Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-26 00:00:00

is a hard problem, what use is it that Providence

should scatter opportunities in our path ?
cannot keep L'ngland moderately virtuous, of

If we

what use

is our extended commerce, the success

of the arts of peace, the increase of a well-to-do
population, th 6 spread of science and knowledge,
and even zeal ? Is all this vast and growing
addition to, the sum of human prosperity and
apparent happiness nothing but to swell the
present triumph and the future downfall of the
god of this world; all these material advantages
but to strengthen the cry with which we assail
Heaven itself, let us eat and drink, for to-

morrow we die ?

Yet this is the problem England has been
trying to solve—how long P—and which the

loathsome details of class demoralisation prove to

be still it

nsolved. There is much parade of
means, and profession of willingness, and even

arrogation of power to regenerate the masses

the nostrums of the Tabernacle outnumber all

the universal remedies of science : there are more

quacks in religion than in medicine ; there is

much self-flattery about the progress of the
Gospel, and the circulation of religious know-
coteries of faithful and busy-minded

ledge

teachers without end meet to testify to the pros-
perous conventionalism of their school, .and the
pliability of the modern mind ; they say a word

or two against the refractoriness of some neigh-

bouring religionist, or the enormity of some

opposing creed, calculate the number of tracts
distributed, audit the accounts, and are happy.

A good deal of money is spent upon stone-work,
and even twenty thousand pounds are not too

much for a conventicle

A religious teacher of

some sort encounters us in every walk o f life, ;
and where is the social circle without its
favourite preacher, its demi-god of the pulpit ?
Does not all this look promising ? Have we
not reason to flatter one another—to dream of
the supremacy of religious motives, and religious
zeal ? If we wish to know the strength and
sincerity of a man's beliefs and convictions
ought we not to judge from the strength of his
disbeliefs ? If we wish to judge of a man's
love and zeal for what he believes to be religious
truth, shall we not find the test in the strength
of his opposition to falsehood : in his religious
animosities and hatreds ? Surely then we who
are as keen and eager in the scent of a false
aoctrme as the merchant is of a bad bargain, or

a pecuniary imposition—surely our zeal for the
gospel is unimpeachable. Surely the interests of
religion may be safely entrusted to our advocacy
and administration. Yet there is no need to

enquire as to the condition of the masses of our

people. With all this sense of religion among
the middle classes—this zeal of partisanship and

power of controversy—among the masses religion
is either a wholly unrecognised visitant, or never
more than a coldly welcomed guest sure in the
end to be rudely thrust from their doors.

We are not going beyond our province in thus
drawing attention to the great evil of the day,

and to the inadequacy of existing agency to
remedy it. Whatever has to do with the public
morals and the public well-being is our concern
as journalists. It is right that those who have
the special care of religious machineries, should
be warned when their bad working has arrived at

too high a pitch of inefficiency to escape the

notice of the general spectator. England, you
tell us, is the most religious people on earth.
What the world is inclined to say is, that never
was there a nation, never was there an age;

where and when there was more sectarianism
and less religion. In fact, sectarianism has

either tried to propagate religion and regenerate
the people and has not succeeded; or it has tried
to put the odium theologicum instead of pious

zeal, and to propagate a religious partisanship
instead of a practical reformation, and it has
succeeded. You who are jealous about the repu-
tation of that religious system of belief for which
your country is celebrated, are deeply concerned
to clear it of the possible reproach that, with
peculiar opportunities, it has been unable to do
its work ; that, notwithstanding all those ma-
terial and social advantages which it is impos-
sible for earth to receive from any hand but

Heaven, your religion has proved a disastrous

and ignominous failure

The scorner is not far off who delights in such
accusations. It is well for you if there are even

newspapers to tell you that reparation is abso-
lutely needed, and that the means of reparation
are still within your reach.

WE heartily congratulate the electors of Hull on
having returned, as their representative, Mr.
JOSEPH SOMES, rather than his Liberal opponent,
by such an unmistakeable majority as that of
489. At the present time it is essentially im-
portant to the Shipping Interest that gentle-
men concerned and largely engaged in it, as
capitalists, should come forward to represent
constituencies equally interested in the commer-
cial marine of our country as themselves. Hull,
as a port, ranks fourth in magnitude in this country.
It should be remarked, however, that it is from
the Conservative principle those great interests