The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-05-05 00:00:00

THE LIBERATION SOCIETY'S CON-
FERENCE.

The Triennial Conference of the Liberation Society
held its first sitting on Tuesday morning at the
Cannon-street Hotel, London, under the presidency of
Mr. H. Richard, M.P. There were about 1,000 dele-
gates from various parts of the country.
The Chair-man, in commenting upon the work of
the society, reiterated—probably, he said, for the last
time—his conviction that the objects of their society
were sound and good, based on principles of truth and
equity, and calculated to promote unity, peace of the
nation, freedom, purity, and efficiency of the Church,
and especially the dignity and honour and the pro-
sperity of the Christian religion. He also expressed
his settled conviction that this principle was destined
to triumph at no very distant date. The question of
Disestablishment was no longer one of hypercritical
argument, for it had been brought to the test of ex-
perience; and he thought they might do something by
an appeal to facts to dispel the apprehensions which
existed in the minds of some as to the object they had
in view.

Mr. Richard then referred to what had been done by
the Established Church of England towards fulfilling
the duty of religiously instructing all the people in the
country. Taking fifty-four of the large towns of Eng-
land with 3,631,962 inhabitants, the number of sittings
provided by the Church of England was about 500,000,
while the attendance only numbered 365,445. If the
rest of the nation had only been provided for in the
same proportion as these fifty-four towns they would
see how utterly and miserably inadequate the provi•
eon would be. But what ha el been dme in the United
States without an Established Church? In 1800 there
were only 2,090 evangelical churches in all the States ;
in 1880 there were 97,000 churches, with 69,870
ministers—a growth of 67,000 in the eighty years.
There were over ten millions of members in these
churches, and there existed in the year 1881 one
evangelical society to every 507 inhabitants. (Ap-
plause.)
Mr. Richard then referred to the Disestablishment
question in relation to Wales, and the introduction of
his Cemeteries Bill, to the principles of which the
Government were committed, and called upon them to
take courage from the recent successful political events
in Barliament.
The report having been adopted, the following re-
solution, moved by Mr. H. Lee, M.P., was adopted

The conference receives and adopts the report of the
executive committee, together with the treasurers' account,
now presented. It expresses satisfaction that the present
improved political circumstances of the country render it
practicable to secure for the question of Disestabliehment a
degree of public attention commensurate with its import-
ance'as a meals of promoting national interests. It calls
upon the society's friends to prepare for new exertions to
secure the electoral and the legislative support by means of
which the society's labours will be crowned with complete
success.

The rest of the sitting was devoted to the discussion
of resolutions calling for an amendment of the Burial
Acts and approving of the Affirmation Bill.