Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-11 00:00:00

but large. Every possible convenience for the reception
and,accommodation of patients ; for the ventilation and
purification of the several wards ; for cooking, -washing,
and prompt transmission, of food and necessaries from
room to room is now provided. The room where Divine
service 'is performed is a spacious chamer,,noW, through
the liberality of Mr. Hutchison, comfortably seated, and
fitted up with tate and becoming neatness. Any sub-
scribers who have not seen the alterations made in the
institution, and are not aware of their nature and extent,
will probably be surprised .on visiting the building to find
that the committee have effected so much with an amount
of expenditure comparatively limited.

LIVERPOOL CHURCH OF ENGLAND'SCRIPTURE

READERS SQCIETY

The annual meeting of this society was held,' last
night, ,at the. Collegiate Institution. There was a
moderate attendance, and the chair was occupied by Adam
Hodgson, Esq. -There were also. present—The Revs.
Dr: AVNeile, Cowan, A. Gore, Joseph Bardsley ; C.
Bushell, Esq., T. D. Anderson,,Esq., &O.
The Chairman said, he was sure they would all deeply
regret the absence of their kind friend the BiShOp of
Chester, who, from the commencement. of the society, had
ever been a warm friend and advocate of its objects; and:
he hoped that his lordship would be present at the, next
anniversary. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the
society, whose cause had induced them to assemble
this 'evening, it was, he regretted to say, a
lamentable fact • that the spiritual destitution it
was intended to, relieve had rapidly increased, with the
rapid inc: ease of the population of the town • and that
increase bad not been overtaken by the efforts of all
kinds that had been brought to bear upon it. re-
;Jetted to say this "
was the case, not only in Liverpool,.
but in all parts of the kingdom in the metropolis, and
the manufacturing and mining districts in the provinces.
Spiritual destitution was outspreading all the
means that were provided for its relief, and
the question 'was assuming a very alarming aspect, and
becoming one of the most pressing, difficult, and fearful
questions. of The day. In the. course of the autumn a
committee, of the House of Lords was appointed to take
the subject 'into consideration, and that committee ex-
amined witnesses from every part of the country,
and the 'evidence given by those witnesses will be found
in the published report of the committee, which was both
instructive and suggestive. It appearcil, from that report,
upon the very lowegt calculation Unit could be made, that
the present •state of society required at least, 1,000
additional' clergymen ; and to give them the very
moderate stipend of £lOO a-year each, Would require, to,
raise it, a sum something like i 3,000,000, to say nothing
of the erection 'of additional Thurches. It would' be'
quite out of the question 'to attempt to meet the
spiritinil destitution and requirements the people
by 'building new churches, because the amount
of 'contributions they would require would be beyond any
stun that could be raised ; but even if the churches could
be erected,-they would net meet 'the necessities -of 'the
care. What was most wanted, and what alone -would
meet the necessities of the case, was that living agency
required to operate upon the inhert masses of the cominu-
iiity, and make them feeltthe value, and avail themselves
of the opportunities of instruction within their reach. That
agency might :ultimately induce numerous contributions,
and thus lead in the 'end to the erection of a church.
The impittance and success of the labours of scripture
readers, 'was evident from the report of the Lords' Com-
mittee, founded upon ,the testimony of persons 'from all
parts Of the kingdom. (Applause.) That agency was
peculiarly appropriate to the exigencies and necessities of
the times ; and they 'would learn from the report an
account of the stewardship of the local agency during the
year just closed. In these regular recurrences,-and these
anniversaries there was much to remind them all
of their responsibility as indiiiduals in relation to the
spiritual destitution which surrounded them ;-and it was
important that they should 'all have a clear notion of
what the objects of this society were. Their object was
to supply the wants indicated in the spiritual destitution
of which they were witnesses. And what was the
spiritual destitution ? The want of the means of grace
and instruction, the want of churches and schools, and
an absence of all that instrumentality - which was
required amongst those who were liiing without
God and witheut hope. That spiritual destitu•
tionwas shown in the freaks of the profligate husband,
-in. the dissipation of the abandoned wife, in the cruelty
and carelessness of parents, and in the neglected, cor-
rupted, and • vicious child. The evidences of spiritual
destitution were visible on every hand in the sin, misery,
'crime, and wickedness with which we were mixed up.
'in our daily moments, and which we had so-many oppor-
aiities of observing. If anybody asked—where does it
iit4exist ?- he should Jay it was not necessary-to take them
,to Africa, India, or New Zealand—though God had a
message 'for all those lands—but to ask them to look
round in England. (Applause.) He pointed out some
-of the miseries and abominations by which we are sur-
rounded. That spiritual destitution should be sought
aeut, because it was of a nature that would not
effect its own cure ; and, to have any effect upon
;it, they must go from house to house, ifrom family
to family, and search it out. Greater efforts were needed,
more earnestness was called for, and the number of scrip-
ture readers ought to be doubled, trebled, and qnadrupled,
to meet the requirements of the neglected portion of -the
population. (Applause.) In looking back upon the
labours of thee society for past years, they .saw much
misery that had been relieved, and much spiritual desti-
tution that had been alleviated. He trusted there were
none present that evening who had not an earnest
desire to exert themselves in their various stations of 'life
with a view of effecting the objects the society had in
view. (Applause.) Whilst busy in extending their
commerce, and diligent in pursuit of every object of self
interest, let them not forget, but listen to everything
calculated to meet the spiritual wants of those poor
brethren whose instruction was committed to their
charge, and whose number was increasing from day to
day. (Applause.)
the Rev. Mr. Cowan read the Seventeenth Annual
Report. The report stated that the balance in the
society's hands was £230, being £lO7 less than in the
previous year. 42 readers were still on the society's list,
and the districts were for the most part the same. There
were during the 'past year 146,537 visits made, to
sick, 14,710 to the Roman Catholics ; and of
the whole number of visits made, there were
16,643 visits made in the evening and were generally
found to act well. The committee regretted the death of
one ,of their readers, John Conway, who died by fever
which he easAt while vici tin o. ;Ti 14,,,,A mu„

committee regretted the death of one of their
members, Mr. Charle3 Inman, who supported several
readers, but they had with
_gratitude .to state,..that Mr.
William Inman had consented to act on the committee
in his brother's place.
Mr. Hilton Halhead then read a statement of accounts,
by which it was shown that the total income of the year
was £3,550, of which £2,834 2s .8d had been paid to
readers. The balance in the society's hands was
£233 2s Bd.

Mr. T. D. Anderson moved that the report be adopted,
printed, and circulated, and that a number of gentlemen
which he read, be appointed as a committee of the ensu-
ing year. Ho was very happy to bear his testimony of
the good that had been done, and was still being done,
by that society. lie knew no society that had been so
eminently successful during its operations.
The . Rev. Arthur Gore; the new superintendant of
the society, seconded the adoption of the report.
In reference to the scripture readers theinselves,
he said a more intelligent, a more earnest body of

men, more zealous—of sound discretion, and more spirit
and sound mind, he thought it would be very hard to
find anywhere. (Applause.) He went on to prove this
by the beneficial results of their labours.' The testimony
of the elergy was unanimous as to the great and good
results of their labours. He concluded by, saying
that they must have three times the number of
readers before they cease agitating the public
on the matter. It required this number to .carry
on the work in this large and populous town.
The resolution was carried by acclamation, and a col-
lection was then taken up while a hymn was being sung.
The Rev. Dr..M‘Neile, on rising to propose the next
resolution, was loudly applauded. He said the resolution
he had to move was as follows : —" That large numbers
of the working population of Liverpool, though possessed
of many excellent qualities, have, unhappily, little or uo
regard for religion ; and this meeting believes that their
social and moral condition cannot fail to be greatly
improved by the efforts of the Liverpool Scripture
Readers Society, being more heartily supported,
and perseveringly carried on." You have already
heard stated—and stated in a very touching
manner, in my judgment—the existence of spiritual
destitution in Liverpool. The fact that it exists
is no longer doubted. Some of the particulars whereby
it is exhibited to the world, have been brought before
this meeting by Mr. Anderson, particularly in his
allusions to, the assault cases before the magistrates.
Then this society has been spoken of in its constitution—
in its objects, which are proved in its working, to be
successful. One object of this meeting is, as we have
already been told by the report, to give an account of our
stewardship—to tell our supporters something of what has
been done. And another object which may be alluded
to also is to endeavour to procure fresh support. The
Chairman has appealed to those present, and made a very
scripturll and touching allusion to the widow's mite, Mr.

Anderson appealed to those that are absent, and hoped
that the report of this meeting might induce__ some of
those to join our laboursin this society. Sir, I cannot
but think that there must be some reason, some
reason that has not been fathomed or fairly met, which
induces so very large a number of men who could help us
in this town, to .stand aloof, and give us no help. Now,
I will venture to address a few words to the absent.
Following out that hint which Mr. Anderson
gave us, the language of some of those gen-
tlemen is of this ktod. "ReligiOn," they say, "is
a personal matter, a matter of private, personal
consciousness, between the individual upon earth and his
heart-searching God in heaven. You have no busi-.
ness or right to interfere with it; why. do you
attempt to middle with other men's religion ? I
feel persuaded, that there fs:' an opinion of this
sort in the minds of a great many of our gentlemen in
England and in Liverpool, which keeps ,aloof from every
such effort as this. Now, sir, I feel disposed to say a
few words in reply to this. I think there'can be no doubt,
that religion,considered as a matter of personal experience,
is a private affair between -the individual and his God
No man can have true religion by proxy. No man can
have true religion by co-operation with somebody.
A man may be a member of an orthodox and sound
Christian church, and yet he may have no real
personal religion in that sense. But there is such a
thing as religious duty, as well as religious experience,
outward duty, as well as inward experience ; and although
every true Christian in the inward experience of his
heart is, indeed, delighted to be alone with God,
no man can be delighted . to be, alone in
his outward duties. There he is, undoubtedly,
brought into contact with his fellow crea-
tures, for a large portion of religious duty is of a social
character. • We are asked; then, why do y'ou interfere,
and why are -you so concerned about the .religion of
others. I appeal from Christian experience and Christian
duty, and I answer these gentlemen two things—" expe-
rience and duty." Experience is the spring of duty, and
duty performed is one authorised test of genuine experi-
ence. "Charity to the soul, is the soul of charity." The
Rev. Dr. - then went on to say that they were con-
cerned about the people, because Christ died for
them, and this was the sublimest reason ; and
secondly, the test of the prosperity, the progress,
the improvement of the nation in everything that could
deserve the name of reform, depended in the highest
degree upon the practical religion of the people. They
Were concerned for
whom
them,not
Christ only as
astheihreirfeslloowf
creatures, for
immortality, but they were concerned for them
Its fellow-countrymen, fellow subjeets, under the
same gracious sovereign, partakers of the same privileges
and liberties, civil and religious, in which they yeere
themselves involved. And thirdly, 'the engagements of
their social intercourse, the confidence in business trans-
actions, their comfort, and their communications with one
another, and with those -whom they employ, depended, in
the highest degree, upon the practical -religion of the people.
' Some of the 'population, of Whirl he spoke, possessed
many excellent qualities. There were in this town
immortal •spirits, jewels of the very highest value, for
whom the Sot. of God died; but many of these jewels
were sunk in such mud, such wire, such filth, that the
very uspeetuf humanity was slmost lost from the face of
the man, and the feelings of hamanity out of their hearts,
and the man would be seen'to raise his hand to a woman
and to his child. The only-cure' for this was the word of
Gad. The rev. speaker concluded amid loud applause.
Mr. Christopher Bushell seconded t}ee resolution. It
had gratified him to see the 'way in which the superinten-
dent North Scripture Readers had bees received, because
it showed that the general was popular. (Hear,
hear:) He did not think their energy should be
damped because there were many gentlemen and
merchants in Liverpool who heeded not the thhigs,
apart from their hilliness by which they were
surrounded, and to avoid which these gentlemen selected
-their residence in the country. (Applause.) But ought
these gentlemen to entirely disregard the spiritual 'con-
dition of these seething masses of the population, who
were compelled to dwell in the crowded town, so that its
buiiness might go on ? Wealth had its responsi-
bilities, and they all had responsibilities, as
members of the community ; that it did not
'therefore become them to shut their eyes to the actual
condition of the poor classes of the population. (Hear.)
It was important to create confidence or faith in better
'principles and better hopes, and when that began to ope-
rate, the habits and condition of men and women would
improve. We had an illustration of the mischievous
effects of the want of faith in the commotion, and probable
trouble, which had arisen ont of a few wordsi spoken by
an Emperor in whom we had no faith. (Applause.) To
have peace we must have faith ; and the best faith to
secure peace here and thereafter, was faith in the great
Almighty ruler of the
eluded with an appeal in favour of the society. The
resolution was carried.

The proceedings then concluded with the singing of
the Doxology.

WATER COMMITTEE,

At the usual weekly meeting of this committee, held.
yesterday, Mr. Hodson occupied the chair. The other
members present were—Messrs. Bennett, Jeffery, Turner,
Ryley, Rae, Wagstaff, Crellin, Earle, Fare worth,
Vernon, Stitt, Woodruff, and Holme.
_

Mr. Duncan reported, that the quantity of water re-
ceived from Rivington during the week, ending Jan Bth,
1859, was 47,766,756; quantity pumped from the wells-
-27,747,267, making a total supplied to -the town of
75 514,023 gallons. The proportion of Rivington to
well water was as 47 to 27.

Mr. Bennett asked the engineer some 'questions as to
the small quantity of well water that was now being
sukulied to the town:

Duncan replied that it was in consequence of
the engines being stopped on Sunday, and that several of
the engines had fallen out of repair. In the first place,
there was a loss of a million of gallons per week from the
Water-street engine, in consequence of being stopped on
Sunday. They, had no water at all from the Soho engine.
From the giotha.m-street engine, there were 1,500,000
gallons deficient, and 2,000,000 from 'the Bush engine.
The loss on the Sunday amounted .altogether to 2,250,000
gals., and including the. Green-lane, and the other stations,
there would be about 11,450,000 gals., which would make
about the maximum quantity when the wi,rks were in
order. It would require some hundreds of pounds to put
the Soho and Hotham-street engines into repair. The
water pumped from the latter engine was-very bad, and
it was decided to stop the engine, and the Bush water
was also very inferior, and when that engine got out of
repair, it was considered right to stop it altogether.
Some discussion ensued, in which Mr.. Duncan remarked
the maximtinfctuantity of water formerly from Green-lane
was 21,000,000 gallons, but now it was about 15,000,000
or 16,000,000. That arose from altered circumstances;
and if the matter was allowed to stand over till next
week he would report upon the whole matter.
The suggestion was agreed to, and Mr. Duncan was
accordingly permitted draw up a report by next
week.

Mr. Campbell reported that the Roddlesworth bore
hole was discharging 21 gallons per minute, and that the
impounded water was discharged 61 inches deep into
the goit.

Mr. Duncan (the engineer) reported as follows

. .
The depths of water in the various reservoirs under their
respective overflows were, on the Bth instant, as tabulated below :
Present week. Last week. Rise. Fall.
ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. fn.
Roddlesworth 9 4 .... 9 0 .... 0 0 .. •. 0 4
Anglezark
Rivington ....' 4 11i ....• 6 0 .... 0 101 .... 0 0
Aspull
Mountray........ 2 0 ..... 1 0 . steady.
Prescot..:„. ~. 2 5 .... 1 9 .... 0 0 .. . 0 8

The rainfall for the same week was 0.07 inches. The eseap,
from the Millstone is 183,000 gallons per day, same as last week
On the Pipe line there have been two leaks near Plat Bridge
all else is in good working condition.

A letter was read from Mr. Docwray, thanking the
committee for dealing with his account so liberally,
although he was at a great loss by his contract, and
expressed his willingness to serve -the committee on a
future occasion.

A letter was read from Mr. Spencer, stating, that his
account, accompanied with a statement, would be laid
before the committee next week.
This concluded the general business.

LIVERPOOL COUNTY COURT.

116NDAN

BEFORE J.' IC. BLAIR, ESQ., JUDO}

PRIELLI v. SMITH. —His Honour gave judgment in
this case in the following terms : —This was an action to
recover the sum of £1 2s. alleged to have been paid by
the plaintiff under legal compulsion, for a penalty to
.which the defendant and not the plaintiff was liable.
The facts were briefly these—the plaintiff is the master
of a vessel called the Louizza, in which, as part of the
cargo, he brought a large quantity of osier rods, consigned
to the defendant. These were discharged over the slip's
side upon the quay, under the superintendence and into
the charge of a master-porter, the discharge commencing
on the lit. December. When on the quay, they were,
no doubt, in the possession of the master-porter, and not
of the plaintiff. On the 22nd, notice was given by the
police, that unless the rods were forthwith removed, the
parties suffering them to remain would be summoned, and
of this notice was duly given by the master-porter to the
defendant. Several days elapsed, and the defendant did
not remove the whole of the rods, at all events a quantity
'of rubbish appears to have been allowed to remain,
'although the defendant asserts that he had removed all
the 1
rods The plaintiff was then summoned? the case
..