The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-18 00:00:00

GREAT MEETING IN LIVERPOOL TO PETITION FOR CHURCH EXTENSION. On Friday evening, a very crowded public meeting was held in the Music-hall, Bold-street, for toe purpose of con siderlig the propriety of petitioning the House of Commons to provide the means of extending the Church of England in the populous and destitute districts of the country, and in support of the motion of Sir R. H. Inglis, on that seb . - ject, intended to be proposed after Easter. On the platfdrin we observed the following gentlemen s—Rev. H. Carpente rs, Rev. H. M'Neile, Rev. F. Oald, Rev. (k. 7 .lllMstiel4rsAevee J R. Connor, Rev. W. Falloon, Rev. D. Wilson, vicar lslington, and son of the Bishop of Calcutta , Rev.' W. Hes keth, Rev. J. H. Stewart, Rev. J. C. Richards, Rev. M. Gardner, Rev. Dr. Tattershall, Rev. D. James, Rev. R. P. Buddicom, Rev. W. M`lvor, Rev. C. Reay, A. Hodgson, Esq., T. B. Horsfall, Esq., C. S. Parker , Esq., W. Jones , Esq., J. Howard, Esq., J. Rigby, Esq., J. C. Bailey, Eq., of London, B. Jowett, Esq., agent to the Christian Influ ence Society, T. Forsyth, Esq., R. W. Prest on, Esq . , S. Holme, Esq., W. Shorter, Esq., of Oporto, W. Esti J. Edwards, Esq., and C. Bout t l owe r, Esq. the Rev. JONATHAN BROOKS, senior rector of Liverpool, was unanimously called upon to preside. The Rev. JAMES STEW ART, at the request of the chair man, opened the deliberations of the m eeting by the offering of prayer. After this, The Cnetemes rose, and addressed the meeting. He said,—lt becomes my duty, in the honourable and gratifying situation in which you have placed me as chairman of this meeting, to state the particular object we are called upon to further and promote. It will, perhaps, be known to most of yon that Sir Robert Inglis has given notice of a motion, in the Commons' House of Parliament, for a vote of a sum of money, to extend inure generally to the great population of the country at large the benefits of religious instruction, through the instrumentality of the Established Church. (Hear.) Now, in a country where Christianity is acknow ledged as a part of its constitution, there can be little differ ence of opinion that it is the paramount duty of a Christian )legislature to provide for the religious instruction of the people (hear, hear, hear) ; and that it should do so through the instrumentality of the Established Church, is the natural consequence of an establishment itself. (Hear.) I would simply ask the question, what an established church means, if it is not something which has been so established by the legislature of the country for the purpose of enabling every individual in the country to have access by this means to that religious information upon which its own constitution is grounded. (Hear, hear.) The very meaning of an esta blished church is, that in every coiner of the country, throughout every portion of it, there should not be a vacant s pot on which the people should be unable to have access to that instruction which is important both for their temporal and their a s hiteei welfare. (near, hear.) It was nut in tended, by the fact of an establishment, that all should he compelled to accept that information in one particular mode, but that, at all events, they should have no excuse for being able to say it was not offered to them. (Hear, hear.) Now a measure so extensive and universal as it is necessary this should be--I know not how it is to be carried into complete effect unless it is to be done by the legislature itself. (Hear.) We have been told that the voluntary system is sufficient for the purpose; but I would appeal to the experience of every one who hears me, if that system has not proved to be a fallacy. (Cheers.) I would ask whether there has been any backwardness—whether there has been any reluctance — upon the part of the great mass of the people of this country, to furnish, as far as their means extended, that instruction which is so important to them ? But, when we consider the rapid increase of population, when we consider the ratio in which it has been going on for many years, however great those exertions may have been,—and they have been great, — when we consider the simple fact that the present Bishop of our own diocese, during the ten years he has superintended it, has consecrated more than a hundred churches which have risen up from the spontaneous efforts of the people themselves, we have no right to say the voluntary system has not been brought into effect as far as we could even hope it to be practical. We know that upon a former occasion large sums of money were voted by parliament, and the mis fortune only was that they came very late in the day. If the executive government of the country, and our rulers, had done earlier what at last necessity compelled them to do — that is to say, if they had, as the population increased, kept pace with it by providing sufficient church accommodation, my conviction is, that we should have seen the morals and the state of this country in a much better condition than they are at present. (Applause.) However, that not having been the case, we must take matters as they are ; and the question is, what is the best mode of providing a remedy? (Hear, hear.) A great deal has been done by the people at large, and they have now a right to call upon the legislature to do their part and to perform their duty. (Hear.) There is no time at which this matter can be brought forward with greater propriety tban the present, because I know, and I believe it is well known to a great number of those around me, that there are doctrines spreading about the country of the most alarming kind and nature. (Hear, hear, hear.) We have now attempts made to prove, by pretended ap peals to reason, some of the most extraordinary doc trines that ever arose in the human mind—such as the irre sponsibility of man, and the 'falsehood of that blessed Book which, as Christians, we all venerate. (Hear, hear.) It bas lately fallen to my lot to meet with some publications of this kind, which in the course of my official duties fell in my way—they having been intercepted on their admission, into the House of Correction at Ktrkdale, They were in tended for a man confined there for a riot. I perused them with some attention ; and I never read any thing which caused in my mind a greater degree of depression andtae lancholy. They were blasphemous in the highest possible degree. They asserted that the Bible itself was a tissue of falsehoods, and that Christianity was an imposture. They were addressed to the clergy of all denominations, and they stated that they all of them attempted to impose upon the people that which they themselves knew to be false. (Hear.) These assertions would have been of little consequence of themselves. because the common sense of the people must have enabled them to resist doctrines of that nature ; but with the greatest degree of ingenuity they were attempted to be enforced by argument and reasoning. Theauthor, in his address, said' he would not require his -.readers to believe what he could not himself prove ; and he goes on in a course of reasoning, specious indeed, and which by men of intellect and strong mind might easily he proved false, yet to the gre it mass of the people they would bear upon the face of them that reasoning character which might induce them to listen to them. In the discharge of my duty, I, together with those gentlemen who are associated with me -as., magis trates, thought we should ill discharge that duty if we did not send these pamphlets to the home department. I sent them to Lord Nornianby, with a letter stating the circumstances attending them ; and I believe it is to them he has alluded in a speech lately made in the upper house of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) I received an answer from his lordship, in which lie acknowledged the receipt of the pamphlet, and stated he had put them into the hands of his legal advisers, to ascertain whether it would not be right to proceed against the printers of them, and that I should hear further from him. (Hear, hear.) Now, gentlemen, when such doctrines are attempted to be disseminated among the lower orders. of people of this country, I know not by what means they are to be met, or how an antidote is to he provided against them, if not by providing the people with better food ; and I there fore humbly conceive, that by the establishment of additional pieces of worship belonging to the Church of England among the populous districts, they may be led to read what shews the other side—to the truth, and to the conviction that this trash, which is so industriously disseminated among them, is fallacious, and only calculated to deceive them in those points essential to their eternal welfare—and that their best interest is to follow those who will provide them with that consola tion which the Christian religion affords.to all who really and truly believe it. (Cheers.) The object of this meeting to-night is then to determine, whether or not it be advisable to support the motion of Sir Robert Inglis, by petitioning the House of Commons in its faiour. Several gentlemen have kindly undertaken to move the different resolutions which will be brought forward for your approval, and I shall begin by canine upon the Rev. Hugh M'Neile to move the first. (Great cheering.) Mr. M'NEILE, on stepping forward, was received with enthusiastic cheers. He spoke nearly as follows. I have been requested to move, " That the spiritual destitution of vast masses of the population of England and Wales, and especially the fact that, wherever such destitution exists, the poorer classes are the first and the chief sufferers, call loudly for the aid o f a Christian Government and Legislature.', There are three statements contained in this short resolution. The first is an assertion that spiritual destitution exists, and. that upon a large scale ; the second is, thatavherever such destitution exists the poorer classes are the chief sufferers ; and the third is, that such destitution, so falling upon the poor, calls loudly for the aid of a Christian government and legislature. (Hear, hear.) The first, then, calls our atten tion to the multitudes of our fellow-countrymen who are left in a state of inevitable ignorance and irreligion. The popu lation of England and \Vales is now estimated at above fif teen millions. The increase in that population has not been regularly progressive. During the last fifty years it has been accelerated beyond all former proportions. In 1700, the po pulation, as estimated from various returns, digested and m ethodised by Mr. Rickman , was 5 , 4 75,000. Fifty years afterwards, in 1750, the returns gave 6,167,000 : that is, the increase during fifty years amounted to less than one mil. lion, or one-fifth part of the whole. (Hear, hear.) Com pare this with the last fifty years. In 1790. fifty years ago, the population was returned at 8,675,000: and now it exceeds 15,000,000; that is. the increase during fifty years has been nearly one-half of the whole. (Hear, hear.) .It is needless for me to say that no approach towards a corresponding in crease in church accommodation has taken place. The fol lowing statement, illustrative of this fact, is taken from a late charge delivered by the Bishop of Exeter ;--- In London and its suburbs, there are 34 parishes, with a population amounting to In the diocese of Chester there are 3ei parishes containing an aggregate of. In the diocese of York, there are 20 p wishes, containing In the diocese of Lichfield there are 16 parishes, containing 1,137,000 816,000 402,000 33,3Q0 - „ The a ._—.- • '1.2,590,,Q119 ~ mount of church room provided for aggrfgate )g: 301,382 sittings, leaving two millions, two eight thousand, sic hundred hundred and eighty as far as the church ilintlred and eighteen for,souls unprovided making a most liberal allowance is concerned. (Hear, hear.) Now allowance for what dissenters of all done d enom inations have of ! all church (which equals the accom modation provided by th e at, but for simplicity in the C . ?' (which' however, it' does calculation we will suppose it does) and granting that the instruction ( a ue given in all the cha pels is Christian instruction speak of the Socinian fry, who degradehit is col) his for not to the Lord Christ to mere manhood and therefore reject of those chapels, and those among the largest in are avowedly dedicated to image worship, and the_kingdoiri, to be synagogues of Antichrist --,c n ) (1 thereby proved • ( -beers —h, it, all the insruction given in all the chapels referredl , supposing Christian instruction, still, if we suppose the aggregate to to be ate amount to he equal to the amount of instruction in th g e r c e d g would be, in the parishes named in the list I haven, there considerably above a million of our fellow subjects ' f t o ' ahme ' there is no provision for Christian instruction whatever. (Hear, (Hear, hear.) I know it has been asserted that the dissenters ever ' give muc h more accommodation and a much larger proportion of o instru c ti on , than the church, hot I know also something I f l t , b u e fictitious data, on which such assertions are hazarded something about the statistical societies which have been 'os‘f made, formed, and the statistical returns which have bech exporte, or at least upon very inadequate exa minatiouil: on ( This applies both to churcheccotnrooda tion and — tO he c ar). schools, especially to schools. Such statistical returns so made and • • d for th • ostentatiously published e mwmt fying of dissent againstthe - * church, unless they.are promptly exposed by the ' competent authorities locally interested, pass current as accurate and 1 • l uta authentic documents, and are pre sently afterwards trium proots condemnatory of the referred to, as experimental church. (Hear, hear.) Unfor tunately, however, fo r th en orne. of these statements hav e b een submitted to an ordeal r ' I heard one of them most inconvenient and provok ing. in London, by m" exposed hold, honest, last year at a public meet inghighly valued reverend brotherov i s r t, active, eloquent, and (App l awe .) I will take the liberty ..:ISlose, of Cheltenham. of what he said. " Now, 1 proceed to ask: to you a part ad mitted want of education, what shall we do? there is an quack doctors immediately come forward • - k number of You have heard of some of their proposals and a remedy. Proceedings to -day. And it is said that certain. papers:will 1 the I-louse of-Commons by Lord. Jobailtussell : e n) e.ht before.: tion on Tuesday night. Now. I am very engines h i C -- "j what is in them. if they prove to be a return, a profe s sed return, or mous of the state of oducation throughout .---" the country, especially as comciared between churchmen and dissenters—if that be in the bag, I predict it will be nothing better than waste paper. And provided, I say, it goes before a committee of the House of Commons, I am prepared to stand before that committee, and prove it to be so, as far as my own knowledge goes : and that if it is at other places, as .it is where I live, these papers tell what is false. I would speak this fact broadly, and I am not afraid to do it in Lon don, as I have done elsewhere. At Cheltenham the dis senters returned 826 more children to Government than they have in their schools. (Hear.) When I proclaimed this, the return had not been sent out of the town, and the Secre t:a-I.Y of the 'Sunday-school ran to the registry- office, and wiped '<ii4 350 at oriee4, ; It was certainly a confiernation of what I 'said in .14 4,14:-,lollY,Agrillg e. of the returns, which were 350 less ; yet, at the present moment; the Lancatrian schools - in Cheltenham have returned 380, and returned them twice Over. (Hear and laughter.): Now I will prove this statement to a nicety.. 'When we all most* joyfully net on the day of the coronation of our youthful Queen, we met very loyal and very hungry, and it was agreed that we should pay by the mouth. There we were, elmichMen and dissenters, joining in holy rivalry ; we all sat down in the market-place, and sang together, and were very good friends throughout; but rather an awkward circumstance occurred when ' the mouths' came to be paid for; it appeared that the church `months' ex ceeded the dissenting ' mouths' by 620 ; and notwithstand ing you admit the alteration of the able Secretary of the Sun day-school at Cheltenham, you will find there is a difference still, of somewhere about 400, between the mouths on the day of the coronation, and the recorded numbers in the pocket of Lord John Russell. (Cheers.) Now, my lord, I know it would be a bad argument to state. though I am not an Ox ford man, that, if this has taken place at Cheitenhaifi, it has taken place elsewhere, and perhaps everywhere else. I put it hypothetically; I think it highly probable. I don't think worse of the dissenters at Cheltenham than of those at any other place; but putting it hypothetically, as I before said, if the returns from other places are as accurate as they are from Cheltenham, and if her Majesty's Government shall in their wisdom proceed to legislate on those facts, I shall not be pre pared to say with Canning that ' all facts are false,' but that their facts are as false as their principles, and their legis lative enactments framed on their facts are far worse. (Hear.) So much for the bag of Lord John Russell, and as to what may yet be in it ; but I suspect that this meeting, and similar ones throughout the country, will stifle a great deal of what is in the bag, and that we shall never s ee it at all." This prophecy of the rev. gentleman was fulfilled. (Hear, hear.) A great deal of what was in the bag remains there still, for anything we know ; but something of the kind, either from that or some similar bag, did get out, and was adopted by the government, in order to be introduced in the report of the privy council. lam grieved to be compelled to throw dis credit on an authority which ought to he above reproach, by the exposure which it is my duty to make ; and I shall do it from a tract just published by the Rev. Mr. Wilberforce, in the form of a letter addressed to, Lord Lansdowne. The infitance in que6tion refers to the combined districts of St. John's and St. Margaret's, Westminster. Concerning the comparative proportions of children educated in that district by the church and by dissenters, the report of the privy coun cil states the average attendance at church schools to be 579, and the average attendance at dissenters' schools to be 839. This,sounds well for dissent, and answers a purpose for the fabricators 'of statistics. But unfortunately for the success of any such purpose, several gentlemen residing in St. John's, Westminster, and astonished by the statement of of the privy council, limiting the amount of church educa tion in that district to 579 children, determined to institute a close and accurate investigation. The result is thus stated by Mr. Robert Wilberforce, for which he says his authority is the Rev. J. Jennings, Rector of St. Johns. CHURCH SCHOOLS. Average Attendance, I►a St. Margaret's and St. John's, (common to both parishes.) Central National School 320 I 90 24 88 . 112 t . 20 20 30 ___. Seven endowed Schools Workhouse Schools In St. Margaret's. Knightsbridge Green Broadway School (Sunday) Miss Neave's School Wellington Barracks' School Knightsbridge Barracks' School In St. John's. { Tufton-street Sunday Schools.. Vincent-square *Old Pie-street JJJ Day scholars, chiefly infants, not attending the Sunday Schools Total Church Scholars.. DISSENTING SCHOOLS. Average Attendance. In St. Margaret's. Independent's, William-street New Pie-street, (two schools) Dr. Morrisson's School, (a Sunday school) In St. John's. Wesleyan School, Horseferry-road—Boys . Girls . 141 120 142 35 Baptist's, Romney-street—Boys .... Girls .... Romanists, Horseferry-road—Boys Girls .. Lancastrian School Total Dissenters Thus, in a district where the compiler of a return, deemed sufficiently accurate for adoption by the Privy Council, could find only 579 children in church schools, a less interested and more careful examination of the parish gives the names and the numbers of a list of schools which present an ag gregateof two thousand seven hundred and eighty. (Cheers.) I do think, Sir, this is sufficient to make sensible and candid men cautious, before they receive the statistics of dis senters, although endorsed by the Privy Council, as the basis of any important .argument, or of any practical decision. (Hear, hear.) But granting liberally as I said at first, that the j) ss cuters do communicate as much instruction as the chiikti;there remain still, in the language of the resolution, vast masses of the population of England and Wales in a state of. spiritual destitution. (Hear, hear.) In truth , th e fact itseW is not now denied. Men of all parties are compelled to admit it : however they may differ as to the right mode of aiming at a remedy, they arc compelled, by evidence too pain fully convincing, to admit the existence of the disease. 1 take a passage from a speech of Mr. Slaney, delivered at the begin ning of this Month in the House of Commons, upon the ques tion of the causes of the existing discontent in the country. Mr. Slaney is thus reported—" Another point to which he begged alliation was the want of religious instruction in the manufacturing districts. In Manchester there was churchroom for only 26000, while the number which ought to be provided for was 108,000. But, what was still worse, four out of five in many of those districts had no means of attending public worship. Even seven out of eight in the large towns ' such as Liverpool and Manchester, weretotally destitute of religious instruction. He would ask the house how these people could with justice be punished for crime, when no opportunity has ever been given to them to learn what was their duty ?" (Hear.) I need not delay you fur ther on this branch of the subject, but advance to the second statement in the resolution, which is, " that where ever such destitution exists, the poorer classes are the first and the chief sufferers." (Hear.) This consequence of such destitution follows inevitably from the cause of the des titution. The cause is a want of endowed ministers, and the consequence is, that those who cannot afford to endow their own ministers, or pay for their own sittings, must go with out. (Hear, hear.) Under the system now advocated and sanctioned by many, and very elegantly described by Mr. Daniel O'Connell, that ". every man should pay his own mi nister as he does his own tailor," the rich may have a minis ter as they have a coat ; but the poor man who finds diffi culty in paying for his coat, cannot, of course, pay for his minister. (Hear.) It is thus that this honourable and learned gentleman; whose professions of being the poor man's friend, arc about as true as any thing else he says, (cheers and laughter,) would doom the tens of thousands of the la bouring claSses of the community to perpetual ignorance, upon the highest and best of subjects. Such is, and must ever be, the operation of what is called the voluntary system. It will not do to mystify the subject, and entrap the unwary, by identifying the system in operation amore; his own seven - millions of the finest pisantry with the voluntary system. No, sir ; they are under no voluntary system. If the -poor Roman Catholics of Ireland were left to what this gentleman describes-as Itis system, that every man should pay his own minister Its he pays his own tailor, the priests would soon be starved to death. I_(Hear, hear.) But they are com pelled to ray their priests! (Cheers.) Aye, thousands upon thousands of the wretched sans culottes, who never paid a tailor, are coerced on pain of eternal damnation, to Share theirmiserable pittance With the priest: "No penny, no pa ternoster"--" no money, no mass"—these are the watch words of popish statistics, by which the poor Roman Catholics of Ireland are bound down. In proportism as the superstition is strong Which identifies the mass with salvation, the rob bery is flagrant that identities the money with the mass. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Thus we have a view of the whole circumference of the mill in which the wretched Roman Ca tholics of Ireland arc made to grind. Superstition urges them on with a deadly grasp to pay the priest's demands . these payMents keep them in helpless poverty; their poverty keeps them in perpetual ignorance; and their ignorance com pletes the circle, handing them over again the victims of re newed superstition. Thus they toil on in a circle. The Protestant poor cannot be made to go in rags byssupersti tion: (Hear.) They will not be called upon to give their last farthing by any superstitious fear; and having hardly earned the wages needful to support their families , it is, refined cruelty to call upon them to pay also for their spiritual instruction. (Hear.) They need all their powers of body to toil for the supply of the animal wants to which they arc born heirs, and it should be the high privilege of a christian kingdom, of a christian government, and of a christian legislature to meet their necessities, to relieve their wants and to pay for their instruction, which they cannot by any possibility pay for, themselves. (Cheers.) They do rmake laudable efforts to pay their tailor ; but they cannot do so, add paY Minisferi 45 - r ro - n - relig -- ieri`f:) -Dissenters ' tiEno ni most rgitiibsat p ene r (r : i i l i t or : ye y eh u l pe t r a ii. ere r t e b tf e o r io t s e m b e b e e n r s i n o f s o t b d e o i Church Dissenters acting on the v o l un t ary pr i nc i p l e , h ave b u ilt c h a p e l s , and build of g hinc la h e o ft f esßnuitniT chapels a t s o k , b e h o s ys o • pp a o r t e te t d he ? By their congregations, whether in the ' shape of pew rents, rents,h. Well, but t ;t h n e d p c o o o n r se i g n t a i e n n t c l a y r , i w n h e n it t h i e s r hperteo so;gti g l i s f , t3 o or nbro pay pew do, He derives but little advantage front the new build ings and the new ministers. I have not forgotten the free seats, but I know how few they arc generally, compared with the taxed or hired seats. The circumstances of the building require that a revenue should be raised from the sittings. The claims of the poor are secondary to the debt incurred by the building. And often, especially amongst the dissente rs , the claims e of the minister himself are secondary to the liqui dation of the debt, so tbct it is not uncommon to see a hand sonie exp-ensive chapel, with a poor and half paid minister. Mr.' Maitland, whose book I hold in my hand, quoting from the Et-angelical Magazine , and from the Rev. Mr. James, a dissenting minister, sa ys—" It does indeed appear that there have been those among the d issenters who , have maintained that th e i r m i n i s ters ought to be kept poor." "In opposition to all whi c h h as b een a dduced," says a writer in the Evan gelical M agaz i ne , -" in the way of reasoning and exhorta tion, some think it sufficient to say —` It is good to keep mi nisters poor.' "—(1803, 14 , 1.) "It will he most cheerfully etn admitted by all w h o l ove our . Lord Jesus Chris t, that his :faithful m i n i sters ought to be com f or t a bly supported; nor will any b u t iron-h eal " ure t ch , u nworthy of the name of plead for the propriety of keeping them poor-andmiserable, miserable, th a t they • ' • a Christian, 1 They treat blur." ; t preach the better."—(lBo4. 75.) says the Rev. r. James, " they would treat wild b by hunger, and keastlYl3m , which are tamed into submission on humble by keeping him poor. It is curious to hear p how bless their minister in hissl°lams man, t his bare taken e(trp persons will intreat of God to - g e n t easns itself re , alas ! poor, . that his basket should be empty, and his store nothin else be disposed to ask why (Hear, hear.) Now, sir, should you or any one we meddle with the dissenters at all, wiry We . do not go " on in - course, leaving them at liberty a are a ffair were manage their af (Hear, hear.) Our own y to af fairs as well as they can, and managing our own e 1 I curse }yes. protest 1 should not have interfered with them, t h ey youman atgbiiiingkl?heTirbeT attempting to force their voluntary system upon the country, and c ß o o n t t e w n b t a t d with o have therefore . challenged us to ascertain, and publish what that 'system leids we agree in the distincti on be tween the voluntary system, and the voluntary prin ciple.. We have a voluntary principle superadded t o our church system—the. voluntary principle grafted • upon an established provision; but we repudiate the voluntary sys.• tem so called. We go, therefore, among the dissenters to ascertain what it is ; we take up their own books to see what it is. lam aware those books were not written for us, but to stir up the liberality of their own people. However they cannot write books for their own people without our seeing . Accordingly we find we have reason to complain, not of the secular parts of the voluntary system, but that piritual part is fallen into a deplerable , state of poverty. st trouble you with one or two eitracts'upon this sub- There are only two modes of - remedying the acknow d defect which we lament—either by this voluntary sys- Lem, or by the method we propose ; and if we can show what the voluntary principle is out of the mouths of its own advo- Cates—if We can show that. it iS - Untenable-then we hate the government upon the other side of the dilemma, and there remains nothing but a bold, broad, large, and general mea sure of church extension for the whole kingdom. (Loud cheers.) " I will confine myself," says Mr. Maitland, "at present to four extracts from three of their own writers, of different periods - . The first of these is the Rev. Mr. Barker, who, in a letter cited by Mr. Wilson in his history, says,— ' The disposition to charity continues among us Protestant dissenters, hut I cannot say much as to our faith. Some charge our fathers with putting believing in the plate of do ing : I wish we do not put giving in the place of beli evin g . The defection of our younger ministers I greatly lament ; and if the people departed from the.doctrine of the reforma tion as much as their ministers, I should begin to think whe ther ours Were an interest worth serving.' And again, The dissenting interest is not like itself: I hardly know it. It used to be famous-for faith, holiness, and love. I knew the time when I had no doubt, into whatever place of worship I went among dissenters, but that my heart would be warm ed and comforted, and my edification promoted. Now I hear prayers and sermons Which I neither relish nor un derstand. Evangelical truth and duty are quite old-fashion ed things. Many pulpits are not so much as chaste. One's ears are sodunned with reason, the great law of reason, and the eternal law of reason, that it is enough to put one out of conceit with the chief excellency of our nature, because it is idolised, and even deified. HOW prone are men to run into extremes! What a pity it . is, that when people emerge out of an ancient mistake, they seldom know where to stop. Oh, for the purity of our fountains, the wisdom and diligence of our tutors, the humility, purity, and teachableness of our youth" (in 51.) Mr. Wilson, having spoken of the popu larity of this very Mr. Barker, says—" When we speak of popular talent, however, as applied to the divines of the for mer age, we are not to be understood as including what is usually comprehended in that term, at the present day. It is a fact too glaring to need an apology for stating it, that mankind are too apt frequently to be led astray by noise and novelty ; and to sacrifice their judgment to their fancy. A disgusting familiarity, better adapted to the parlour than the pulpit, with a strong propensity to drollery, appears to suit the frivolity of the age, rather than a solid scriptural strain of preaching, so much the glory of our forefathers the Puritans and Nonconformists. It is, doubtless, this de praved taste, in conjunction with some other causes, that has contributed to the, decline of the Dissenting Interests, nor can we expect a revival till a more just and rational taste' shall prevail. (ix. 41.) He elsewhere tells us that, during the last twenty. years the cause of Independency has gained ground considerably. • This has been owing, in a great mea sure, to the increase of sunday schools, village preaching, and the labours of irregular preachers. Numerous congre gations have been raised in various parts of the country, without any particular views of church government, that have subsided into Independent Churches. But, although the In dependent interest has received large accessions in numbers, it has lost in quality. This has arisen chiefly from two causes : the introduction of uneducated and illiterate men to the ministry, and the prevalence of a spurious liberality." (Iv. 557.) To add, however,' only one more extract on this, point ; the Rev. Mr. James, of Birmingham, in a letter " On the necessity of a revival of religion in the hearts of the minis ters as the first step towards a revival in the churches," pub lished in the Evangelical Magazine—" If there be a revival in religion in this country, where must it be expected to begin? who may be supposed to be first partakers of it ? The minis ters of religion themselves A question, however, will here very naturally present itself. Does our religion need to be revived ? /am decidedly of opinion that it does, whatever may be the cause of it, I am myself fully and painfully convinced that the great bulk of the present race of ministers are by no means distinguished for the more spiritual and elevated exercises of religion. I think we fall very short in what may be called devotional habits—in spirituality of mind, in communion with God, in self-converse and examination. It is true we are active in what concerns the diffusion of re ligion, and much time and labour are spent. in public matters, a circumstance which probably, in the estimation of some will furnish at once a cause and an excuse for a deficiency.in other matters ; but us to out station in respect to personal. religion , strictly and properly so called , •we are pigmies compared with . the men of other times, or with some-men - of our own time. Let us only read the memoirs of Philip and Matthew. Henry,. of Halyburton , of Doddridge,of Pearce, of Brainerd, of Henry Martvn, of Fletcher; and compare ourselves with their., to see how dwarfish is ourpiety." I admire the honesty and faith- fulness of this exceedingly ; but I think it very necessary that a fair estimate derived from their own lips of the effects of the voluntary sytsem upon the ministers of their own chtirches • shOuld be publicly and widely known. I think men should'be 'disabused of the 'notion which does seem to have been put into their minds by some of these writers, that whenever - they go into a dissenting' chapel they are sure to hear evangelical religion. It is far otherwise.—(hear.)—Ac cording to their own showing, their favourite topics are the law of reason—the eternal law of reason—and the fitness of thingsnOt the simplicity of God's message in his dear :on Jesus Christ our Lord.—(hear.)—Mr. James says further, concerning the prayers 'that are common in dissenting cha pels A minister's prayers do more perhaps to keep up the 'spirituality of his people than his sermons.• that is when they are - Of an intense and elevated character. I have kpown ministers so endowed with the gift:and grace of prayer, that their public supplications and intercessions - seemed as with a sweet 'arid holy violence, to hear their. congregations away with them to the throne of. God. ' But this is not often the case. Dull formality, wearisome sameness, careless indiffer ence, trio often anti too generally characterise our public de votion. We act as if the prayer were nothing and the sermon everything ; and come down too nearly:to the level .of the sloVenly, in reverent, and inefficient manner - in which the li turgy of the Church of England is read by a large portion of her clergy. I ask no other proof that we as ministers need a revival of our own personal religion . than the charade,. of our public prayers."—(lB, 29, 7.) —Surely, sir, I. may ven ture to proceed, after adducing such evidence as this, to ' say a few words upon the - concluding statement of 'the resolution.—That such destitution as is acknow. ledged •on every - side, combined with the facts which hate been clearly deduced, that the poor are the chief sufferers, and that the voluntary system . cannot sup ply' the' deficiency or maintain the spirituality of religion; surely, I say, after these facts, I am justified in calling loudly on a Christian - government and legislature for , aid in this matter. lam harms to be able to. bring to myassistance in this branch of the subject, a very important coadjutor—no less a person than my lord John Russell. (Cheers and laughter.) That statement I perceive has excited some sur prise in the meeting ; and it may he some one is expecting to hear a quotation from-some of those more sedate, more ad vised, and inure statesmanlike speeches of the noble lord, at an early period of his political career, than he has lately - been permitted by his political masters. to indulge -in. But it will be highly gratifying, I have no doubt, to you sir and to the meeting, to know that so far from this being the case, I am about to quote from what Lord John Russell said in the House of Commons within the last week. (Hear, hear.) A motion was brought forward by Mr. Thomas Duncombe, to the effect that every person who made a certain declara tion of his conscientious dissent from the established church, should be absolved thereby from the legal duty of paying church rates. Lord John Russell opposed it, and not merely opposed it, but spoke in the following terms : "It might be Mr. Thorogood's conscientious opinion that religion ought not to be supported by the state, but so long as we acknowledged the law by which a state religion was established, so long that law ought to be enforced.' That, sir, is a good principle as far as it goes ; and good may come out of the privilegA question, "if enforced," with however ill a grace it may come from gentlemen Who had for so many years declaimed against enforcement. (Hear.) But still, when their own privileges are attacked, enforcement is the order of the day • and now, so long as law is established, it must be enforced. (Hear, hear.) That, however, is not enough. Many might think the law ought to be changed, but Lord John Russell says this : " Tint he went further than that :- he thought that the Established Church of England was founded on just, and wise, and sound principles. He was not prepared, there fore, to agree with Mr. Thorogood in his theoretical opinions i but even if he could agree with him in his abstract opinions, still he thought that it would not become Parliament to de cide that those who disobeyed the law should not pay the penally of their disobedience." Resuming the subject of advocacy of the church, the noble lord says— The principle on which alone they could maintain the Established Church was, that it was for the common good, and that was a principle which entitled them to ask for that burden to be laid upon all." " Now," my lord, " I would say to him, you are pledged by that speech to church extension—(cheers); ,— for if the only principle upon which an established church can be main tained be, that it ,is good for all, the same principle binds you to apply it to all. To say you will maintain and not ex teed is to contradict your own position, and to stultify your own argument. (Cheers.). To maintain the established church at a certain dimension, whilst you allow the popula tion 'of the country to swell to at certain over dimension, is wilfully to degrade what you call the established church into a sect. (Hear.) You allow it to be surrounded by an over whelming population to whom you will not extend it. Now, if it be not for the general good, you cannot maintain it, but if it he you are bound to extend it." (Hear.) Lord John Russell deals very freely with some of his friends who are advocates of the voluntary system. He says— " He owned that he should be sorry to see those times return when those who preached the gospel were obliged to look to the voluntary support .and contributions of their flocks. He should be sorry f the lines of Dr. Johnson w;th respect to the drama should become applicable to the minis ters of religion— ' The drama's laws the drama's patrons give, — For - M(10 who livelapiease must please to live.' He should regret if the circunistances of the church were to render it necessary to turn those lines thus— ` Y7,e pulpit's lan's the pulpit's patrons give, For those who live to please must please to live.' He did not think that those who had to maintain the doc trines of the church from the pulpits of the establishment of this country ought to be left to look to the voluntary contributions of the people for their,support, or that they should be supported only because they were popular, elo quent, and plausible preachers." I am prompted here with a word " preach," instead of. " " Live" is in the papers, but I confess that the suggestion from my friend behind is a great improvement upon the print—for it undoubtedly comes to this, that if ministers are to depend upon the voluntary contributions of persons disposed too naturally to " make their baskets empty, and their stores nothingness itself," they must en deavour to please such persons if they are to derive bread from their good opinion. Their position certainly, at the least, amounts to a great snare. I will not say of every dis senting minister, that it supplies his motive, and on account of it lowers the standard of what would otherwise be his o u t teaching. I believe there are many among them who would do no such thi ng ; I b e li eve there are many among them who act honestly an d f a ithf u lly upon th e i r own convictions—who woulde rather Sy s te l n ) has dis that misse n fi d .o e n n i c stt e ahta it p o el offers e than rs a do v very y violence great to what th e y b e li eve t o b e th e trut h o f G o d. B u t 1 believe that temptation to he f unu I , annd Igo the length of Lord John Russell in my belief as to what would necessarily he the . result of Ministers . of the gospel beinG , dependent upon the voluntary contributions of' theirfor support hear.) I am warned that I have occ,i people. (Hear, the time the meeting, and more than e e no cr i t i e i enou of what I conceive he;this necessary statemen g t • n making,. , in laying a sort of ground-Work of statistical information upon which I hope some of my friends who follow will build more ably than I have. That department, at these meetings, has all • • fallen upon me, after the information ngs, usually has been given, I have been placed to-night in the position of having to give you some of those comparatively dry details ; and I will re tire exhorting -you to make conscience of this matter—ex horting you not to be satisfied. with the enjoyment of the evening's meeting, but that, if you feel a case is made out, if you perceive that the population of the country is really in a state of spiritual destitution, if ._ you perceive that the poor are the sufferers, if you. believe the duty lies upon the go vernment, though you feel/the difficulty any government would be placed in Which should attempt to perform it—though you understand they cannot carry it on in the face of the object mg-dissenters, unless there is Such an overwhelming demand for it from the people as to make It appear quite plain to be the national will—if you feel this, I say, and are there fore disposed to do your own part, put yourselves to a little trouble in signing the petition, and so strengthen the hands of our friendi in parliament. (Hear.) Remember there is no security left for the country.but in the extension of christian instruction. (Cheers.) Rememberthat politiCal power is now lodged in a certain class. In former years it was lodged in a class that represented the Established Church ; it was inairly lodged, when the church was first established, in the hands of the crown and clergy. It has since been trans ferred from their hands, and the turning point of the political power of the state is'now placed in the handsoof • the middle classes. (Hear, hear.) The middle classes are precisely those with \Aloes. the slisseidera ,laave,nwst prevailed. The EstablisliCsi Chtiich, for - variOns caries,'' eS'ednunended" itself to the. higher:ehisses. The eletgyi off the E'stablishs4 Church are the only persons who cent effectually clp geoilto the real poor of the country; but the large class between the higher and the lower classes; the franchised classes who now have the votes in the boroughs, return members to the senate, and thereby Wield the authority of the state ; these are pre cisely the clasSes among which the dissenters have been labour ingmost, and in which the church has, comparatively, laboured least ; there are multitudes of these who never willingly joined the dissenters, but have escaped us for want of church room — for want of church accommodation. If we ask such persons to go to church, they say, `• there is no room, we cannot get in, we cannot find a place to sit down." Now, these. as I have already said, are the very parties in whom political power is lodged. If, then, you have put a sceptre in one hand, put a Bible into the other. (Loud cheers.) Give them the knowledge of the Word of God. (Renewed cheers.) There is no hope or desire on our part to retrench, in the legislature, the liberties of Englishffien ; only let Chris tianity go with it and you cannot have too much - liber ty ; but liberty is dangerous without religion, and it will recoil upon its possessors. If we put a sword into the hands of a child or a maniac who know not how to use it, we may expect they will cut themselves or others. So it is with liberty; let Christianity guide its hands and you may safely entrust it with ten thousand swords. (Hear, hear.) It is because Christianity has been neglected ; it is because new fangled systems of general education have been substituted; it is because there is a fancy abroad that general knowledge will controul the national character, and that Christian principle is a peculiarity of sects—these are the real secrets of the coun try's danger. It is easy . to see . whence they come. The experimentalists and the rePtiblicans among us see plainly the habits inculcated by the Established Church are opposed to their schemes—they see that the temper of the nation is opposed to revolution. It was generated within the pale of the church. The disposition of the nation was always mo narchical—a limited free monarchy is the genius of England still—and that genius has beers fostered and inculcated in our Established Church. (Hear.) The frame of the laws, the habits, the associations of the country, the subordination of the classes—all pointing out the feem of government we have had , so long, and all fostered und4 the Established Church, is that temper which it is not easy to break down. It is easy, very easy, to change the statute book of a country ; but it is quite another thing to change the engrafted temper of a people. '(Cries of "hear.") Now, there is that Church monarchical temper at present in England which is a barrier, stronger than any statute, against the new notions of ,republicanism. The new fangledrepublieans are aiming a blow at that har rier. They know that if they were to attack it openly, England would recoil and crush the hopes of these republicans for cen turies to come. (Hear, hear.) They dare not, therefore, attack it publicly. Nay, sonic of them say, they have a great respect for the Established Church. This sounds well and gains them a hearing. Then they proceed with the scheme of a new general knowledge school ; the appoint.. ment of a new committee of laymen, dependent upon the minister of the day ; and a new system of inspection -by those laymen, which inspection would mould the whole system of instruction. They want, in short, to get a system of instruction applied to the mind of the rising generation, which will eradicate the church mo narchical temper, and which will raise a people that can be assailed by republican sentiments. (Loud cries of " hear, hear, hear.") They want to give the generation that will succeed a general knowledge, one lit for the liberal system of schools which should teach them not to recoil from the republican schemes. They are aiming at this ; and whilst they are doing so, their general ,knowledge schools societies are professing the greatest respect for the esta blished church, but still—she is only a part of the popu lation ; they have great respect for her, but then they could wish she was placed in a situation where she cculd have no connection with politics. Let her be separated from social life, let religion be made a thing by itself, and England is ruined.—(loud cheers.)—But let the church of Christ be recognised as an ordinance of God, in every department of life ; the mother in her nursery the source of support and .sympathy; the father in his family the source of control and of guidance, the ruler on the throne and in the legislature the I ' source of law—law, with all its strong enactments, its high, sanctions, and its awful executions, the prerogative of mercy with all its blessed interpositions — let all these say, be viewed as ordinances of God; let Christ be seen in all, let God be manifest in all, and England remains upon the rock on which she has stood for the last three centuries, since the great imposture was dislodged from her—the rock of Pro testant, Scriptural, Christian truth, against which the gates of hell can not prevail. (The reverend gentleman then retired amidst cheering from all parts of the room.) ADAM HODGSON, Esq., secended the resolution, and briefly expressed his concurrence with it. T. B. HORSFALL, Esq., rose to move the second resolu tion, as follows :—" That the theory of the Church of England is a fold for every sheep, and a shepherd for every fold; and that she regards the souls of all as of equal value in the sight of their Creator : hut that this principle had been so lost sight of, during a long period of national, prosperity, that when the ,Ecclesiastical Commissioners, appointed by his late Majesty made their'. report in 1836, there were 108 parishes or dis triCts, containing an aggregate population amounting, to 2 - ,690,000; for whom not more than 301,382 church-sittings had been provided ; and, granting that the chapels of Dis senters in those districts furnished an equal number of sit tings,- and that not more than half the entire population can be 'considered capable of attending public worship, still the conclusion is inevitable, that upwards of 1,300,0.00 of that population, and those .chiefly of the poorer classes, were totally unprovided for : and, bearing in mind that upwards of six millions have, been added to the population of England and Wales since the commencement of the present century, it .sielear that sorneahlimlieds of thousanda might be added to that appalling nunffier, or persons' similarly situated in other parts of the kingdom." This resolution, like the pre ceding, presented a view of theideficiency of church accom modation in England and Wales. m ,The recent events which had occurred in some parts of the country, particularly in Wales, afforded a fearful commentary upon this deficiency, and loudly appealed to the Christian public to leave no effort untried, no means delayed, which could by possibility arrest the progress of that moral disease which seemed to have seized upon the labouring population in' some parts of the country—inciting them to disobedience to the laws of God and man, and hurrying them onward in-that pathway of re bellion, which must inevitably lead to their own ruin, and prove seriously detrimental to the beSt interests of society. (Hear.) lilted been observed, and the observation was very striking, that Weanust either provide pastoral superintendence and church accommodation for the poor, or we must leave them to the police officers for their pastors, to the gaol for their church, and to the executioner for their minister of consolation. (Hear, hear.) That the latter alternative had been all but. realized, it was needless for him to state ; and he trusted it Was needless, in a meeting like that,.to challenge contradiction to the fact, that this state of disorganization had arisen, in a great degree, from the want of that sound religious education, which our national Church was so admi rably adapted to communicate. (Hear.) That our Church was so adapted, we had only to trace its ministrations from the moment it received the new-born babe, at the hands of its sponsors, requiring from them that it be taught, so soon as it was able, to read all things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health, down to the period when the body was consigned to its last earthly home, to feel convinced, that there was no church in this or any other country, more adapted to the...wants, the wishes, the feelings, and the affections of the people. (Cheers.) If it were .asked how additional church accom modation was to be provided, he would reply that he looked in vain to the voluntary efforts of churchmen and dissenters. Those efforts had failed, and assuredly would fail, to keep pace with that growing population which was fast over spreading the face of the country, and which, if not provided for by our national church, would undoubtedly overwhelm the country with the principles of infidelity, of popery, or of socialism. (Hear.) Again he would ask, how this obliga tion was to• be accomplished ? (Hear.) Where should we turn more legitimately than to the state—to that state which boasted of its union with the church ? Sorely it was not too much to expect that the state, which, could afford to vote two millions of money for the construction of railways in Ireland, should vote at least one million for the purpose of church extension ? (" Hear," and applause.) Were . we to be told that that state; which was ordained of God, that " the powers that be," though ordained of God, might grant millions of money for any secular purpose, but nothing for the promotion of his glory ? (Hear.) The resolution he had the honour to move spoke of the destitution of church ac commodation both in England and Wales. It was not suf ficient for the state to provide for the spiritual wants of the population of the large and populous towns. (Hear.) It was its duty, and upon that principle this meeting would take its'stand, to provide church accommodation for all the popu lation of the British empire. (Hear, hear.) It was the duty of the state not only to provide for the large and populous towns, but to provide equally for every. rural district in the land—(hear)—in order that generations yet to 'come might, with grateful hearts and reverential love, point to their village spires and say, These temples of our God ! How beautiful they stand ! The glories of our native plains, the bulwarks of our land ! (Loud cheers.) Much had been said of the destitution of church accommodation in England • and he would trespass a few - moments upon the attention Of the meeting with a few facts showing the destitution of church accommodation in Wales, more particularly in that part where disturbances had recently taken place. (Hear, hear.) The parishes in Wales were not like the parishes in England, but extended over a wild and' mountainous country, rendering it impossible, in many instances, for the most active and faithful pastor, by the most unwearied exertions, to visit more than a very few familiei in the course of the day. (Hear.) In :Merthyr Tyd vill, in the county of Glamor,,, it was computed there were at least 20,000 chartists scattered over a and mountainous . district. There was but one church and one chapel of ease for the accommodation of this vast population, and they were capable of containing only 2600, thus leaving above 23,000 souls totally unprovided with church accommodation. (Hear, hear.) Three adjoining parishes in Breconshire, called Llan gattock, Llanally, and Llanguenider, contained each a large population living, in each case, at the distance of from five to nine miles from the church. For instance, in the parish Of Llanally, was a place called Bryn Mawr, five miles from the church, containing a population of 5000 souls, congre gated together in a close village, to whom a church and a cler gyman were equally 'unknown! (Hear, hear.) And the distance from the parish church was increased by the moun tainous nature of the country, intersected, as it was, by Again, the parish - of tremendous ravines. (Hear.) Llan bardarn, in the county of Cardigan, was 18 miles long, with a population scattered over it of above 10,060 souls. In this parish there were nine churches—two within a mile' of each other, and the third six miles distant. These three churches took in about eight miles of country on the one side of the parish, thus leaving the population residing on ten) miles, without a single church or clergyman. (Hear, hear.) Nu rneroos other cases might be cited; showing an equal or a greater amount of church destitution, but he would content himself by mentioning the three parishes in the county of Monmouth, where the chartists, who attacked the town of Newport; chiefly reside (hear) —the parishes; of Bed welty, Myniddyslwyn7Prevethyn, including the Aownship of Pont -y-Pool. These parishes contained iu the year 1801, a population of only 3635 ; but at the present moment the population was estimated at upwards of 30,0(X)—whilst the church accommodation was certainly not sufficient for more than between 3000 and 4000--a proportion of not.more than one in ten. (Hear, hear.) Sufficient bad now been said to show the lamentable destitution of church accommodation in Wales ; and as Lord John Russell had already been brought into court—(laughter)—he (Mr. H.) begged to call in his lordship again by reading a few remarks from a speech he delivered in the House of Commons on the 2nd of Aug. last, when proposing an increase in the army. (Hear.) Hi s lordship used these words upon that occasions :—" We have, particularly in the manufacturing districts, very large masses of people who have grown up in a state of society, which it is both lamentable and appalling to contemplate. (Hear.) They have not grown up amidst the usual concomitants of an ordinary state of society, under the band of early instruction; with places of worship to attend ; with their opinions of pro perty moulded by seeing it devoted to social and charitable objects ; and with a fair and gradual subor dination-of ra nks , But it is, in m an y cases , a so ciety necessarily composed of the working classes, with al few persons who employ their la- boor, but with whale they have little other connexion ; and, unhappily, neither receiving in schools nor in. places of wor ship, that religious and moral instruction, which is neces-. sary - to knit together the inhabitants and classes of a great country." (Hear, hear.) .There ! After such a profession as that, surely we should have Lord John Russell with us 'when an application should be made for a grant of public money for church extensien. (Cheers.) And he (Mr. Hors fall) hoped when the matter was under consideration, the noble lord and all those connected with him would; at the same time, devise means for providing better stipends for some of the clergy in several districts, particularly Wales. (Hear, hear.) At that niement he believed many of the mostaiseful and laborious ministers were not .receiving mote think , a cep - usage lalseerer's wages. (Hear, hear.) In con of"'this- stateinedt he would bring forward the' ease , 'of adedndiVidual...for the truth, .of which.. he could himself vouch. The party who first mentioned it to him itated'that the minister was au eloquent extemporaneous preacher,. and added '" If you had him in Liverpool in his younger days .[be was now 80] he would have . drawn together as large and overflowing congregations as even Mr. M`Neile." (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Horsfall) would give them the statement in the words of a gentleman who had himself in vestigated the case. The aged and faithful clergyin in of Llandrindod, has - been upwards of 59 years ministering in that parish. For 28 years of his life he served the three churches of Diserth, Cefn Llys, and Llandrindod, the united income of winch amounted to £34, and the duties of which compelled him to walk ,18 miles every Sunday. On this limited income, aided by the labour of his own hands, he has brought up a family of nine children, and although the perpetual curacy of Llandrindod has of late been augmented by a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty, the stipend arising from the two churches of Llandrindod and Cefn Lays, which he now serves, and which are four miles distant, is less than £4O a-year. Thus, at the age of upwards of four score, the venerable pastor of these parishes is compelled to traverse the mountains, a distance of 18 miles, every Sunday, in addi tion to performing the duties of the church." lie (Mr. II.) trusted that, after such a statement as this, something would be done, when the subject of church extension was brought forward, towards increasing the stipends of the poorer clergy. It was rather hard, when such cases as this were known, when all the Welsh bishoprics, and many of the most valua ble livings in Wales, were filled by Englishmen, that -com plaint should be made of some of our English pulpits being filled by Welshmen ; but he hoped this subject would be investigated. The time was come, when, in England, Ire land, and Wales we must have•faithful pastors; and it was of no use building additional churches, and endowin g them, unless we had faithful and zealous pastors, who would go into the highways and byeways, and bid the people to conic hie-- who would preach to them the pure, unadulterated word of God—neither suppressing the truths of the Gospel from expe diency, nor adding, by design, the corruptions of the Church of Rome. (Loud cheers.) With such a clergy throughout the land, as had been well remarked by en eloquent Irish divine, there would never sit a monarch on the British throne, there would never stand a statesman in the British senate, who would be able to resist the torrent of the moral influence which the clergy would possess. (Loud applause.) We should then have no socialism and no chartism ; we should then have, to the fullest extent, our earnest wish—NO POPERY in the bind. [Four several rounds of applause folloWed the expression of this sentiment.] He had been anxious, in con nection with this subject, to lay these few details before the meeting ; and he would now conclude by expressing his earn est hope that this meeting would join cordially in that beau tiful prayer in our Liturgy, on behalf of the rulers of the land, " That it may please God to direct and prosper all their con sultations, to the advancement of His glory, the good of His church, and the safety, honour, and welfare of our Sovereign and her dominions.' (Loud cheers.) The Rev. R. P. BUDDICOM, in seconding the resolution, said he would take the liberty of reading it again, because it contained some substantial statements, which it was very important should be known. Having• • read the resolu tion, the rev. gentleman proceeded to say, that there could not be a more important, or, as he thought, a more self-evi dent truth than-that of the principle with which the resolu tion set out, " that the theory of the Church of England is a fold for every sheep, and a shepherd for every fold." (Hear, hear.) Well and wisely had the Church of England • provided green pastures into which she leads those in her communion to the still waters of her liturgy, and of her de votional exercises, of which they must drink—even of the waters of the well of life, which are able to make wise unto salvation, and nourish them up to eternal life. (Applause.) But the question was how shall the fold be prepared into which these sheep may be brought ? How shall they be gathered from the world in which they arc placed, and be brought into those pastures where they may enjoy the glorious liberty of the Gospel of God, which the Church of England gives to those of her communion, and to every one who asks? The gate seemed to have been closed against them—not because the duty had ceased, but because it bad been held so long in abeyance, that many had . forgotten it was a duty. (Hear.) In consequence Of - feeling' that 'duty, we 'were now called upon to reason and argue about those things which ought ever to have been regarded as substantive and fundamental truths. (Hear.) • It was very certain that we were called upon to hope even against hope ; and when his friend Mr. Horsfall stated his expectation that Lord John Russell might be led to support, upon his own principles, church extension, he (Mr. Buddicom) felt his heart sink under a crowd of recol lections of the doings of that family with church property three centuries ago. At that period, that family so far from being one of the parties to church extension, were one of the great Leviathans of church spoliation, as Burke once said ; and he (Mr. Buddicom) should be glad, again to use the language of Burke, to see a descendant of that house who did not partake of the cold, acidulous, and me tallic tincture of the spring. (Hear, and cheers.) But we had been told that prayer was effectual, and that it would be heard and answered ; he would therefore call on that large assembly, whilst other means were being used, not to forget that Moses might be upon the mount, and have his hands held up in prayer whilst Joshua was fighting in the valley below with Amalek. (Cheers.) Thus they might call down the blessing of God upon their exertions. -. M He had - been struck with a remark of his rev. brother (Mr. `Neile) that nothing could be inure cruel than to elevate the Church of England to a certain point for doing good and there leave her—without making her means of instruction commensurate With the e v er-increasing wants of the population.. In such a case as this, the Church of England becaMe a sect. She became like a human being having an .ossification of the .heart. There she stood, the ossified part remaining rigid and iluetteriveable while the siiirounding- parts were elastic and : expansive, until. at length till the heart burst, and death took place.. That might be the consequence of attempting to foSter the Church of England up - to 6 t-ertain point and there leaving her—(hear). We must not only carry it on till we reached the point of the present demand, but we must be prepared to go on, vices acquirit 'eundo to overtake and keep pace with the population, which he understood had increased no . less than six millions within the last forty years—(hear). The voluntary principle had been tried in all ways and places; it had been weighed in the balance all over the country, and everywhere found wanting. And so it must be. If it. could carry its end out permanently-:-What then?' Could we really believe that the various communities now spread over the country, would, even upon. the supposition of their teach ing with faithfulness and sincerity, be satisfied with the union of the Church esf England principle with • the mo narchical institutions ? He was sure the sentiments of Mr. M`Neile on this subject were calculated to make their way through all hearts ; for if we would have the throne established, that throne must be built upon the altar, and the monarch must lay his hands upon the horns of the altar, and thence dispense religion, and comfort, and justice, and safety to the community. Whatever therefore might be the willingness, or, if they pleased, the ability of the dissenters and - the voluntaries to carryout their systems — and they had always shown a disposition, although the ability had been wanting ; we should be deficient in our duty to the Church, and to the monarchical institutions of the land, and to the peaCe of the country, which, under those institutions, had been basedand perpetuated upon a solid foundation, if we did not enable every one to sit under his own national vine and his own. fig tree, and enable every one to drink of the waters of his own cistern, no man making him afraid. (Hear.) We hadheard a greaftleatabout the advantages which the Church of England • posseesed, and to say the least, they had been put in a very invidious light, obtained from its union, with the state. No 'question that there were advantages. There was the advan tage of the independence of the ministers of religion, (hear,) which was an advantage of no common kind. He had had an opportunity' of speaking to a dissenting minister, who had left them, and-this gentleman told him, he could form no idea of the tyranny under which their ministers were placed, of the difficulties they had to contend with in preaching faithfully the •Goepel of Christ Jesus, and carrying its truths home to the lives and consciences of each individual—of the difficulties they were under in speaking to a class of a certain descrip tion', and saying as the Prophet said to David, " Thou art the man." _So much did he feel these difficulties that he was obliged to leave them, and now this individual found himself happy in sitting under the wing of the Church of England ! (Hear.) Thus she was the dispenser of comfort and of sal vation, through Christ, to the souls of men. (Hear.) The Church of England derived great advantages, no question, from her union with the state. By the assistance of that union had been founded every institution of the church, and every in stitution of religion. All the forms and frame-work of reli gion, which were to bring it in its power before the public, sprang from its connection' with government. This the Church of England, in common with every other Established Church, obtained by its connexion with the state, as well as the means of extending its own usefulness. (Hear.) - But, we had heard comparatively very little of the advantages which the state derived froM its connection with the Church. (Hear, hear.) To say the least, the advantages were equally great; for, as had been well observed, such was the im mediate effect of the ministrations of the Church of England in their power, their purity, and their spirituality, that this country stood unrivalled, and must stand unrivalled, among the nations. The Church exercised a power over the moral and spiritual condition of the people. To say nothing of the necessity and duty of the state to take care of the spiritual necessities of the people—taking it upon the low ground of 'the Church being merely called upon, by its high functions, to preserve order and morality, the Church of England, es pecially as the poor man's Church, had - been this country's greatest blessing, by its direct influence upon the commu nity. But there was its indirect influence upon the commu nity, in which the state was materially benetitted by its con nection with the Church ; and he held that the state had de rived more benefit from its connection with thehChurch, than the Church had from its connection with the state. (Hear.) Now it was to promote this end that the meeting was called upon to assist in the proposed measure of church extension. Instead of filling our land with prisons and penitentiaries, instead of multiplying police officers and poor law commis sioners, it would be well to try other means to stop the march of crime and misery, by the infusion of a newer and a higher principle. (Hear) Mr. Horsfall had read an extract trom a speech of Lord John Russell. Since the time when that speech was uttered; in which his lordship plainly demanded an increase of the army, to meet the appalling wants of that threatening period, the Bishop of Exeter delivered a charge, showing the want and the necessity of education among the poor, in order to avoid those dangers. [Mr. Buddicom hav ing read a copious extract from the most reverend prelate's charge, proceeded to enlarge upon it.] If we looked back upon the last half century, and saw how the national debt. had increased from two or three hundred millions to between eight and nine hundred millions, and considered that out of that enormous sum just one million and a halt' had been granted for church extension, what could we say of it ? If he might be permitted to use the comparison in that meeting, he would say it resembled Sir John Falstaff 's tavern bill, found in his pocket, in which were large sums for sack and delicacies, and only one-halfpenny worth of bread. (Hear.) Sb it was with the country. Whence have sprung the evils of socialism and Chartism ; whence springs the cause of the want 'and squalid misery which prevail. except because the poet- had been kept ignorant of the first principles of the oracles of God—because they had not Churches, and because where there were no Churches there wer e no schools. It' we 'looked Upon the Churches recently built, we should find that whetever a Church had been built, there had also been built a school. Wherever a government Church had been erected in this town—and it was proposed to erect schools to all the others—a Church school was built ; and, consequently, if a Church was not built, there was no school and no instruc tion. What then was the deplorable situation of those indivi duals who were left without the knowledge of God in the world ? We might know what it was to follow the sinful soul through all its walks of crime and sin and misery in this life ; But further there was a veil over it too dark for human eye to penetrate. 11 we could follow it into eternity, and see the ter rible consequences of having no fold for the sheep or shepherd, how 'should we be overwhelmed ? If we had a proper sense of our own privileges and hopes, and of our responsibility and obligation, which were co-relative terms, we should never let our hands_ rest, or allow our feet to stay, till we had remedied this state of things; we should call upon those who bad piirelands to come froward and help us in a matter that • • was so much needed as this. (Hear.) We were told it was a grievance upon dissenters to be called upon to pay for a religion in which they did not join - ' and to which they were conscientiously opposed. Now nothing was more easy than to oppose a conscientious objection to an unpalatable measure. (Hear, hear.) If such objections as these were allowed, one person might object, conscientiously no doubt, to contributing towards maintaining• a police force, because he did not think it necessary : and he might think it a grievance to be called upon to pay to the new force, because he thought the old fashioned constabulary of our Saxon ancestors would do very well to keep the peace ; and a third might say, with as much reason, that he was conscientiously indisposed to the execution of the law—and yet, if one man must be called upon to support the measures to which he objects, so must all. The Quaker might say he was indisposed to pay for going to war, and yet he did pay. - . He made this remark in order to show, that if the, pieii of conscience Was allowed in one case it must be in 4Suddicom,• after a few further remarks, concluded by seconding.the,,resolution. The CHAIRMAN then put the mak*, and it was carried amidst loud cheers. The Rev. DANIEL WILSON said he had been requested to move the next resolution. lie felt that an apology was due from him as a stranger, to presume, after the powerful and eloquent addresses which had been already delivered, to add any thing of his own on that occasion. But he would rather draw his apology from the overwhelming importance of the subject which had brought the meeting together. He must say, as the incumbent of one of the largest suburban parishes of the metropolis, that a subject more important—more mo mentous to the interests of this great empire—more impor tant to the temporal, the national, and the domestic inte rests of the people—more important, above all, to the eter nal interests of immortal, undying souls, could not possibly have brought together a ministry and a people, than the present. tie congratulated the chairman, as the rector of this vast parish, on occupying his present position as chair man of the meeting ; and he trusted the example which was being set in the great and important town of Liverpool would be followed throughout the length and breadth of the land, in all parishes and districts wherever they could gather the people together, in order to send up an united, a simultan eous, collective voice to the legislature, urging the importance of extending the accommodations of the Church of Eng land. lie thought there were features in the present day that rendered the present a peculiarly proper season liar soli citing this measure. In the first place, as the meeting had already heard, the population had increased to an almost in credible vast extent, and the .church accommodation was nearly the same as that which had been originally provided when the number of the people was comparatively insignifi cant : and as the church arrangements were then considered adequate for only five millions of people, how could they be considered equally adequate for the .accomodation of four teen or fifteen millions? (Hear, hear.) What would be the feelings of the legislature if the same principles were to be pursued with regard to our military and our naval esta blishments?. (Hear, hear.) He found, from a document which he happened to have-had put into his hands, of a cen tury back, that our army consisted of 18,000 men, who were maintained at an annual cost of £650,000. • At the present moment we had an army of 110,000 men, the cost of which was £,000,000 per annum. Lethim return-to the original army of 18,000 men, and ask the legislature whether they would be satisfied with that amount of military force, to provide for the defence of the vast population of this island ? Again, our naval force, about the same period, was maintained at the annual cost of X 350,000 ; but now it cost X 7,000,000. In like manlier were we to provide the soldiers and the sail ors, who were to go abroad to fight our battles and to defend the barriers our country—were we to enlarge and increase their numbers, and to do nothing to increase the numbers of the soldiers of the cross ? (Hear, hear.) Were we not to enlarge the numbers of those who were to carry forward the banners of salvation, - and hold up the standard of the cross of Christ throughout the length and breadth of the land ? Then we should have what we should natu rally expect as the results of this—infidelity spreading amongst us—Popery increasing—and a spirit of liberalism and radicalism and insubordination 'prevailing far and wide. —(hear, hear.)—And could we wonder at it ? Could we be as tonished if, wnen knowledge was increasing, when the means of information were enlarged, and the intellect was being cul tivated to a great and increasing extent, and when nothing adequate was done for the moral, spiritual, and religious in terests of the people? He asked again could we be surprised at this result ?—(hear,thear.) Rather was it not a cause for won der that we had not in a more tremendous degree these fea tures imprinted upon the land. (Hear.) ien there was another point which, at the present moment, seemed peculiarly to prompt this effort. It was this, not only had the volun tary system been tried among the dissenters, but it had been tried, to a very considerable extent, within the pale of our own - church. He would just refer to what he was naturally more conversant with than with other similar subjects—the state of the metropoliS. Within the last three or four years their diocesan had been making most extraordinary efforts. They had raised, during that period s a church building fund amounting to £132,000. (Hear,. hear) It was just pos sible, with the combined resources of the Bethnal fund, and of other local funds, which were , ready to meet the Bishop's, that - they should be enabled. to raise, in the course of the next four or five years, as much money as would build forty-two churches or chapels throughout the metropolis. But what said the report of the church com missioners ? Forty churches, were they erected to-day, would be too small to supply the necessity. The report of the com missioners, presented some time back, showed this—that 279 additional churches were required, at the present moment, to meet the wants of the present population of the metro polis of Great Britain, not to speak of the rapid increase of population perpetually taking place: and, as the Bishop of London had again and again pressed upon us, " if I build my forty churches, and the population of my diocese ad vances, as it does now, the church accommodation, when my forty churches have been built, will bear a less proportion to the general population than the present number of churches does." That was, that the increase of population would more than counterbalance all that could he done to meet the demand. ,(Hear.) This was a point which would strike every one, and which had convinced him that mere voluntary efforts, however vigorously applied, would not meet the de mand. Then, there was another point. Wherever this voluntary effort had been carried on, within a comparatively small circle, the result had been so striking, as to encou rage, in a remarkable degree, an additional effort. Perhaps he 'might be charged with egotism in referring to his own parish ; but he should do so with a view to make out his third point— that wherever church accommodation, from whatever source, haddieen supplied at all adequate to the increase of the po pulatiOnStlie.reSult had been' to giiiPtisi expectation. Thir teen years ago, when the present Bishop of Calcutta firstwent to the parish of Islington, the population amounted to about 30,000. It :ivas now 42,000. There - were then two churches whi'Ph provided accommodation for about 28,000 ; but neither of them were filled. The incumbent was superannuated, and unable to act. He had only a single curate to perform the duties of that large parish. Now, by the blessing of God upon voluntary efforts, sustained partly by the report of the church commission, partly by its destitute state, and partly by the Bishop of London's metropolitan fund, they had been enabled to raise seven - additional churches. The number. of conse crated churches in the parish was now nine, together with three licensed chapels—thus furnishing church accommodation for 13,400 persons, or nearly one third of the gross population of the parish. The effect had been simply this—that every new church built •had been gradually filled, and the old churches were more fully an d ent i re ly filled with attentive audiences than ever. (Hear.) For every new church erect ed, they . had bad an a.diiitionatlay pastor working among the people, and consequently they had now, „sixteen working clergymen scattered over a district where formerly one indi vidual performed the -whole duty. 7 (Applause.) The effect had been, that not only had the spiritual interests of the po pulation been effectually promoted—not only had they, in their nine or ten churches, every Sunday; large and attentive • congregations ; but they were, at the present moment, sup posing the population to increase, and, instead of 40,000, it should be in a few years 60,000 or' 70,000, in a far better po sition than ever for raising funds for the erection of addi tional places of worship. (Hear.) They could fall hack • upon their multiplied congregations, and increase their united efforts ; then schools, teachers, and. district visitors immedi ately followed. Since the last new church had been erected, there had been built, or there were now building, twelve ad ditional parochial schools, capable of providing religious in struction for 2,000 children. (Applause.) Ile would shew how their funds had increased with this increasing accommo dation. When they began, the income of the Church Mis sionary Society from this parish was £3OO a year; but now they very easily raised £lOOO. He mentioned this fact to shew, that if they could obtain additional churches, and meet the increasing wants of the population, they were effect ing a more important object for the spiritual interests of this great country, than by any other method that could possibly be devised—and not only . for our own country, but for our colonies and our spheres of missionary labour. (Hear, and applause.) The same thing was going on there as here. He might mention the colony of Australasia where the Bishop was erecting schools and churches, and was about to build a cathedral. He might mention India, where, during the last five years, the Bishop of Calcutta had sent him word, he had contracted for the erection of twenty-two new schools, in connection with the Church of England, in the single diocese of Bengal. In connection with this, he might refer to another interesting fact. The see of Calcutta bad been erected for twenty years, yet, up to the present ti me, there never had been a suitable building provided for a cathedral. The present church used for that purpose was an unconsecrated building, and in the hands of trustees, who might withdraw it at any time they thought proper. The Bishop was now making an effort throughout his diocese to raise funds for the erection of a suitable cathedral, to which would be attached native canons and prebends to instruct the natives, to read lectures to them, and thus be the means of giving a local habitation to the Church 'of England, in the most important dependency of the empire, which no other single authority could do to an equal degree. Ile mentioned this because lie might possibly be speaking to some who were interested in that country. The Bishop was anxious to raise a subsidiary fund in our own land towards this object. The Christian Knowledge Society had munifi cently contributed £5OOO, and he was happy to say that Charles Groves, Esq., of the Exchange, Liverpool, had offered to receive subscriptions, and had sent a dona tion of £lO. Mr. Wilson then referred to the reso lution, and concluded by moving its adoption, " That the duty of Rulers, in reference to the public worship and acknowledgment of Almighty God, is clearly laid down in his Holy Word—that momentous interests are at stake --and that—it. is a f.arfal susperimcests for a professedly Christian Legislabitre to try (whether in deference to secta rian opinions, or fb the suggestions of a mistaken and short sighted economy) how large a portion of the people can be safely left without the pale of Christian Institutions ; and that it is an act of the most grievous injustice to resolve that that experiment shall be made at the cost of the poorer classes, who can do little to help themselves, and on whom penal measures, whenever necessary, arc apt to fall with peculiar weight and severity." The Rev. FIELDING OULD supported the resolution in a very long and able address, in which he replied to several points advanced by time advocates of the voluntary system at their great soiree held in the Music-hall in November last. Alluding to the three watchwords proposed by Mr: M`Neile, he said he would suggest a fourth, and then the series would run thus : Scriptural Education, Church Extension, Sabbath Observance, and repeal of the Emancipation Bill. (Hear, hear.) He concluded by cordially seconding the resolution. The CHAIRMAN put the next inotion, which was carried. The. Rev. Dr. TATTERSII ALL moved the adoption of the next resolution :---, " That a Petition to the House of . Commons, embodying the foregoing Resolutions, and calling upon the Legislature to take the matter thereof into its most serious considera tion, be adopted ; and that the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Sartdon and Cresswell Cresswell, Esq., be requested to present and support the same." At this late hour he should not detain the meeting by any remarks, but content himself by reading the petition. The Rev. Doctor then read the petition, as follows : " TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF GREAT 'BRITAIN AND IRELAND,, IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED. " The humble Petition of the undersigned Inhabitants of Liverpool and its vicinity, " SHEwETH,That your petitioners are anxious to draw the attention of your honourable house to the spiritual des titution of vast masses of the population in England and Wales ; and, especially, to the fact, that wherever such des titution exists, the poorer classes are the first and the chief sufferers. " That your petitioners have been taught to consider that the, theory of the Church of England is a fold for every sheep, and a shepherd for every fold ; and that she regards the souls of all, as of equal value in the sight of their' Crea tor : but they lament that this principle has been so lost sight of, during a long period of national prosperity,. that when the Ecclesiastical Commissioners appointed by his late Majesty made their report in 1836, there were 108 parishes or. dis tricts, containing an aggregate population amounting to 2,590,000, for whom not more than 301,382 church-sittings had been provided ; and, admitting that the chapels of Dis- senters in those districts furnished an equal number of sits ting;s, and that not more than half the entire population can be Considered capable of attending public worship, still the conclusion at which your petitioners arrive is, that upwards of 1,300,000 of that population, and those chiefly of the poorer classes, were totally unprovided for : and, bearing in mind that upwards of six millions have been added to the population of England and Wales since the commencement of the present century, your petitioners believe that some hundreds of thousands might he added to that appalling number, of persons similarly situated in other parts of the ' country. " Your petioners respectfully submit that the duty of rulers in reference to the public worship and acknowledgment of Almighty God, is clearly laid down in his Holy Word—that momentous interests are at stake—and that it is a fearful ex periment for a professedly Christian legislature to try (whe ther in deference to sectarian opinions, or to the suggestions of a mistaken or short-sighted economy,) how large a portion of the people can be safely left without the pale of Christian institutions. And that is an act of the. most grievous injus tice, to resolve that that experiment shall be made at the SF cost of the poorer classes, who can do little to help themselves, and on whom penal measures, whenever necessary, are apt to fall with peculiar weight and severity. "Tour petitioners, therefore, implore your Honourable House to take these matters into your most serious considera- _ tion, with the view of providing, through the medium of the Established Church, that religious and moral instruction which alone can knit together the inhabitants and classes of a great country. ,f "And your petitioners will ever pray, &c., &c." The Rev. JAMES HALDANE STEWART begged to second - t the motion, and would only detain the meeting by stating. s that now was the time for every one to sign their names, and to come forward as those who had themselves felt the benefit of church extension. (Hear.) He would put the question . to every individual present—" Can you lay your hand upon,, ' your heart and say, I have to thank God for the .church ex,,, tension that has taken place in this great town, for it has s s brought me, by the grace of God, out of darkness into his marvellous light, and I desire to say blessed be God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for making known the Son of his love to me by his holy spirit ?" If they had not them selves found benefit from church extension in this town, he would strongly recommend them to address their petition Him who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that they might receive that personal benefit ; and if they had, by his grace, then he would say, " Come and sign your names, that others might." (Hear.) Remember, proceeded the Rev. Gentleman, that we meet here for business. (Hear.) It is not to hear speeches, to , applaud those speeches, and then to go home and do nothing, but to support that christian legis lator, Sir Robert Inglis, when he brings forward his motion in the House of Commons. Every petition that appears upon the table of that house, will strengthen his hands and the hands of those legislators who earnestly desire that christian principles and practice may be established through out the land. (Cheers.) I add no more. May the Lord so Incline all our hearts, that we may not find .this evening go off unprofitably, but that we may be as ready to act as we ' have been to hear and to plead. (Loud cheers.) The CHAIRMAN put the resolution and petition, and the meeting unanimously adopted them. C. S. PARKER, Esq., moved a vote of thanks to the Rev s , Rector Brooks for his conduct in presiding at the meeting. ---.. . THOMAS FORSVI'II, Esq., seconded it. The motion was carried by acclamation. Ml'. BROOKS briefly acknowledged the compliment, and j the meeting separated about ten o'clock, having been occupied „ A A from half-past six. • • 8 s ,-.00 FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. TURKEY. CONSTANTINOPLE, JAN. 22.—The negociations of M. Zographos for the conclusion of a treaty of commerce with the Porte, have suddenly taken a very favourable turn. M• Zographos, who will soon leave Constantinople to return to Greece, will be able to conclude the affair before his de parture, as all the stipulations of the treaty seem to be settled. It is founded on the basis of the treaty concluded between Great Britain and the Porte on the 16th of August, 1838. The Grand Vizier, Khosrew Pacha, had an apoplectic fit the day before yesterday. Medical aid being quickly applied the old Grand Vizier was saved. He is tolerably well to day. The death of this man, who alone is able to see through the crafty-devised plan of the Viceroy, would be at this moment an almost irreparable loss to the Porte. HANOVER. ,HANovEa, FEB. 7.—His Majesty has been pleased to grant the Chamberlains Von Hammerstein and Von Wrede. at their own request, permission to retire from their post, with a pension. In contradiction to other accounts from Frankfort, the Magdeburg Gazette says, " It is wholly improbable that the Diet will so soon resume the discussion of the affairs of Hanover, unless, contrary to all hope and expectation, they should take such a turn in that kingdom that the interfer ence of the Diet must take place as a matter of course." BELGIUM. ANTWERP, FEB. 13.—The Commerce Belge says—" We were well informed when we stated that the visit of M. Ouv rard to Brussels was connected with some great financial operations. We now learn from an authentic source that he is engaged at Madrid on the realization of a project concern ing Spain and Belgium. This is the acquisition of the Philippine Islands for our advantage on a basis entirely new, combining the means of deriving the greatest advantage from these colonies, and making. them a grand deVit for Belgian manufactures and produce. Besides pecuniary aid and credit given by the state, a society, with a large capital, would b e founded.—Journa l the Commerce d Anvers. SWEDEN. The speech of the king of Sweden, on opening the diet at Stockholm, on the 25th ult. which is of unusual length, re presents the kingdom as in: a state of high prosperity, and states that, although the taxes have been annually diminished , there has since 1813 been expended in public works upwards of 15,5000,000 thalers, or about 80,000,000 francs. Parti cular attention, it says, has been paid to the moral and religions education of the people, and the States are recom mended to authorise the establishment of a primary school in each of the 1,200 existing parishes. His majesty enume rates all the improvements made in the government since his accession: Among these is the extinction of the whole of the foreign and a great part of th e home debt ; an increase of the profits of the bank from -2.18,000 thalers ..baneo to 700,000; the formation of an army of 100,000 effective men ; the creation of a coast guard of 230 gunboats ; an augmenta tion of the fleet ; an increase of commerce and tnanufacturei and general . industry ; and finally, a perfect union betwecU Sweden and Norway, which had been previously divided bY a mutual spirit of animosity. His majesty, at - the conclusion of his speech, made a feeling allusion to Lis own advanced. age, and. the great happine-s which the actual condition of the country atiorded him.—Galignaai's Messenger. AFRICA. We have advices from Liberia (Africa) to the 24th of Nov. The slave trade was-still carried on to a great extent on the coast of Africa, as during the first fortnight of November no less than twenty vessels under Portuguese, Spanish, and Bra zilian colours had been brought in by. British cruizers ' anti condemned. A great number of American vesse ls were like wise on the coast for slaves, and the British armed brig Lyivo Lieut. Broadhead, had seized, at British Accla, the can schooner " My Bov," of New Orleans, and taken her to Sierra Leone, where she was duly condemned. The com manders of the British armed vessels are said to have stated that they had received strict orders from their Governmen t not to interfere with any American vessels, unless there wa s positive proof that slaves were on board, or the vessels were in British waters. The slave trade is stated to have been, p rose cuted with unwonted energy in the neighbourhood 0, the Gallenas, and such was the eagerness with which slaves were • sought for, that every species of foreign merchandi% e had fallen in price to a level unusually low. RUSSIA. A Bombay letter of Ist January states, that the news of, the advance of the Russian expedition a g ainst Chiva .had reached that place, and that in consequence the forces st the camp of Pichavor had been ordered to suspend their retur 9 to Bombay. The Temp quotes advices, of one day's pre' vious date, to the following effect : but it should be observea, that no date is assigned to the movements alluded to, atl" what is given from St. Petersburgh, we suspect the accoun t to be premature Private letters just arrived inform It' that the Russian army, of 12,000 or 13,000 men, under Ge - • neral Berokuy (Perowski) which has entered the Khanat Chiva, not to take revenge for wrongs done, as the St. Peters' burgh journals state, but as. invaders, has taken the capita l ' Tile Khan, on the aea rance of the first column of the ene my, assembled as strong a force as. he could collect, and mad e a show of resistance. Ile was, however, obliged to yield to superior numbers, and the Russians entered Chiva w ith drums beating andi colours flying," IMPORTANCE OF A Tot.—A tile fell on a passenger's toe in Blackfriar's-road the other day and nearly cut it off. was amputated in the hospital, the patient was seized wit h delirium tremens, and died two days after. SINGULAR MORTALITY AMONG Conk.—A novel diseas e of the most deadly c h ar acter has lately made its appearan ce ' and caused some con sternation in the extensive dairies in the neighbourhood of Purtleet. The first part attacked is the tongue, which rapidly becomes so blistered and swollen utterly to prevent the animal from taking its food. tinleP the most prompt and skilful means are used to av ert its P 10 press, the disease rapidly extends to the animal's ho ol is which in a short time absolutely rot off, and certain death of course the consequence. This disease, in most cases fata l, is not known ever to have sho w n it s elf b e fore, and is gee" rally attributed to the extraordinary quantity of rain which has fallen during the last eight months.—Morning Herald. ROMAN CATHOLIC CONTROVERSY AT BOLTON. —The 11 1 troductory sermon was preached by the Rev. Hugh Stowell of Manchester, on Tuesday night, and the first of the serie S on " Tradition" by the Rev. W. Dalton , was p reached in St ' Mary's Church, on Tuesday evening last. The well-know s acquaintance of this gentleman with polemical divinity a" g tracted a most overflowing cong re g ation, numbers not be in able even to get standing room in the aisles. The I Gentleman delivered a powerful discourse, in his usual lin; pressive and persuasive style, which occupied about an at and three quarters in delivery. We cannot but hope th B . these sermons will be attended with much good, especially they are about to be published at an extremely low rate 11) ,i genera l distribution. The future sermons will be pr eache of in St. Leonard's Church, for the better accommodatioa the inhabitants ' • St. Mary's Church having been foun d 01te t o o small.—Staffordshire Gazelle. DIABOLICAL MURDER.—A most atrocious murder b ss been committed during the week. A poor and very old 01°„; man had been employed for many years as a letter carrl' between Newbridge and the parts adjacent, and on Weal day evening she left Newbridge with the letter bags a s usu o . Nothing more was seen or heard of her till the next ma ing, when her body was found in the river , and upon 0111,, nation it was found that her head had been mo st dreadlii.,„; beaten, and that she must have been dead before she 0 ; thrown into the water. It would seem that the perpetral°4 of this horrid deed expected to have obtained a rich bootY , ; it was the day on, which the money (upwards of £2,000) °on usually sent up to one of the 'works to pay the men. this occasion, however, it fortunately happened t h at a sPec.:ol messenger had been sent down and had taken the money ‘'lzi him. There is not the slightest clue upon which a hope tl rest for the discovery of the murderer. It is said that people on the hills, being now fully persuaded t hat all c3};„! tal punishMent is done away with, these things will nq e it unfrequent, as they care not for secondary punishment, l"io, observation being that they work so hard here that t 1 1,,, portation cannot place them in a worse condition.—Mew' Guardian. hr. THE BITER. Birrirs.--On Wednesday last, as a cat , to t longing to Mr. John Robinson, of Longridge, was in (1",10 adventures, it wended its way to the parson a ge house, aatil, stealthily as possible gaining an entrance into the paaltbie found, on a low shelf, a small jar, about half full of pals .0:, eatables. Being the sole mistress of the citadel, Pu 53 . 1 0 e11; gined she had a right to the goo d things whi ch it coma t ot but oh ! and alas ! the mouth of the jar would not a r ,„ use admit poor puss's " cran i um , " which comp elled her 1,1"ocr. "physical" force , ' until at last she effected an eutr`," When attempting, however, to draw out her head, loi.ioo was secured fast enough ! If her head was too large P re p oi° to putting it into the jar;: it was evidently.: much l a cger rio te After vainly endeavoming with;all her might, to e%rboaa' herself, she strove to escape v:itii'the jar hanging- by her .1 t he when she wits •seen•by thegktvatiL: . ::She then ran ag4inafti l wall, and the jar breakippOts l spAliberated from her Pa pillory.—Preston Chronicle. - ' ledge ;' i