The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-23 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL YOUNG MEN'S ESTABLISHED CHURCH SOCIETY. On Wednesday evening, the first annual meeting of the above society was held at the Amphitheatre. This society, it will be remembered, was called into existence in consequence of the strenuous efforts made by the " Voluntary Church Association" against the Esta blished Churches of England, Ireland, and Scotland. That association had been for some time organised in Liverpool, and numerous lectures had been delivered at the various dissenting chapels in town, in defence of the voluntary principle, as applied to the mainte nance of religious worship. In consequence of these systematic attempts to bring the Established Church into disrepute, and to deprive this country of even the very semblance of national religion, the Young Men's Established Church Society was called into existence. The meeting on Wednesday was the first anniver sary meeting of this society. It was announced that the chair would be taken at half-past six o'clock, but long before that time the magnificent building was crowded in every part. At as early an hour as five o'clock, parties were waiting for the opening of the doors. The boxes were chiefly occupied by ladies, whose presence at such meetings we are always glad to-recognise. The pit, the platform, and the galleries were densely filled by gentlemen. The pit was boarded over on a level with the stage, in preparation for the dinner of yesterday. Over the platform were nume rous flags, chiefly of a national character, including the ropemakers' flag, containing a beautiful painting of the death of Nelson, and the spirit-stirring motto, " England expects every man to do his duty." The stage was occupied by the principal friends and sup porters of the society, the objects of which are well explained in the appeal and declaration in the circular forwarded to the subscribers, from which the following are extracts : GRATIS.] ablished Church of England." (Hear, hear.) How changed.o a picture is this ! (Hear, hear.) Is this the result of pure religious feeling ? I confess, gentlemen, I cannot conceive that even the warmest charity can attribute it to such a feel ing. (Cheers.) They tell us now, that it is the very princi ple of all dissent, that no church establishment should exist, I differ from them in opinion upon many points, but when they make assertions as to facts, I may say that the facts they assert are historically false. (Hear.) Dissent was not founded on this principle. It is principle of a few years' growth. The original principle of dissent was this—a difference of opinion upon certain of the rights, ceremonies, and discipline of the established church ; and the dissenters from the Church of England, at that time, were as anxious as the warmest mem bers of the established church of the present day, that there should be an established church ; the only point on which they differed was, what should be her rites, her ceremonies, and her discipline. (Hear, hear.) In an assembly like this it is hardly necessary to enter into an argument to prove the point ' • but we would ask the m hi s t or i ca lly when this princi ple of dissent was first asserted ? Do we find it among the Puritans of the time of James the First? Do we find it among those who took possession of the livings of the Church of England duiing the Commonwealth, whether Puritans or Independents ? (Cries of hear, hear.) Who complained of it as the greatest grievance and injury that ever was com mitted, That they were driven from those livings, which, by their own account, no dissenter ought ever to possess ? When was it that this principle was ? Was it during those nego tiations which took place, after that time between the dis senters and the church of England, for the purpose of ascer taining whether there was not common ground upon which they could agree ? (Hear.) The questions at issue between them were questions as to discipline, rites, and ceremonies : and by the negotiation into which the dissenters entered at that time with the church of England, they proved it was not as an establishment that they quarrelled with her, but be cause of differences of opinion as to certain rites, ceremonies, and discipline which the establishment supported. (Cheers: ) But I would ask, were these the opinions of the great lights of the dissenting churches among themselves ? Were these the opinions of those they look up to as the fathers of their churches? Were these the opinions of Owen, of Flavel, of Mathew Henry, and of Dowton—men to whom all Christians look up with esteem ? All these men looked up with affec tionate reverence to an established church, and thanked God, in their own words, " that the church establishment was most irrevocably interwoven with the very constitution of our country." (Loud applause.) It was not then the principle of dissenters that churches should not be established ; they became dissenters only because they differed on some points from the church of England as it was established. But, as to the opinion of dissenters themselves at the present mo ment. If it is their opinion that there should not be any established church, it is not their practice. (Hear.) I should like to know in what part of the British dominions you have found dissenters declining an endowment where they can get it. Take the Roman Catholics—they are dis senters from the church of England—they are dissenters from that pure and apostolic church—(great applause)—from that church from which we are lineally descended, and which, I hope, we properly represent. (Hear, hear.) But, gentlemen, looking at the Roman Catholics, where do they decline endowments ? Who do we find now in the very van of this attack on the establishment? Who do we find now asserting, in the very broadest terms, that every man ought to pay for his own religion, and that the government ought to have nothing to do with it in any way, and that every man ought to provide his own clergyman as he provides his own doctor when sick ? Why, the Roman Catholics. And who are the Roman Catholics? (A cry in the gallery of " Dan O'Connell," and hear." Why, the Roman Catholics them selves, who have establishments all over the world where they can get them, and whose bishops have an establishment within the British dominions, and in every British colony where they can persuade the government to grant them one, and whose college at Maynooth, for the education of their clergy are a proof. (Loud cries of " Hear." Do they de cline endowments ? (Cries of " Shame.") I have not heard of one. Do dissenters decline endowments ? You are perhaps not aware that the dissenters are endowed in almost every part of the empire, more or less. They are endowed in the first place by private endowments. I should have thought that the same objections against endowments would have ap plied to private as well as to public endowments. But sup pose private endowments so differ from public endowments, let us see if they are not paid by the state at this very moment. (Hear, hear.) You are not, perhaps, aware, that every year a consideable sum is voted for the maintenance of presbyterian dissenters of Ireland, and that every year a a sum is voted as pensions to aged and infirm dissenting mi nisters of that church ; and an allowance to the dissenters of Canada and New Holland. The only quarrel there is, not that government do not give them any endowment, but that the government do not give them as much as they want. These are the abstract haters of all endowments ! who say that all endowments are unscriptural—that every man should be left to provide for and pay his own parson as for his own doctor, and that the Church of England is evil root and branch, because she is tainted with this hateful plague spot of endowment. (Hear.) I am however tempted to believe that it is not hatred of endowments, but jealousy of endow ments that is the cause of all this. (Loud cries of " Hear," and applause.) Gentlemen, but I do not fear this crusade against the Church of England. (Hear, hear, and great ap plause.) If I at any time, when at a distance from Liver pool, am afraid, that fear disperses the moment I put my foot within its walls. (Cheers.) When I know how in the cause of the church every class of this community is roused ; when I know how public meetings can be assembled at the call of the ministers of the church, whether in defence of the church herself, or in carrying out any of the great objects for which she was established ; when I hear the storm raging in the distance, tremble as I may, when I enter the walls of Liverpool, I feel I am not entitled to entertain any apprehension. (" Hear hear," and applause.) Is it not the peculiar honour and distinction of this country, that whereas the title of " Youth," of" Young France," of " Young Italy," of " Young Germany," is appropriated, as dissemina ting everything that is riotous, everything that is wild, every thing formed of innovation, everything that hates what is es tablished, everything that is most inclined to embark in every new experiment in politics or religion, England, " Young England," may be considered as pre-eminent for her vener ation for everything that is established, for everything that is respected, and what gives the greatest hope for the lover of his country to look to? (Applause.) When I see the young and the old banded together—the wisdom of the old and the energy of the young ;—when I see high and low mingling to gether in this sacred cause—when I know what is done within the walls of Liverpool—when I know that in the cause of scriptural education thousands after thousands are raised in a week—when I know how church after church is raised at the bidding of our venerable diocesan, I feel that there is not only hope for the Church of Englaud as established by law, but that we have no reason to be apprehensive. (Cheers.) And I cannot think that the dissenters have wisely chosen their ground here. I cannot think that they have wisely chosen to attempt to shew the attachment of this country to our venerated establishment. They themselves, in fact, con fess it. In their published declarations they avow that, when ever they have come in contact with the church, there their arms fall paralysed to their sides, and their weakness is con fessed. (Cheers.) They talk largely indeed ; but the fact is so. (Hear.) I read an account this morning of what passed at what is called a meeting of the " Young Men's Voluntary Association," and one of the reverend speakers on that occa sion spoke of the Church of England as " a small minority." I was struck with the assertion. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I confess it was not my impression. I thought I remem bered a few facts, not quite in accordance with this very bold assertion. I looked for a pamphlet which I thought contained the facts I was in search of. I found it. It was rather a curious return to parliament. In the year 1830, a return was moved for in the House of Commons, of the number of places of worship of the Church of England, and also of places of worship not of the Church of England in Lancashire. That return was also moved for for all Eng land, but by some singular fatality I suppose, Lancashire was the most favourable to dissenters, it is the only one which has as yet seen the light. (Hear.) I believe the other returns of this kind perished in the flames which consumed the houses of parliament ; but happily for us the accounts for the county of Lancaster were preserved. And what is the result ; I think, when we choose the county of Lancas tar, we shall say that we do not choose the field of inquiry the most unfavourable to dissenters and Roman Catholics. We have notoriously the largest Roman Catholic population in this county that exists in any part of England : and there is also, in this county, an immense number of manufacturing towns, and a larger proportion of dissenters than is to be found in any part of England. Therefore we take the expe riment in a field as unfavourable to ourselves as any field we could select in the whole empire, except Ireland. The result is this. I find that in the year 1830 there were returned in the county of Lancaster 590 places of worship, and 255,411 dissenters of every class, and at the same time the population in the following year of this same county was 1,366,854. Let us analyse this return for a moment, and see what proportion the dissenters bear to the population of the whole county. If we take all not members of the Church of England, and compare them with the population, we find that the dissen ters in this way taken, form one-fifth of the population of the county. (Hear, hear.) Thus, in the most favourable field for them in all England, this " undoubted majority" form one-fifth of the population taken in that way. (Hear, hear.) But who are these dissenters ? We have perhaps a right to look into details. We find amongst these 255,000 dissenters, 144,000 Roman Catholics. If we were asked to look to any other parts of England except the county of Middlesex and the county of Stafford, we should find the Roman Catholics almost a non-existing minority. We may throw out then the Roman Catholics which help to swell the balance of the dissenters. Let us set aside, therefore, for a moment, the Roman Catholics in this county, and we find 111,000 dissenters only out of a population 1,366,000. And let me ask what are these dissenters? Why, more than half of them are Wesleyans. (Applause.) Including the Wesleyans they are only one-twelfth of the whole population of the county, and one-half of them are Wesleyans—ardent friends, attached friends of the established church. (Loud cheering.) They rank like the ancient dissenters whom we look up to and venerate ; they strive to advance the common cause we have at heart. If they differ from us in minor points, they see minor points of difference only between us and them, and they see major and impassable points of difference be tween themselres and those who are opposed to the esta blished church. (Loud cheers.) Now, then, what comes in this most advantageous field in all England, putting aside the Roman Catholics, who would hardly enter into any other calculation, of the " majority of the dissenters ?" We this nd 55,000 dissenters in a population of 1,366,0 00 , maki n g boasted " majority over the Church of England" one -twenty fourth part of the population of the county. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Then, I think, from this one specimen you may learn the value of the general assertion • for if this assertion is not true in the county of Lancaster, I defy them to choose another field in all England in which their asser tions can have an approximation to truth. (Cheers.) Gen tlemen, having disposed pretty satisfactorily of the question of the state being called in to support the religion of this " small minority," I think we may dispose equally satisfac torily of the other assertion which they rely upon the most, namely, that an establishment is unscriptural. I think I have already stated enough to show that if it is unscriptural in the Church of England, it is unscriptural in the dissen ters ; for although they are not so much endowed as the Church of England, they are as much guilty of a breach of the principle, for they are endowed as much wherever they can. (Cheers.) But what do they mean by an establish ment being unscriptural ? Do they include in the Scriptures the Old Testament or not ? If they do, the question is at an end ; for we know that the Old Testament is entirely com p o e s r e e d s o o f the ot i i o s t t e o l r y y o o f o b n i a n t e i odn thati nw h theyich t h w e e r church t a i o n a d l, state one being lost and confounded in the other. Passing over that, if they reject the authority of the Old Testament, what do they mean by unscriptural, if they refer to the New Tes tament or to the Christian religion ? Do they mean only this, that we do not find a church establishment absolutely in so many words recognised in the New Testament ? Do they mean that everything we do not find expressed in words is the Nov Weatiumut it ie not lawful for u a t o a dopt? I sla44:like to ask where they find Bible societies recom- Hmended in the New Testament, or whetea " Young Men's Voluntary Anti-Church Association"lris mentioned in the New Testament, or where a " Voluntary Anti-Church-rate Society" is mentioned. (Loud cheers.) We do not blame them for these things, and say they are unscriptural; but we say they are wrong, because we can point out how and why they are not in accordance with the spirit of Christianity. And if they can prove to us that a state taking upon itself a charge of the highest interest, namely, that every subject in these dominions shall have the opportunity of learning his duty to his king and to his God,—if they can shew govern ment, in undertaking this duty, is acting contrary to the spirit of the New Testament, then we will abandon the cause, and say it is indeed unscriptural for a state to meddle with religion. But they will find it a difficult task indeed to prove that it is inconsistent with the spirit of the gospel, that men, when they become governors, and assemble together to form a common legislature, having charge of the greatest interests of the people to whom they belong, and whom they are appoint ed to govern, lose all that responsibility which they had in their individual capacity, and are bound as governors, to ne glect the greatest and the highest interests of those they have to govern. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I have gone rather further into the general question, being led on by the spirit of the subject, than I had originally intended. But, at the same time, it is one so fearful in itself, and which interests so deeply the feelings of every man who has at heart the welfare and good of his fellow-creatures, that when once embarked in it it is difficult for a man to put those reins on himself which he ought. (Hear.) I can only say, for you, go on and prosper in this great cause ; go on, the young men of Liverpool, and show to the country a bright example which shall encourage others in many other parts of the empire to show a bold Christian front to those who would overturn the Christian institutions of our country. Encouraged by you, the rest of the country will rouse itself, and we shall find the youth of Britain united in one common heart and spirit, under the guidance, as you are here, of the clergy of your town, in defence of those interests which are the most important and the dearest to our hearts. (Applause.) You will now allow me to call upon the secretary to read the report, by which you will be made acquainted with the proceedings of the association for the past year. (The noble chairman then resumed his seat amid loud cheering.) Mr. WATTHAM, the secretary, here read the REPORT. Your committee, in presenting to you the following brief review of the first year's working of your association, feel that they have a very gratifying duty to perform. They have reason to hope that, under the blessing of God, it has been instrumental in spreading that information on the subject of national establishments for religion, which has tended to confirm the faith of many of our brethren, and to strengthen their attachment to the grand ~bulwark of our civil and reli gious liberties—our glorious established church. It may perhaps be desirable to take a hasty glance at the causes which led to the formation of our society. The atten tive observer of passing events cannot fail to have noticed the gradual growth of that reckless desire for change which has characterised the politics of the country for the last fifty years. The unhappy results of the French revolution were not confined to France. That distaste for existing institu tions, and that craving after novelty, which were manifested in the movements of onr Gallic neighbours, soon extended to our own land, and it became the fashion for the sedate Englishman to ridicule the boasted wisdom of his ancestors, and to demand the remodelling of that constitution which had been for so many ages the wonder and admiration of the world. This demand was obeyed—concession after conces sion was granted—but with each concession the demand for innovation became the more clamorous, until at last a cry was raised for a renunciation of that pledge of our national allegiance to Christianity which is contained in our national church. This cry was at first confined to those who were either opposed to, or indifferent about, all religion, but ulti mately the ranks of our enemies became swelled by indivi duals who styled themselves, par excellence, evangelical Christians. The descendants of Baxter, Owen, Matthew Henry, and other dissenting worthies ; men who, while they conscientiously differed from us on points of doctrine or discipline, contended most zealously for a national church, became the loudest in denouncing our establishment, and the most industrious in demanding its separation from the state. Sermons were preached, pamphlets were written, to prove the unscriptural character of our church, and asso ciations were formed all over the land with the avowed ob ject of exciting hostility towards it, with a view to its final overthrow. Oneof these associations was formed in our own town. It was not destined, however, to remain long unop posed. To counteract its efforts, the Young Men's Estab lished Church Society was called into being. The object aimed at by our society was, the spreading of that informa tion among our young men, which would make them, to use the words of our address, " intelligent defenders of, as well as devoted believers in, the faith they profess to hold." In furtherance of this object, very valuable lectures have been delivered by the Rev. J. Baylee, Rev. Dr. Tattershall, and the Rev. Dr. Byrth. The lectures of the two first gentlemen have been printed and extensively circulated. Dr. Byrth's is now in the press, and will be published in a day or two. A regular course of lectures in defence of establishments is now in preparation, and will be delivered during the ensuing win- ter. An excellent library, consisting of works connected with the principles of the society, has been formed for the use of the members, but it is too limited to effect all the good that we desire to see accomplished. We therefore respectfully solicit our friends to aid us by donations, either of money or books, to render it more efficient. Towards the close of last year, a challenge was conveyed by your committee from the Rev. J. Baylee to the Rev. J. Burnett, to discuss the merits of our establishment. This invitation Mr. Burnett did not think fit to accept. [The account of the income and expenditure of the society for the past year was introduced in this part of the report. The total expenditure including a balance of £9 19s 9d in hand, was £B3 16s 6d. Several handsome donations were announced, and it was stated that the society owed about £l6, but there was something to be placed to its credit.] Your committee, deeming the subscription for members too high, particularly for the working classes, many of whom have expressed a desire to join the society, have agreed to recommend that it be reduced to 2s 6d annually, instead of 5s as at present. In conclusion, your committee earnestly urge the young churchmen of Liverpool to rally round their own institution, and render it worthy of our truly protestant town. The Rev. Dr. BYRTH, rector of Wallasey, rose to move the first resolution amidst loud applause. He said —My lord, ladies, and gentlemen, I rise to propose " That the report which you have had read to you, be printed and circulated under the directi on o f t h e committee. ' And neither your lordship nor any individual of this vast assembly will suppose that, when I propose this resolution with all cordiality, 1 stand here committed to every sentiment and statement which that report has contained. It must be obvious to your lord ship that there is at lsast one particular which it would not be for me to stand here to advocate. I refer especially to the allusion which is made !n that report to my own humble services. (Hear.) The resolution which I hold in my hand was sent to me before 1 knew what the report itself would contain, and therefore it cannot be supposed that I stand committed to anything but the general purport of the docu ment. After having read that document—after having heard it again this day, I wish this large assembly, my lord, to know that I do feel that there are very few things in it, even as to the letter and the words, which do not meet with my complete approbation. I cannot, even at the commencement of this address, pass by the opportunity I enjoy this evening of standing before you, without speaking of the person from whom I believe the report which your lordship has heard has emanated. This is the Young Men's Established Church Society. And if we do well this evening, it appears to me we shall press upon the great population of this town the duty of young men, who profess to be members of the established church, to study why they belong to that church. One of the great advantages which our common enemy has availed himself of, is the ignorance which has been found to exist within our own community. It is wonderful that there should be so little knowledge of the reasons why young men should be members of the establishment : at the same time, when we contrast their ignorance with the painstaking of those, who are opposed to all established religious institutions. And I would say, with regard to the secretary of your association, —that report, I believe, being his own work,)—that he is an example which other young men in the same station of life would do well to follow. And I feel that Ido him no injury ; because his modest, unassuming conduct, so far as 1 have marked it, is that which really may be distinguished at the same time, that it can only be for his good that it should be told, that he never, in any of his entire course with those with whom lie has had to do, usurps anything like a station which does not belong to him. (Hear, hear, and applause.) When I said, my lord, that I did not stand here committed e for every statement and every sentiment contained in tli report which has been read to you, I nevertheless feltthat e _ there were many statements and many sentiments to which sen tencehih in the document itself. I can repeat the words my heart most sincerely responded, especially report and say—" May ve that the e d l s of that that it is no prejudice which makes they appreciate it, show round the refigiousinstit t institution a young n o t; t h m e iern country,of i vr o o o 1 ral y them churchmen, be ready to give unto every one a reason why they belong to the great establishment of the country, and while they look with every feeling of kindness towards others, at the same time show, that they value their own privileges in being members of the Church of England. (Hear, hear, and great cheering.) My lord, it is, indeed, to me, and has been for many years, a matter of deep surprise that it should have been possible that this question should have been brought before the public in the way in which we are now obliged to treat it. 1 believe that at the present day, at least, the expediency of the church establishment is a proposition which would be all but universally admitted. Your lordship has by anticipation robbed me of my own argument, and taken out of my mouth the very names I intended to use. The names which your lordship has given utterance to were upon the notes which I had written in preparation for the address which I am now delivering. They had no notion of the beggarly, miserable, most con tracted, selfish, base notion, that because men differed in politics, that therefore other men should be deprived of the bread of life. The 2500 persons who, by the passing of the act of uniformity—(with regard to the nature of that act I say nothing ; perhaps there were things in it with regard to which I then would have said much)—the 2500 persons who left their livings in consequence of the proceedings of St. Bartholemew's Day—the fathers and ancients of the modern school of non-conformists—knew nothing of this little beg garly policy. Every one of them would have been an advo cate for the church establishment. (Applause.) There was not a man of them who did not retire from his parsonage weeping, not merely because he and his children were reduced to absolute beggary, but because the land had been deprived of his instrumentality as a minister of the word of life. They were not so wise. It was left for us in these days of the " march of intellect" to discover—(applause)—that a nation might prosper when it actually and nationally renounced the duty of teaching its subjects their duty towards God. My lord, you have mentioned the names. They were upon anythingplze tim e o n f d a r e s l o i n g o e . n " , m y paper, and will bear to be mentiened again, and therefore this assembly shall once more hear them : they were Owen, e. a.n " N l\' VLl T O Mi k n n a o i N P V: a (Applause.) Every and eloquence, must know that they were and Baxter, an E d v l - e l r o y w m • non-conformists ; but they were men for an establishment — every one. And so were Watts, and Henry, and Doddridge; there was not, in any of their pages, the leprous spot that would have condemned them to the flames. Had they been tried by the spirit of the sanctuary, they would not have sa crificed the interests of the establishment to mere selfish, wretched, political prejudice. (Loud applause.) B ut , my lord, we stand upon higher ground. God forbid that we " should argue the question of religious establishments upon the mere principle of expediency. Ido not believe that any of the names which your lordship has brought before this large assembly could have been quoted for, what 1 cannot hesitate to call so ung odly an opinion as expediency," w ith regard to the inst ruc tion of the nation—that which might be suitable to the circumstances in which a ruler would find him self placed. (Hear.) Christianity might be an exceedingly TO THE CHRISTIAN PUBLIC. There never was a period in the history of our land which called more loudly for the active exertions of all who desire a continuance of its prosperity, than that in which we now exist. The Protestant institutions, upon which alone that prosperity can be durably based, are menaced on every hand, by the enemies of scriptural truth and rational freedom. Po pery on the one side, and Infidelity on the other, having im bibed fresh vigour from a plausible liberalism, have united in their efforts to undermine the nation's strength, by tearing up, root and branch, its Protestant institutions. Against none of these are their efforts directed with greater virulence than against that which stands confessedly the bulwark of all the rest, our National Church. A few years ago, they dared not insult the nation so far as to demand its overthrow ; they then contented themselves with urging a removal of its abuses ; but, encouraged by the complacency with which their exertions are regarded, through the influence of a false feeling of charity, their demands have assumed a bolder tone, and their cry now is, " down with her, down with her ; even to the ground." In this unholy warfare, they are actively assisted by a third party, who style themselves " voluntaries," and who lay claim to a more than ordinary degree of piety and worth. They tell us that they have entered the lists, and sounded the tocsin of war against our venerable church, on the ground of its unscriptural character, and injurious tendency. It is not our purpose to expose the falsehood and absurdity of these charges in this address ; suffice it to say, that the voluntaries of cur day, have discovered that which escaped the zeal of our glorious reformers, and the penetration of the brightest ornaments amongst the dissenters down to the pre sent period. They, while they contend earnestly against the defects in the government of the church, avowed themselves faithful defenders of its doctrines and principles, and sought, by a removal of its imperfections, to add to its beauty, and increase its efficiency, To withstand this unnatural combination, and expose the sophistries and plausibilities advanced against our church, the " Liverpool Young Men's Established Church Society" has been formed. The grand object of this society is, to disseminate amongst our young men, information upon the principle of National Establishments for religion, and thus make them intelligent defenders of, as well as devoted believers in, the faith they profess to hold. This we hope to accomplish by the following means : lst,—The delivery of lectures on national establishments for religion. 2nd,—The printing, for general distribution, of the lec tures, or other useful articles bearing upon the objects of the society. 3rd,—The formation of a library, to consist exclusively of works connected with the principles of the associa tion. By these means we trust, with the blessing of God, to stir up the enthusiasm, and call into active exercise the energies of our young men, in favour of the church of their fathers. But in order to carry out successfully these important plans, we shall require the assistance of our opulent brethren. We, therefore, call upon all who value the prosperity of those venerable institutions, through the instrumentality of which our country has been raised to a height of greatness unpa ralleled in history, to come forward and assist us in accom plishing that by which alone they can prosper, viz., securing a place for them in the affections of the people. DECLARATION. We, the undersigned members of the established church of England and Ireland, feel ourselves constrained to protest in the most decided manner, (both in word and deed,) against the opinions now advocated by the enemies of our national establishment—to wit—that the state, as such, has no con cern with religion, but should leave it wholly to what is called the voluntary principle. We feel surprised and grieved that any of the children of those who originally left the bosom of the church, through matters ofform, should so far forget the faith of their fathers as to coalesce with infidels and Romanists—in their opposi tion to our national establishment,—thus declaring, that, having to choose between the union of church and state on "e one side, and absolute irreligion and gross superstition on the other, they decide in favour of infidelity and Popery, and against all national religion. We consider the established church (under God's guidance) as the grand breakwater against Popery, the impregnable bar rier to infidelity, and essentially the poor man's best inheri tance. We believe a Protestant state should not only re cognise the Protestant religion, but should also support it and extend its influence : and as large numbers of our fellow countrymen are left without the means of grace, (the insuffi ciency of the voluntary principle being thus proved,) we deem it the duty of government to afford the required aid. We feel ourselves called upon to protest, in the most solemn manner, against the attempts now making to com promise the Protestant principles of our national schools, by departing from the exclusive use of the authorised version of the Holy Scriptures, and the exclusive controul of the mi nisters of the Established Church—deeming the word of God to be the only true standard of faith and duties, we re solve to contend earnestly against such glaring and dangerous innovations. For the above purposes we hereby form ourselves into a society, to be designated the " Liverpool Young Men's Established Church Society." At about a quarter to seven o'clock, Lord Sandon, the Rev. Hugh M`Neile, J. C. Colquhoun, Esq., the Rev. Dr. Byrth, accompanied by Jas. Aspinall, Esq., T, B. Horsfall, Esq., G. H. Lawrence, Esq., Richard Dawson, Esq., &c., &c., entered the theatre, and were greeted with tremendous cheering. The confusion arising from the crowded state of the building was excessive, and continued for some time, so that the earlier part of the proceedings could scarcely be heard at the distance of a yard from the seat ap pointed for the chairman. It was not until the Rev. Hugh M‘Neile interfered that silence was procured. Mr. T. B. HORSFALL then came forward and said—l have much pleasure in moving that our noble and distinguished representative, the Right Hon. Lord Sandon, the patron of this institution, be requested to take the chair. (Loud cheers.) Mr. GEORGE HALL LAWRENCE.—I beg leave to second the proposal of my friend Mr. Horsfall : for I am sure you could not make a selection more congenial to your feelings. (Renewed cheers.) The noble lord then took the chair, and proceeded to say—lf you please, ladies and gentlemen, will you allow me to ask a moment's silence, until I call upon the Rev. Mr. Marshall to open the proceedings of this evening with prayer. The noise still continuing, owing to the crowded state of the place and the inconvenience caused thereby, the Rev. Hugh M'Neile stepped forward and told the meeting that if they wanted to hear, it was quite impossible for them whilst they continued in that state.—lt being obvious that the con fusion arose from the want of room, those immediately in front of the stage were invited upon it, and the uproar ceased. The rev. gentleman, whose appeal had thus produced the de sired effect, concluded by a few appropriate observations on the offering of prayer, in which they were about to engage. The Rev. R. B. MARSHALL having supplicated the Divine blessing on the proceedings, The Noble CHAIRMAN rose amidst loud cheering, which continued for some minutes, and addressed the meeting as follows :—Ladies and gentlemen, after the solemn words which have been just passing through our ears, and which, I hope, while they have issued from our lips, have issued at the same time from our hearts, I think I need not say much for the purpose of asking of you your serious and solemn at tention to the proceedings of the evening. This, gentlemen, is a question of no light importance. It is not a question of party politics ; it is not a question of transitory importance ; it is a question concerning the eternal interests of the souls of the British empire, as well as of the temporal interests of the subjects of this great kingdom. Gentlemen, it is delight ful to see that the only difficulty that we have to encounter within these walls on this subject, is that of too much en thusiasm in the cause in which we are engaged, and that those who defend our institutions, in church as well as state, can show as much enthusiasm at least as those who come forward to attack them, and that we may appeal in England, with equal security and equal confidence of the result, to the high and to the low, to the humble villager in the remotest dis tricts in the country, and to the artisan in the crowded and populous communities of the empire. (Cheers.) Gentle men, we are indeed the defending party. We are not assem bled here for the purpose of encroaching upon the liberties of our fellow-subjects—for the purpose of taking from them any privileges which they have acquired—but for the pur pose of defending our own privileges, and for the purpose of defending the existing institutions of the country. (Hear.) Gentlemen, the history of the whole of the present century is one of successive concessions on the part of the church of England, and of successive encroachments on the part of those who differ from her creed. We are called bigots, we are called intolerant. Let me ask who it was who repealed the test and corporation act, and the penal laws against the Roman Catholics ? In each case itlwas the members of the Church of England. (Hear, hear.) If we have erred, we have erred from too much confidence in the good-will of our fellow-subjects who differ with us in religions opinions ; at least, if we have erred, it has not been through too much intolerance and bigotry of attachment to our own persuasion. (Hear.) Gentlemen, until within the last ten years the dif ferences between the church and the various classes of dis senters had been gradually lost sight of, almost entirely, by both parties. We had been accustomed to meet together on the same platform in the promotion of the common objects of Christian interest ; we had been too . anxious, perhaps, to merge all differences of religious opinion advancing those great truths which we hold in common with every denomi nation of our fellow-Christians. We had fought toge ther on the same side on the platform of Bible societies, and of school societies, and of missionary societies ; upon every occasion we were seen fighting . together the com mon warfare against the enemies of the common faith of Christianity ; and so long as political disabilities pressed upon those who differed from the creed of the esta blished church those differences were called minor differences, and every effort of soothing and persuasion was made to in duce us to believe how little they differed from us in order that we might act together. But as soon as the prospect of political power was held out to the dissenters, how changed was their language ! From that moment their cry has been of the Church of England, " Down with her—down with her even to the ground ! Let us merge now all our minor dif ferences, and unite with the infidel, with the Socialist, with the Roman Catholic, and with the Unitarian, for the purpose of unitirts in that one common principle of hatred to thy g§. "y -‘ . ._ ... . , .. 4::::. ~~' ,- ...,.. SUPPLE MEN r p c 4Mtt .o.ot AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1840. valuable thing, might come in as an ally, might be useful as a confederate. No, my lord, we believe that if there be one truth which is more strongly implied in the book of God than another, it is this, that it is the duty of Christian rulers to secure Christian instruction for their people. (Applause.) Why, my lord, challenged to produce the proof? Challenged to find the words —asked where we find it ! We have a right to retort, where do you find the prohibition—where the won derful passage, more intelligible than any Hebrew scholar ever found, in which it is said that a king should not teach his subjects that which the king himself should not be lieve ? How is it that when a man has such authority that he should therefore be stripped of such a vast deal of respon sibility ? How can it be shown that his power to make his subjects acquainted with that which will not only make them more loyal to himself, but actually secure their best interests, has emancipated him from that obligation which rests on every one else? (Hear.) Awful are the responsibilities of the ru lers of this world; but I cannot conceive any aspect in which it could be contemplated more tremendous than that in which they should be left alone, and not commanded to use all the influence they possess, in order to do that which after all is the greatest good which one man can do with regard to another. But yet there is more to be said with regard to the subject. Who is he that is prepared to say, that there are not in the New Testament injunctions to the rulers of this world to teach their subjects the knowledge of that, without which, it is impossible that their best happiness can be secured? Only the individual who is prepared to say that Christian parents are not commanded systematically io instruct their children, and to bring them up, in the nurture and admoni tion of the Lord. He that will admit that there is such an injunction as that which binds the Christian parent to provide religious instruction for his family, must, I apprehend, at the same time admit that the Christian ruler is bound to pro vide religious instruction for his subjects. It is true that the dissenter will turn round upon us here, and say, declare what there is in the New Testament. I will take the dissenter on his own ground, (I don't feel it necessary to go back to the Old Testament,) and whilst I wish to speak most respectfully of dissenters, I contend that there is a principle contained in the New Testament, which, if properly followed out, must necessarily make a Christian nation, as soon as it becomes organised as such, a nation in which there must be a national provision for religion. I will take the average of religious dissenters at the present moment, and believe that, after having counted them, we shall find them in our favour. I do not believe it possible to go through the length and breadth of the land (setting aside those whose minds are biassed by the violence of party, and who are influenced by ignorant popular declaimers) and not find a great body of respectable dissenters, who, though they may not agree with us withrespectto our own establishment, would at least be in favour of an establishMent. Many of these dissenters would represent us as turning the state into a religious instructor when we contend for an es tablishment. My lord, you know we mean no such thing. You know this is Popery ; and your lordship knows that we of the Church of England hate Popery. (Great cheering.) There is not one amongst us who would bear with the minis ter for a moment who would hold intercourse with Popery. And they who feel that there is no danger in the contami nating touch, are they we of the Church of England ? (No.) No, my lord, no ; we execrate, detest, and abominate Popery in every shape, and not less, my lord, when it puts on the shape of a wretched democracy. (Cheers.) There may be, my lord, Popery, where there is no visible pope—there may be the tiara on the heart where no crown is upon the head. There may be the heart to crush everything like right opi nion, in the garb of complacency and courtesy and smiles. Popery is a spirit. Oh ! that it were but a body, that we could put it to death. It is a spirit—the spirit of evil which puts on all manner of forms, and we find it impossible to grasp it. We leave it alone to Him who shall educe good out of evil, tremendous as that evil is. Dissenters ought to know that we are not the advocates of Popery of any kind. We would base religion on the knowledge of God's word, and upon that only. We connect the responsibility of man with the right of every man to exercise his own private judg ment. We would make the highest possible mental attain ments the companions of every religious principle. We would wish to see knowledge and piety go on together ; and we are only jealous of that which they call the " march of intellect," when we see that that march is industriously se parated from the path of righteousness and peace. (Hear, hear.) I do not believe that it is possible for one who would approach the subject unbiassed and unprejudiced, not to come to the conclusion of the illustrious Robert Hall, namely, that " the dissenting writers in the present day had given a too political cast to the nature of the discussion." He said, " that the old objections against the Church of England were the strong ones." He said—(he is a writer whose pages I delight to read)—what I don't believe, notwithstand ing—(a laugh)—" that if that ground were occupied it was impossible even for the strongest intellect to subvert." The word is his own. He was too acute, too profound, too Christian, too well acquainted with the Bible, too much of the philosopher. His reason had been chastened by the light of heaven, and he knew that the principle that there ought to be no national establishment, was one which could not be sustained for a moment. (Hear, hear.) My lord, I feel self-degraded actually, in contending for such things as these. It is almost like demonstrating some of the axioms in Euclid. One is placed in a most humiliating posi tion to address thousands to demonstrate a truism. But yet I do them no wrong. They come here and have heard me, and I am obliged to them. (Hear, and a laugh.) But with regard to the Young Men's Established Church Society, it has other things to do than to contend with abstractions, to fight shadows, and to go about like Don Q.l:xote and get wounded by windmills. I trust they will master the question themselves, and show that the church of England has none of these fatal objections lying against it; and with the illus trious man, whose name 1 have quoted, they are to show that the church of England, in her doctrines, is truly scriptural. They have to prove, that after all that has been said, during what is hut comparatively the brief period of her existence, there have been proofs afforded by her upon the altars of God, more weighty and able in the cause of theological learning than from any other society upon earth. They tell us of our wealth. Where is it to be found—where has it proceeded from ? But when they say we are so rich, let us show them what we have done. England with all her literature, with all her science, at the present moment cannot bring so great an amount of labour and learning as that which may be collected from the works of English clergymen. I say nothing of their labours and exertions in private ; I say nothing of their learn ing ; but I challenge the world, or any one in this vast assem bly, to produce within the same space of time such a multi tude of demonstrations of the value of an established clergy. And, my lord, we are not all of us crowding the road to dis tinction ; we are not all of us restless and ambitious men ; we are not all of us dissatisfied, unless we can make our neigh bours unhappy ; we are not all of us so greedy and jealous that we cannot see good done without we do it ourselves. I say the church of England has been the most charitable church that has ever occupied the place of an establishment since establishments were founded. There is more true liberality, more genuine charity, more true forbearance exhi bited by the clergy of the church of England than by any other set of ministers. (Applause.) I do not mean to con tend, that everything that belongs to our establishment is perfect. But do dissenters mean to say that, because they have found out some things in connexion with us which must fairly be the subject of revision, that therefore we ought to be utterly demolished, and the cry of "Down with her—down with her to the dust !" ought to be raised ? If there are some faults in the spiritual battlements, I am the first to say that we are not perfect—that we belong to no infallible church. (Hear) My lord, having said this much, and being about to resume my seat, feeling that I have occupied too much of your atten tion, I turn back to that which has been the topic on which I have been speaking—that is the necessity that the young men of this country should make themselves masters of the question, and especially be able to take a great argument out of the dissenters mouth. that the church of England is the enemy of what is now called voluntarism. (Hear.) Volun tarism ! No society upon earth exhibits at the present day such a splendid specimen of true voluntarism as does the Church of England. (Loud cheers.) We have too long occupied a defensive state and not given battle ; I feel it necessary we should now go out and assail the armies of the aliens. (Cheers.) Till we can put Amalek and all his hosts to flight I feel, gentlemen, that you have been wanting to yourselves. (Cheers.) You have allowed the language of intimidation to sound so often in your ears that it has actually Earalized your li m b s. (H ear .) Compare the Ch ur ch of ngland, even in the most unfavourable circumstances, with this boasted dissent. It is true you have in this place an opportunity of contemplating dissent under its most favour able auspices. Where but in Liverpool would you find it so worthily represented? I feel it a pleasure to speak of one, whom I have the honour to call my friend—where, I ask, is the man in any other place like Dr. Raffles ?—(cheers)—a man eloquent, mighty in words—a man great in learning, a gentleman in conduct—and a man after all, I must say, most courteous in his intercourse with churchmen. (Cheers.) Here you have a favourable instance of dissent ; but take dissent elsewhere and compare.it with this, what they call voluntarism. (Cheers.) My lord, I could write a book upon the subject. (I could speak for any length of time upon it. My lord, I might go on—to say with regard to—how dis senting congregations deal with their ministers. They often attack us with being the slaves of the church. I conceive myself as independent a man as ever preached the Gospel of Christ; I feel that that independence has never been at all interfered with whilst I have been a minister in the Church of England. (Hear.) The Church of England, so far as I can contemplate the effect of the relations of its ministers with their people, allows its ministers to have all the liberty which they ought to have, whilst it imposes upon them all the responsibility from which they would not wish to get free. (Cheers.) Take the dissenting minister. Is he free ? Is he independent? Is not he obliged to tax his talent—if he have talent—to the uttermost, in ordeir to gain the mas tery ; and are there not persons whom he ought to instruct endeavouring to instruct him ? (Cheers.) And so I might go on. This, I feel, is an invidious subject, but I shall merely open the way, if it be necessary, to an assault upon dissent. (Hear.) I conceive dissent to be a deadly evil. It is known to many in the multitude which I am addressing, that my own name is associated with all that which many choose to call latitudinarism ; but be they my last words on this platform—where, by the way, I do not hope to stand for the last time—l say that dissent is a tremendous evil. (Loud cheers.) Mr. JAMES AsPINALL seconded the resolution, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. J. C. COLQUROUN, M.p., came forward amidst much applause to move the second resolution. He said :—My lord,—The rev. gentleman who preceded me expressed a hope, at the close of his address, that this would not be the last time of his speaking from this platform. I trust that it will not ; but as, at all events, this is the first time of my appear ing here, I must claim your indulgence for a few moments. I freely confess that it seems to me that I owe you an apology for being here at all, departing, as I am doing, from what I think was a wise, and what I did think was a settled rule with me, of abstaining from participation in public meetings in towns where I had no calling or concern. I did entertain some better feeling than that of mere curiosity to see a little of the spirit for which Liverpool had become celebrated — that spirit of manly, straightforward, and determined zeal for the established church which had done so much for the town, and set so bright an example to the country. Though I would rather have come here as a spectator, to be refreshed by the display of your exertions, than as a speaker, this I am bound to say, that if it should be asserted hereafter in my presence that there is a dormant and cold spirit growing over England, a lethargy prevailing in this country with regard to the established church, 1 can tell the person making the ob servation to come over here to one of her greatest cities, where I have stood in the presence of one of the largest audi tories ever collected, and seen four thousand determined and impetuous responses to the cry, that the feelings of the peo ple of England, in referen ce to their religion, al‘c as strong and as powerful as ever. (Cheers. G ent l emen , I know the assaults that are made in the present day upon the Church of England ; but I agree with your noble chairman, that after this and the like demonstrations we ought not tolfear. (Hear.) I was conversing last spring with an intelligent, edueated, and inquiring Frenchman, when I put the question to him— " You have travelled over England, and.what seems to you the mot remarkable other jutitution,, and the beet calcula. ted to consolidate her power and protect us from the threat eniyg omens of revolution, anarchy; and confusion, which appear in other countries ?" The answer was worthy the deepest attention. " There are three things which I have ob served," said he ; " one is a spirit of a love of country—that in France we share to a certain degree ; but there are other things which we do not share, and which are completely neu tral in our land—the spirit of the love of monarchy, and the spirit of love to a national religion." (Cheers.) I confess I was disposed to reply, or rather let me make that reply here. Whence springs that love for our national religion, without which no other of our institutions would last for a single day—without which our aristocracy, that ancient orna ment of the old Gothic building of our constitution, could not endure? What preserves the venerable pile, and keeps those parts in which the light does not stream so bright from decay ? What prevents the walls, on which the deep shadows rest, from crumbling into ruin, but that strong cement, the love of religion, which is firmly and deeply implanted in the hearts of the people of all classes of society, and springs from the warm, the ennobling, and enclosing embrace of the national church ? (Cheers.) I remember an observation which was once made by an American when he first landed in England, and set foot in the great commercial city of Liverpool. He stood on the heights, as I have done to-day, and looked down on the same scene of enterprise and busi ness activity, on the docks thick with masts as the forest with trees, on the white sails which dance on the river and fly to alter countries with our manufactures, and bring back the produce which you enjoy. One thing struck his eye and mine. It was the ancient spire and the venerable tower that would speak another story, and tell of something greater than commerce, and without which commerce could not last—of something more important than trade and without which trade could not flourish ; they would speak of the principles which, day by day, and on each succeeding sabbath, are infused into the minds of the people, and which produce, on this occasion, a splendid and satisfactory demonstration. (Cheers.) I should like to take any person who wishes to know what consolidates the power of England to the heights surrounding those districts which are called the workshops of the world, and show him the numerous factories, the canals, and rail roads, which intersect the fertile fields and carry the riches of our produce through the land, and ask him what would become of these if we were to allow the people of England to grow up a discontented and immoral population, at war with God, and therefore not at peace with man. (Cheers.) On what does all the wealth which this country can produce depend, but on security ? Without security it would perish in a moment. What does security depend on but those great principles of truth, peace, and holiness, which are im planted in the human heart by the exertions of the church, and become the germinating and regenerating practice of mankind ? (Cheers.) Whence are the principles of humble piety, of lowly virtue, of integrity, order, and peace, which shed over England their happy lustre and influence, but from the ancient churches, the roof and towers of which the spectator would hardly notice, but in which praise and prayer are constantly heard, couched in the finest language that pen ever wrote or that tongue ever uttered ? In what passes in these sacred edifices is the honour and security of England. (Cheers.) In this day movements are abroad which portend a coming convulsion. The soil of Europe is agitated and heaving as if with symptoms of a general earth qual e ; but I trust that whatever may become of other countries, our native land will be unharmed. If, in the groaning and upturning of the soil of Europe, peace and plenty should still remain and be secured to us, and if Eng land should happily be preserved from the tread and the en croachment of the hostile foot, let us bear in mind that it is not to science or skill, not to the wisdom of man that we shall owe our preservation, but to the church which has been endeared to us by centuries of trial—to the church in which we have worshipped, in which our forefathers worshipped, and in which we trust our chil dren will continue to enjoy the services of solemn prayer, of the choral anthem, and of pious praise, with the exer tions of such a clergy:as I see around me and am happy to meet on this platform—(cheers)—conveying instruction to the young and consolation to the aged in times of sickness and sorrow. To these England will owe her defence in the day of her trial ; in the day that shall shake and convulse all Europe these influences will preserve her secure and un harmed. Ido not mean you from this to draw any idle pic ture, to indulge in any declamation of mere fancy, but this great practical lesson, so admirably put before us in this use •ful society, that each man in his sphere, whether high or low, whatever may be his situation, place, or calling, should give his constant, firm, undeviating, unflinching, and unimpaired attachment to the national church ; that he should cleave to her in seasons of sorrow and difficulty, as in those of peace and prosperity, in all public and private connexions, rather than desert his duty to that to which his fathers owed so much, and which, I trust, his children in generations to come will continue to place their confidence and derive a blessing. The Rev. Hticit AVNEILE, on rising to second the reso lution proposed by Mr. Colquhoun, was received with seve ral loud and enthusiastic bursts of applause. When silence was in some degree restored, he spoke nearly as follows : My lord, I am rejoiced to be able to say that we have no oc casion to make any apologies for hesitating or absent, friends. We cannot know our hesitating friends on this occasion, but as for absentees, if there be any, as I am sure there are mul titudes of cordial friends absent, it is fair to say that it is not because of hesitancy on their part, but of the impracticable materials of which this building is composed, and that stone and lime will not expand at the bidding of churchmen's zeal. (Hear, and cheers.) But I have a particular reason for re ferring to this point. Your lordship referred to a report of certain proceedings which took place at a certain meeting I held in this town last week. It is called a soiree. (A laugh.) It was held in the Music Hall, and is thus announced— " The Young Men's Vointitary Church Association."— There was a very celebrated man at that meeting. He came all the way from London. He is a man of very considerable powers both of mind and speech, and came here to preach their controversial sermon, and to address them at their voluntary soiree. (Continued laughter.) There is no rea son why you should laugh at soirees, for they arc very com mon things. It might be expected that on the occasion of such a direct as well as implied attack on our principles, and when he came such a distance from home, the chief speaker would have addressed himself to some strong point in the case, and that he would have shown cause why the young men of Liverpoolshould stand against theestablished church ; in short, that he would have taken some strong objection to ! her, and have, at least, left us something to talk of, if we could not in an impromptu manner reply to him. (Hear, hear.) I took up, with some interest, therefore, the news paper in which the report was given, and which appears to be the orgau of the voluntary association on this occasion, but when 1 turned to the speech of the Rev. John Burnett, of Camberwell, I found that he, after travelling so far, moved a resolution which it would give me the greatest pleasure to second. (Cheers.) I shall read that resolution, and lam satisfied he had not the slightest idea that it would be honoured by being presented to your lordship and this pro digious assembly when he moved it. It is to the following effect : " That this meeting, recognising the great and fundamen tal doctrine of the reformation, that the scriptures alone are of authority in matters of faith, deplores the rapid progress of Puseyism, regarding it as a system which by exalting the tradition of the fathers to an equality with revelation, and by unduly augmenting the power of the priesthood, must, should it succeed, subvert the principles of protestantism, retard the progress as well as mar the purity of the gospel, and even tually prove fatal to the interests of civil and religious liberty." And, pray, what has this to say to the question of an estab lished church? (Hear, hear.) . Is Puseyism any part of our church? (Loud cries of " No, no.") No, it is not; but the principles of the reformation here referred to, that the scriptures alone are of authority in matters of faith is a part of our established church. (Hear, and cheers.) One of our articles is to this effect—" That the scriptures contain all that is necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, or may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or accounted necessary to salvation." Now, I congratulate your lordship—l congratulate this large assembly—l con gratulate the churchmen of Liverpool—l congratulate the churchmen of England, that on this great occasion—this an nual exhibition of voluntaryism in this enlightened town, ad vocated not merely by the talent the town itself supplies, but also by the additional talent of the renowned Rev. John Burnett, from Camberwell—not a hair of our church's head is touched ; but that, while the bulwarks of our faith are left secure, a sort of an old excrescence—some fungus matter that might be swept away from Oxford—is alone heaped upon it. He cannot fasten on anything in the church herself, but lie finds this fungus, and lie leaves us and our church without offering one syllable of reprobation, or one single assertion to refute. (Great cheering.) But it seems that the party assembled on the occasion was not quite so numerous as might be expected, and I find that a very sad lament was uttered in consequence. After deploring the quiet state of mind in which some of their friends were indulging, probably thinking that the subject should not be agitated, and giving some good advice to persons, and argument in favour of agi tation, wherein I am glad to find I have a coadjutor in Mr. Burnett. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) He says, "I do think there is a little of that which is gently called timidity, and by some rudely designated cowardice." He is talking, mind you, of his own friends, who did not come forward. (Hear, hear.) He thought there were some unmanly apprehensions in all this, for he is reported to have said— " He did think that there was a little of that nervous shrinking, which whispered to the individual, in his own bo som, that there was something like unmanly apprehension in all this. He did think that there was a little of that self- seeking which desired to pursue its own tranquillity when it could be obtained, and leave others to suffer and to act, so that it did enjoy. He did believe these things, and were they to declare that they had no such apprehensions, he should answer, ' The more noise you make in disclaiming, if unac companied by acts, the more shall I be satisfied that the bra .. - -.- very is not there.' If this question was followed up, he did expect that in a little time those quiet-minded friends would gather courage. It did sometimes happen, that when a new corps took the field, there was at first a little thinking ; but by and by, after the exchange of a few volleys and a few charges, it became accustomed to the service ; they felt that they could screw their courage up to the sticking place, and they would be as ready to go on as any of their companions. This was what he expected from their friends shortly, and he therefore excused them for the present." I never heard of a more jnst metaphor for this system than a new corps. You see he complained of its " nervous shrink ing," and it shall not be our fault if it has not plenty of op portunities of " exchanging its vollies and charges." (Great cheers and laughter.) Having excused his friends for the present, he conveys a gentle hint about having a larger meet ing the next time he came ; and then he came to another point, to which I shall call your attention. He said, " What ever is said about or against you, be honest, and never imi tate the manoeuvring of those opposed to you : be always consistent in the advocacy of your principles." Now, our manoeuvring is an open sort of work. Our manoeuvring is on a broad scale. We have no hollow squares here. And then he says, " Let them meet their opponents as man ought to meet man, as Christian ought to meet Christian ; and then, if all the Infidels, and Papists, and Chartists, and all other bad ists that could be possibly brought before them, should happen to cry out the same truth, the same known, eternal truth, let them not be ashamed or afraid to say, amen." I read this to show the company in which papists are put— infidels, papists, and chartists, and all the other bad ists. (Great laughter.) You will please to recollect . the quarter from which this comes, my lord. Had this beenspoken by a tory churchman, or by an orange parson—(cheers)—who ne ver was an orangeman in his life—had this, to borrow a fa vourite phrase from a very modern writer, appeared among the " self -complacent crudities of Dr. Tattershall," or the bigotry of that "p r agmatical fellow" Thomas Horsfall, or the " m umblings of that strange ocnvert of David H o d gson, or the " ingenuity" of " Forgery" M`Ghee, or the " misre presentations" of the " convicted" Hugh Stowell, or the " dishonesties" of turbulent M`Neile—(great cheers)—there would have been nothing to wonder at; it would have been in perfect keeping with the perpetual strain of bigotry and un charitableness m which these gentlemen deal—(hear, and laughter) — but that it should come from the Ap2iable, the TO „h. I hula your declaratm my hand. I suppose every man here has a copy of it. r shall. not trouble you with reading it now, but I shall merely remind you once more that, among the many ways of conducting yourselves for the best interests of the cause at heart, your own personal safety claims atten tion. And now I would, in connexion with this subject, briefly remind you of the day on which we are assembled, and the memorials connected with that day in the minds of, Englishmen. It is the 21st of October. It is the anniver sary of the battle of Trafalgar. And in the history of that battle, dimmed by the hero's death, there stands inscribed what we can appreciate better, I believe, than the hero could in some respects appreciate it himself—” England expects that every man will do his duty." (Vehement applause.) England, then, not only expects every sailor to do his duty in the day of battle, and every soldier in the field, but she also expects every man, every father, every subject, and every son in his family—she expects every merchant in his business to do his duty by the persons he employs—his duty as regards the wages, as regards their comforts, and also as regards their exemption from any work on the Lord's day—England expects every man to do his duty. (Cheers.) England's church re-echoes the language of England's hero, and ex pects every man to do personally his duty to his God—to his neighbour—to his country. Oh ! let us have an assembly of men who will do their duty, and men need never fear volun taryism—neither need we fear infidels, papists, chartists, or any other bad Ws. The rev. gentle man h ere resumed his seat amidst loud and vehement applause from all sides of the building. Mr. JONES moved the third resolution :-- " That the thanks of this meeting be given to the officers and committee for the past year, and that officers and com mittee be appointed for the year ensuing." Mr. WILKINSON seconded the third resolution. Mr. W. G. LEETE.—Ladies and Gentlemen—lf the reso lutions which have been proposed for your consideration this evening have met with a cordial and warm reception, what must I expect for that which I have to propose is brought before you ? It is that a vote of thanks be given to our no ble chairman for his kindness and condescension in becoming the patron of this society, and also for his impartial conduct during the proceedings of this evening. (Loud cheers.) When we take into consideration the conduct of our noble chairman, not only within the last twelve months, but from the time he first became connected with this town, I feel convinced that it will not be a mere compliment that we pay him, but a vote of thanks from the bottom of our hearts • and feel grateful to him for all that he has done in support Of the in stitutions of this country, and - in particular for his support of that noble institution, the established church. (Loud cheers.) I am happy to have it in my power to call your attention to a subject by which you may show your attachment and warm regard for the noble lord. In the course of a few days—l believe on Friday—he is expected to take the chair at a dinner to be given a few miles from hence. I should like to see on that occasion a noble phalanx of 400 or 500 of the young men of Liverpol—or as many as can conveniently spare the time —and- accompany him to grace the board at that dinner. (Hear, hear.) I now propose that a vote of thanks be given to Lord Sandon for his excellent conduct as chairman of this meeting. (Loud cheers.) Mr. WILLIAM ROIVETT seconded the motion, and having been put by Mr. JAMES MATTHEWS, it was carried by ac clamation. Viscount SANDON returned thanks. It is not, said the noble lord, a duty, a painful duty imposed upon me which I have taken upon myself in coming here to partake of an occasion like the present. I feel, indeed, highly honoured when I am allowed to share in any degree in the heat of that battle which is now being fought upon the fields of England, for the dearest interests of our country and for the common interests of humanity. I feel that whatever concerns the heart of England concerns the whole of the human race. I may say—proudly say—that England is the great leaven of the human race, the great leaven that ferments the whole mass, and that anything that prevents or corrupts that leaven will be a source of ruin and corruption to the whole human race. I feel, therefore, proud, and highly honoured at being allowed to partake, on this occasion, in the heat of that battle in which you are engaged. (Cheers.) I would now take the liberty of urging upon you for a moment the excellent advice which your reverend pastor, my worthy friend Mr. M`Neile, has urged upon you—that we may not shew our attachment to the church by vain and frothy declamation, but by watch ing carefully and vigilantly our own conduct, by sheaving that our love is not mere words of declamation but a moving prin ciple of our conduct. (Cheers.) Whilst I say this permit me one piece of advice, that whilst we are strenuous and hearty in our adherence to our own church, let us avoid, when we can, giving needless offence to our brethren of a different opinion. (Hear.) Not that I would fora moment think little of that difference of opinion, or undervalue its greatness and importance ; but as far as possible in our social intercourse in life, let us endeav our to shew that Christian charity is one. of the virtues we have not lost sight of. (Cheers.) With these few words of advice, and gratified to have been allowed to hear those lofty arguments which have been put forth among you, and still more gratified at the wholesome advice we have heard and which must be good to all, I take my leave, bidding you again to go on and prosper in the spirit that now distinguishes you ; you need then fear nothing for the church of God. (Loud cheers.) It is only in the spirit of our meeting, it is only in the spirit with which we began the proceedings that we should conclude, with singing our thanks to Almighty God. The Doxology, " Praise God from whom all blessings flow," was then sang. The Rev. HUGH M'NEtLE pronounced, in a most solemn manner, the blessing, and the vast assembly separated about ten o'clock. , /-' . 7) 7.,„ ~,/, fi , „,) .-‘/,_-_,_ ~_ 2-0, ix- /4"--,/, - T T 0 _ Itetirlft sliall i fenee for the establi s h e d chard r Ihold your tiPelmrnhn ' rnu itunfi T .v.....-- ----- %"~: ~~ [POSTAGE FREE. eloquent, the liberal, the enlightened, the absolute Demos thenes of dissent—that is what they call the Rev. John Bur nett—" the Demosthenes of disseut," and that such a man as he should, by the fiat of his genius, and the power of his eloquence, have classed together—remember it, " infidels, papists, chartists, and all other bad ists." (Hear, and great laughter.) This, surely, my lord, is the triumph of truth over party. He was raised. His genius was raised. There is truth in genius wherever found, and the man of genius— and Mr. Burnett is a man of genius —when he warms in his subject, rises above the petty distinctions of party, and ggainst the expectations of his partisans. In such cases talent and genius rise to truth. They rise above the party and he speaks out like a man; and just such it was in this case, when Mr. Burnett was defending the true eternal word, he forgot his party, and he put them all in their right company—" infidels, papists, chartists, and all the other bad ists. And this reminds me of a passage we heard from ano ther man of genius this evening, and to which, with your permission, my lord, I shall call the attention of this meeting. I said he was another man of genius, and a man of genius he is, but I do not yield to him in his hatred of the foul princi ple, and the consequent foul practice which has been brought into Christendom by the hierarchy and priesthood of the Romish system. I detest it ae cordially as any man, and when I say I detest it as cordially as Dr. Byrth, I need say no more ; and it is because I detest it, I take the liberty of referring to his speech, inasmuch as I am thoroughly per suaded that speech will be misunderstood or misrepresented, or both. He smiles, as if he did not care about either, and I know he doesn't much, but he will excuse me if I allude to it briefly. (Hear, hear.) He said popery was a spirit. Raising your hatred with his own against the evil and falsehood of that system, he called it a spirit, and then he said, " Oh ! that it was a body, that,we might kill it." Now, I say with him it is a spirit of evil, but we meet it with the weapons of truth—we meet it with the gospel of God—we meet it with the manifestation of Christ, and we proclaim the majesty of our Redeemer, to the utter ruin of all which Romish mum mery has erected. But if, it were a body, what would our corresponding treatment be ? Not the knife of the assassin. No. If it were a body we should prepare an hospital and physicians ; we would have the diseise of that body examin ed; we would then have medicines administered, and healing plasters applied, and we should long for its cure, and try every means for its recovery. (Cheers.) By the propaga tiOn of truth we would endeavour to effect a recovery the hospital would be our church, and the physicians our preach ers. This is the way in which we would administer, not to its death, but to its recovery. (Loud cheers.) I have been invited by the committee to second the resolution which it was proposed that the hon. member fir Kilmarnock should move. The hon. member, however, in the overflowing of that eloquence which staid this assembly into a stillness more gratifying even than applause, forgot to move the resolution altogether, and I must therefore take the liberty of both moving and seconding it—moving it in the soft tones, if I could imitate them, of the hon. member, and seconding it in the rough notes of your humble servant. The resolution is as follows :-- " That, under the present circumstances of the country, the defence of the national institutions devolves in an especial manner upon the middle and lower classes of the commu nity, and that the Young Men's Established Church Society is peculiarly adapted for defending the most important of these institutions, the national establishment of religion." There is a reference here to the present circumstances of the country, which have thrown the defence of our institutions mainly on the humble and lower classes of society. The circumstances here alluded to are those of that progressive legislation—l will not say whether progressive for good or for evil—but progressive certainly, which have thrown the turning point of power, the executive of the country, into the hands of the franchised voters of the country. This has so enlarged their number, it has made candidates for seats in the House of Commons so dependent on their will, and it has made the tone they take, that it has absolutely made the defence of our institutions rest on them rather than on the individuals selected to be their representatives. It has so changed the state of affairs that the members of parliament have scarcely more liberty—you will pardon me, my lord, when I say it—than dissenting ministers. (Hear, and a laugh.) You are at the mercy of your deacons, your elders, and your congregations—your constituents they are. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I speak now to a great many electors; I speak to the middle and lower classes who have votes in the elections, and who have, therefore, much to do in the form ation of the House of Commons. The House of Commons have to do with keeping in place, or moving from place, any administration, and thus, by a short process, you, and such as you, in the country—the classes mentioned in the resolu tion—are retainers, or rejectors of her Majesty's ministers. (Cries of " hear, hear," and loud cheers.) It must, there fore, depend on you whether our institutions shall be defended or destroyed. In order that you may acquit yourselves as becomes men so greatly privileged, you should have in struction. You should know what you are about. You should have right information concerning the great questions to be agitated in parliament. The middle classes in England have clamoured for such political privileges as statesmen enjoy, and the possession of such privileges demand from those who have the enlightenment and information of statesmen. If you claim the former, I call on you to get the information necessary to make a right use of it. The power is given, and we are to get the right information. This is what we are driving at. The clergy of the established church are giving the required information. They are communicating the prin ciples by which the people can exercise their responsible du ties. (Hear, hear.) If, then, this be so, this society is well calculated to defend that noblest of our institutions—the es tablished church ; but the members of this society should re collect that it is one thing to establish a society with a good intention, and that it is quite another thing to carry it ontin a manner suitable to its proposal at the outset. I would avail myself of an opportunity like this to give a word of im proving advice to our members—(hear. hear)—and I will take the liberty, in the first place, of saying to our young men, that much of the character of this society—much of its influ ence in the town, and much of its influence throughout the kingdom—for you see we are watched in other parts—l say that much must depend on the personal conduct of those young men. (Hear, hear.) The institution is youug. It.is but a year old now. It is watched with considerable jealous) , by many, and watched with great affection by more—its cha racter begins now to develop itself—its members now will be responsible for their conduct, and I would avail myself of this additioaal pledge, that you will not disappoint our best hopes, but show yourselves superior in all the departments of life, whether conducting your business or serving your various employers. Show your superiority in those stations of life which your enemies cannot gainsay. Prove that you know what it is to appreciate our church, which teaches every man in his vocation to minister and do whatever he does iu the name of the LoM Jesus, and to the glory of our God. My lord, I would affectionately and earnestly say to our dear friends present in such vast numbers, that they must be at tentive as churchmen to all the details of their moral con duct. I would remind them that the church teaches every man, in his family, in his shop, in his forge, or wherever else he may be, respect for authority. It teaches him res pect for delegated authority, delegated from God ecclesiasti cally to Christ, and through him to his ministers, and that all who hear them should hear them as ambassadors for Christ. Civil authority delegated from God, who is the head of both, to the king who is supreme—to all in authority under the sovereign—the judges, the sheriffs, the magis trates, and police—that all these have their avocations and ministry of delegated authority, that we may be peaceably and godly governed—that in the family there are the same links of authority derived again from God, and running through the father, the mother, the children, and all the ser vants of the household, and that in every place there is an immediate superior in whom the delegated authority from God is to be recognised. The child is to recognise it in the parent—the servant in the master—and both parent and master are to recognise it in the practices of society, as dele gated and appointed of God—and parent, master, child, and servant, are to recognise it in the minister of the church as appointed of God. These are the principles on which your establishment must rest. (Cheers.) I would warn my young friends that it is possible, in the prosecution of a good object, to get into a bad state of mind—that it is possible, while you aim at the advance of our church, to be indulging in a tone of habit and in a want of respect to your supe riors, under a self-deceiving spirit of aiming at the advance of this society, which will go far to dissipate all our best hopes. 'What, for example, could I say, suppose one of the merchants of this town, under whom one of you were employed, came to me and said, " You have got a Young Men's Established Church Society in Liver pool ?" My answer would be " Yes." And suppose he should then say, " I wish you would tell them to pay atten tion to their superiors in the office, and that the best way in which they , can show love to the church is by obeying her rules, instead of clamouring. in her praise at public meetings." Now I do not object to public meetings, provided they act as impulses to what is right ; but it would be one of the worst features of the Papal system if it were otherwise. if we are to have a regenerated country—if we are to have a church population—and if we are to have stamina to resist the encroachments of our enemies, we must have a popula tion patient of delay and submissive to authority. I know the value to your own souls of what I am taking the liberty of saying to you, and I thank God for the manifest willing ness—the quiet, affectionate willingness—with which I see some near me listening to these remarks. I entreat you, as you value the cause, to give no man a handle against your moral character, and not only be submissive to authority, but pursue a course of strict integrity in all your dealings. Do not be guilty of the embezzlement of one farthing in any transaction, and I would say, one peculiar feature strenu ously demanded of you in this cause is, that you shall be a society of chaste young men. (Hear, and cheers.) Yes, it becomes me well to inculcate this on you, my dear young friends. All that is pernicious in the world is represented in Scripture under the appropriate expression of a " strange woman." All that is pernicious to your present peace— your peace of mind, your health of body, your respectability of character, your property and prospects in life, your reli gious character, and your usefulness to your country—all, all is associated with keeping your persons chaste. (Hear.) I beseech you, by the mercies of God, to be a society of chaste young men. Refrain from the embrace of the destroyer as you would from the poisoned cup of the assassin ; and let me remind you that yours—l don't speak personally —yours is the fault, yes, in nineteen cases out of twenty, that there are such destroyers abroad—yours is the fault that the town is so polluted by so many ruined, undone females—yours is the fault in the first instance—and when I say yours, and look at you, I am almost tempted to retract the words and transfer the observation to a class higher than you. Ido not wish to accuse in your presence, but I shall tell the truth, that it is the young men in the higher classes, who have money to g ive and promises to make, who, by a foul, an unspeakably foul and abominable system, leave the wrecks behind them that afterwards become destroye r t o you. Yes, if there be any such young men present—members of a higher class—if therebe a young man p resen t w h ose conscience tells him he has thrown off a wretched creature, whom he has robbed of all that is valuable, with my heart's st affectionsl would beg of him to think th a t even for that crime there isforgive ness by the blood of Christ, and that there is no allaying of the disease that is in him but . by the blood that procures par don. 1 would a s k hi m to reflect. Suppose he were brought under the stings o f remorse, what would he give, what would he not give, to be able to end the abominations of which he has been guilty ? But, suppose that when his remorse had risen to the hi g h est, he was pp driven to search for the object of his cruel crimes, in order to make her some reparation, and that he found the same consequences of his crime bad sunk her from one degradation to another until now she was dead —dead of disease—dead in destitution—dead without one to speak to her of her soul. I ask him of the unspeakable agony with which he would be tortured, and how, again and again in the dark recesses of the stillness of the night, the sound would recoil on his ears—" Oh ! she's dead—alas dead, and I cannot do anything to help her soul, ruined by my sin I" If you would avoid this, I would entreat you in the presence of all here, in the presence of your noble represen tative, in the presence of Liverpool, in the presence of England, in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of our Lord Christ, and in the presence of blir glorious God, be a society of chute young znen, (Bear, hear.) It id thus POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-TuESDAY. CHARGE OF STABBING. A decently-dressed good-looking lad was placed before Messrs. Rushton and Earle, charged with having stabbed his fellow apprentice. The complainant was a fine little boy, aged twelve years. He had not been seriously injured. He stated that he had warmed a pie, which had been sent for his dinner, and had given the prisoner a portion of it. The prisoner requested a piece more, and offered his knife that the complainant might cut a piece. The complainant not wishing to give any more, said that the knife was not large enough, and was turning away when the prisoner made a thrust at him with the knife, and cut him in the thigh. The foreman of the establishment, at which the two boys are employed, confirmed the above statement. The wound, he said, was very slight. The little fellow sat down, and was beginning to cut his pie, when he felt the blood trickling down his leg. He immediately cried out, upon which he (the foreman) examined him, and found that he had been cut. The prisoner, in his defence, said he merely thrust his knife at the lad in play, and had no intention of hurting him. There was another boy in the room at the time, who saw the whole transaction. Mr. Rushton ordered this boy should be sent for. The case was adjourned, and in about an hour the other appren tice arrived. He conceived that the thrust had been made in mere play. The foreman stated that this lad was not pre sent at all when the circumstance occurred. The witness said he was there, but the foreman could not see him because of an intervening door. Mr. Rushton said, if he conceived that the offence had been committed wilfully, he would certainly punish the pri soner severely. He was willing, however, to believe that it had been accidental, but he hoped the prisoner would be wary how he used a knife in future. The prisoner was discharged. VIOLENT FEMALES. Ann Driver appeared to prefer a charge of assault against Mary Ann Ruebottom. Both complainant and defendant were young, decently-dressed females, and neither of them, according to their own account, were of very reputable cha racter. Ann Driver, whose face exhibited several bruises and scars, stated, that Mary Ann Ruebottom had come to her house on a visit, and that, while there, she drank too much wine, and, at length, picked a quarrel with her, and ultimately threw a tumbler glass violently in her face, which had marked it in the mahner which the magistrates could see. Mary Ann Ruebottom stated in her defence, that she was sent for, to drink wine with a certain gentleman. The gen tleman paid her very great attention, upon which Ann Driver became jealous, and in her fury took up a bottle of wine, and hammered her head with it. She bore this hammering as long as she could, but at length finding it exceedingly in convenient, she thought it best to put a stop to it at once. To effect this, she seized a tumbler glass, and threw it at the face of her antagonist, the gentleman having, in the mean time, wished them both a good evening. Mr. Rushton ordered Mary Ann to pay a fine of ss. and costs. As the money was not forthcoming, Mr. Parkinson received the young woman into his care, the sentence being that in default of payment, she was to be imprisoned during seven days. CAPTURE OF A WHALE.-01 1 the 9th current, the shore of Tain presented the novel sight of a huge whale, towed in by three boats belonging to the fishing village of Cairnsburgh. It was captured off the quicksands in the Frith of TaM, better known by the name of Gizzen Briggs, by the crew of the Morning Star of Cairnsburgh, on their way, with twenty or thirty others, for mussels to the shores of Tain. Its ex treme length of the nose to the tip of the tail, 75 feet 4 inches ; length of head 28 feet ; girth round the thickest part of the body 36 feet, as nearly as could be ascertained ; length of jaw -bone 151 feet ; breadth of tail 14 feet 4 inches ; and of fin 6 feet.--Scottish Standard. THE LATE PRINCESS AUGUSTA.—Her late royal high ness's carriages, horses, harness, &c., were on Monday sold by auction by Messrs. Tattersall, at Hyde Park-corner. They were described in the catalogue as " the property of an illustrious personage, deceased," and consisted of 16 dark bay barouche horses, and carriages, &c. Her late royal highness's town carriage, with the royal arms of England superby emblazoned, yellow hammer-cloth, &c., fetched 71 guineas ; a travelling landaulet, 64 guineas ; the garden chair in which the late princess was driven through the grounds at Frogmore, 12-& guineas ; a barouche, 19i guineas. The horses averaged 60 guineas a pair; and the total proceeds of the sale did not realise more than £6OO. THE ALLOTMENT SYSTEM.—The occupiers of allotments on the manor of Clist St. Laurence, belonging to the Exeter Church Charity Trustees, recently assembled to pay the rent and outgoings ; and it is with the greatest satisfaction we learn that every shilling was paid with the utmost willing ness. After supper, many expressions of thankfulness to those who had come forward to assist the poor in procuring the field were poured forth with a warmth which showed the true feeling of the heart. The Westwood division of occu piers, belonging to Clist Gerrard, Broadclist, have also met for the same purpose, and, having discharged the whole, gave similar testimony of gratitude to the trustees for the grant of the field. The number of the allotments are at pre sent 2t. —Devon Chronicle. NEWPORT DOCKS.--On Wednesday, the 7th instant, a special general meeting of the shareholders of this magnifi cent undertaking (which will give to Newport the largest sea-lock entrance in the world) was held at the Dock-house, Samuel Homfray, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Homfray an nounced that the whole amount of the capital authorised to be raised by shares had been subscribed. Power was, there upon, taken at the meeting to raise a sum of £15,000, which, with the former loan of £25,000 from the Palladium As surance Company, will complete the lock, and a sufficient part of the originally intended basin, to answer the purposes of the trade for some years at least. It is expected that the Dock thus completed will be opened for the reception of vessels in the month of January or February next. The works, when completed, will have cost the sum of £120,000. Of this, one-third will have been borrowed, and the remain ing two-thirds will have been subscribed by a comparatively inconsiderable number of the gentlemen and tradesmen of the town and neighbourhood of Newport.—Bristol Mirror. THE WHALE FisnEßY.—The Prince of Orange, whaler, Straiton, master, from Davis's Straits, arrived at Leith on Wednesday, having two whales, about twenty tuns of oil. This vessel left the ice on the 23d ult., being in lat. 56. 40. N., lon. 61. 20. W. Left there the Caledonia, of Kirkcaldy, hav ing caught two whales, about 20 tuns of oil ; and also the Grenville Bay, clean. The masters of these vessels had de termined to remain where they were during the then moon light. At the time the Prince of Orange left the country, a great body of heavy ice stretched in a diagonal direction from lat. 75. 12. N. on the eastern side, to lat. 64. N. on the west ern side ; there were few if any slacks to be found in the ice from lat. 74. to lat 71. The highest latitude which Captain Straiton could obtain during the season was 75. 48. N. He. got, however, as far as Navy Board Inlet, in lon. 82. W. Th e Caledonia, ofKirkcaldy, and the Alexander, of Dundee. which has one fish, sixteen tuns, together with the Hannibal, of Peterhead, which has also one fish, sixteen tuns, were for the most part on the west side during the season, and not more than eight whales were seen all the season by the four ships above mentioned. Captain Straiton only saw two whales, besides what he caught. The season, on the whole, has been an average one as to weather ; but Captain Straiton says that ' finis ' may hereafter be written on the bluff side of Cape Farewell,--/S'eottish Standard.