relative rank with those of the army. Those who were not present at the operations against Canton, but who were engaged in other operations of the war, such as the taking of Chusan, are to receive six months' batta. A GOOD Excusr.—ln the Court of Sessions, in Scotland, the judges who do not attend, or give a proper excuse for their absence, are, by law, liable to a fine. This law, how ever, is never enforced, but it is common on the first day of the session for the absentee to send an excuse to the Lord President. Lord Stonefield having sent such an excuse, on n the president mentioning it, the late Lord Justice Clerk Blaxfield said, in his broad dialect, " What excuse can a stout fellow like him hae ?" "My lord," said the president. "he has lost his wife." The justice, who was fitted with a Xantippe, replied, " Has he ? that is a gods excuse ; I wilt' We bad a' the sawn. ". iy, for hs, ins ray, ions hair long eats .earn one )ung the y off uned min pri (the one hips. i give sonar , and He Fri and Mrs. vould after n the e pri court The three