The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-07 00:00:00

SUNDAY SCHOOL AND LITERARY INSTITUTE.

Last evening, the first of a series of a course of lectures,
to be delivered under the auspices of this popular institu-
tion, was delivered in the hall of the institute, Mount street.
Mr. Wm.:Brown, M.P., presided. There was a very good
attendance of the members and friends of the institution
present. On the chairman presenting himself, accompanied
by several clergymen, he was most cordially greeted on
taking the chair. Ile said he had been honoured by an
invitation to preside on that occasion, and the first proceed-
ings would be to open the meeting by singing a hymn and
prayer, after which ho would offer a few observations, but
they would be very few, as he did not wish to detain
them from the interesting lecture to be delivered to them by
their old and respected friend, Dr. Raffles. After the sing-
ing of a hymn, and a suitable prayer had been offered up,
the chairman resumed. amid much applause, by saying he
had already stated that he felt greatly honoured in taking
the chair on such occasions, for he could not conceive that
any body of gentlemen were tie, re faithfully discharging
the duties they owed to society and to man, when
they were associated together for the purpose of
assisting and promoting instruction in Sunday schools, for
there was nothing more certain or more clear, than the
fact that when men were well educated it created such a
degree of self respect, and would lead them to attend to
a place of public worship. Ile next alluded to the great
strides that science had made, both iu mechanics and
philosophy, by which all mankind were enabled to be better
clothed, and to get moral instruction. Ile then quoted
some extracts from a lecture delivered by Mr. Whitworth,
in Edinburgh, for the purpose of showing that in the
present day the people were much bet er enabled to obtain
decent clothes whenever they were decently conducted. But
there was one great fact shown by these statistics, and that
was, that, although mechanical science had so far increased,
it had not diminished manual labour. But, besides these
mechanical improvements, there was the electric telegraph,
the wander of the aye. He had the honour of being the
chairman of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and
would just tell them what they had contracted
to do. They had already contracted to lay down
2,000 miles of cable to connect the two great
continents, which, from the level state of the plateau
between the Irish coast to Newfiundland, there could
not be any doubt, but that it would be successfully carried.
Having passed an eulogy on the professors of geology,
chemistry, and other science., he expreesed a hope that,
through their exertions and knowledge, that all might be
led to become of more moral worth. and better prepared to
meet their Creator. The Rev. Dr. Reifies, then delivered
a most interesting lecture, entitled "An Evening with
Autographs ;" in the course of which. he exhibited a great
number of specimens, out of his collection of 15,000, of the
chief great characters from that of Charles the First, to
those of our more modern statesmen. A vote of thanks
concluded the meeting.