Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-03 00:00:00

THE NORTITERN TIMES, MC

SOIREE IN HONOUR

OF THE

REV. JAMES MARTIN EAU.

A Soiree was given by the congregation of the Hope-
street 'Unitarian Church, on Friday evening, to welcome
the Rev. James Martineau, formerly minister of that
church, who is at present on a visit in Liverpool. The
rooms where the entertainment took place, which were
those of the schools attached to the churCn, were tastefully

and beautifully decorated for the occasion. A large
number of ladies and gentlemen attended, the rooms
being indeed densely crowded. Among those. present
were Rev. James Martineau, Rev. W. H. Chanmng, Rev.
P. H. Thom, Rev. John Robbards, Rev. S. A. Steintnal,
Rev. H. Clark, late of Chorley, Rev. Charles Berry,
Leicester, Rev. W. Binns, Birkenhead, Messrs. J. B.
Cooke, S. Thornley, Thomas Bolton, H. Booth, y. Chapple,
Charles Holland, Francis Boult, C. E. Rawlins, Charles
Willmer, Thomas Avison, C T. Bowring, S. Boult, Joseph
Boult, W. J. Lamport, Charles Booth, W. Alfred Devons
F. Jevons, Edward Estill, C. P. English, H. T. Cook, R.
M'Connell, Andrew Leighton, A. Ifigginson,. R. Trimble.
After tea the company assembled m the upper rooms,
and a piece of music was performed by the chorus of the
institution. The chair was then taken by J. B. Cooke,
Eso.

The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said : The
spirit
which for a quarter of a century guided our devo-
tions, which chiefly assisted in forming for most of us the
type of our Christian faith, is amongst us once more in
personal presence. I say in personal presence, because
in other respects it ever is and ever will be with (Hear, hear.) It is inextricably intertwined amid our
memories and our hopes. We are conscious .< its
existence at the foundation of our church. It tinges the
religious life which gleams upon us within those walls,
and is associated with every hymn of praise which we
sing. It comes back to us now from a wider sphere, a
central school of thought, radiating its influences through
all minds
are destined to be our teachers for the future. Some
of its dear, familiar utterances among us have
become fixed as shining lights before the world, and
have compelled its homage. (Hear, hear.) Would
that there were more of them. (Hear, hear, and loud
applause.) Those utterances have been conveyed to
other lands, and there have become like the early memo-
ries of home, and thence every echo brings them back to
us. They have found access with an irresistible force
and an awakening beauty into other churches, tending
to liberalise and enlighten, and vivify them. They have
made their mark upon the present day, and consciously
or unconsciously they must modify the highest views of
the highest minds through all future time. With that
spirit we are again in close and social relation, and there-
fore we rejoice. (Hear, hear.) For a brief space of
time it is again peculiarly our own, and we receive it
with admiration and love. A resolution has been pre-
pared in which we have attempted to embody, in brief
words, our feelings upon the present occasion, which will
be submitted to you by our valued fellow-worshipper,
Mr. Thomas Bolton. (Applause.)
Mr. Thomas Bolton came forward and was received
with loud applause. He said it was a most pleasing duty
to him to move a cordial vote of welcome to their highly
respected friend and former minister in Paradise-street
chapel, and in Hope-street Church, a gentleman who had
established for himself a lasting fame by his productions,
both ou religious and literary questions. (Hear, hear.)
All who had the honour and pleasure to be under his
ministrations felt deep regret when a sense of duty com-
pelled him to feel it desirable to quit the ministry in
which he had so lbng and so satisfactorily laboured.
(Hear, hear.) Mr. Martineau had contributed largely
to the general literature of the day, and no one could read
the publications of Churchmen or of Dissenters without
seeing the great modifications of opinion which had
taken place during the last 20 or 30 years, much of which
had been brought about by his influence. (Hear, hear.)
He (Mr. Bolton) believed that a great number
of those
who attended other churches of public worship in England,
Were Unitarians in their hearts. (Hear, hear.) He
believed if creeds and confessions of faith were abolished,
Unitarians instead of being comparatively small in number
would be large and influential. (Hear, hear.) He hoped
Some who were now living, might see the day when creeds
and confessions of faith would be abolished. After a few
further observations, Mr. Bolton concluded by moving
the resolution, which embodied the welcome of the
congregation to him who had been their pastor, teacher,
and friend, for twenty-five years, and who had shed a

onniant light by his .geniusjand 'his acquirements, upon
the world.

The Rev. W. IL Channing.rose to second the resolution,
and was received with cordial acclamation. He said : It
cannot but be felt as a source of mutual congratulation,
that your friends, sir, have met you once more here, face
to face, before this company of their fellow worshippers.
I am but expressing the hope which I know is in their
hearts, when I utter the wish that this jubilee - for it is
a jubilee—may be the first of many gatherings whore a
heartfelt welcome may be given to their former pastor.
Hear, hear, and applause.) I have small claim to ad-
dress you, my friends, except that as your minister for the
time being, I am, so to speak, your official repreientative,
acid I come, therefore, to say to our friend. in the
.name of all who are asssembled her; that the regard
which was manifested to him by innumerable proofs
when he Was with them, is still as fresh As ever.
(Applause.) The holly, with its scarlet berries
and its evergreen leaf, is not more fresh than is
the warm regard for you, sir, in the hearts of
the people of. Hope-street Church. (Applause.) As
t carries a summer glow into December fogs, so, I may
assure you, that in any ,dark or difficult periods through
Which this society may have to pass, it will always turn
back to the sunshine and the warmth which you poured
upon it. (Renewed applause.) But, sir, the hospitalities
Of the week, following each other in rapid succession,
told you that story privately. The clasped hand of
friendship, and the beaming eye, and the radiant smile
Which welcomed you in so many homes, have given you
proofs of private feelings which I shall not attempt to
repeat. It becomes me, rather, as the representative of
this society, to say to you, that I believe, in my
heart, you will find the Hope-str(
1°

united, as earnest to-day as
when you left it. (Hear, hear, and applause.)
There have been some losses. Some losses by transmis-
sion to a better sphere—some losses from causes indepen-
dent of the doctrines or the usages of this society, by
following religious affinities which every conscience
should follow. But I believe those losses have been sup-
plied by additions to our numbers of friends as earnest as
_those you were wont'to meet. (Hear, hear.) That will
be a source of satisfaction to you ; but there is one yet
more that is, that the cause of this union is the life
which had already been received into this society. (Hear,
th rowar.) 'Without the guidance of their accustomed leader,
n upon their own resources, the members of this body felt what had been latent before; an energy, a zeal,
aad a union which now have manifested themselves.
Mear, hear.) Yet more satisfactory is it to know that
great principal truth of the Christian religion which
advocated fell broad and clear before
and their hearts. You saw this on

Society is

%3 numerou

you hay(
their consciences

irons
0 numster wnoever spoke
j:JILLOGU . 1\ . —... a
pulpit could wish for a response more
harmonious than came to you upon that occa-
,srul TIL Not one, just discrimination—not one profound
Feiple—not one felicitous phrase - not one beautiful
!Yrabol not one direct appeal from heart to heart liv-
ggiy was lost. (~ Hear, hear," and applause.) The
ope-s t r e e t congregation congratulates itself that it has
8° long been fed from the fountain which refreshes so
rilally others. We all congratulate ourselves that all the
;lost advanced religious views which the age has known
or been expounded among us. You will pardon, sir,
0 Personal appeal. You will pardon me that upon this
,ecasion, I speak so directly of you and to you, for in
ling to think of what I should say to night, my spirit
will not allow me to speak in any other tone. It is per-
k°llallY of you, sir, I must speak, or not at all. You
for
"w Me too well, and all who have watched my course
four that Years in Liverpool, know me too well to think
~_ I would be tempted even into friendlx flattery any
more than I would undermine or seek to displace a rival.
cllear.) No, sir ,• of your own personal merit, viewed
n the impartial light of truth and love, I may speak,
and that is my motive. Without your seeking it,
(Ilwithout your willing it, you are a representative man.
ear, hear.) When I say these words I hope every
the in this assembly fully comprehends how sienm is
, Inehning which they convey. The. representative
t'44n 11 is set for f
tidh by
If the li
Prvidence,e
set forth before humanity
serve as an eal . w'-'-' ' -

- ..outa shore forth
ofhim with a glorious transparency is dimmed,
'e"Psed, or veiled by any screens of self-love, the Spirit
(t 3.1 God turns grieved away. It is a very solemn thing
G sYIAd forth as a representative of the idea of God.
huen,4llB is a divine gift, culture is the benefaction of
bf,7anitY ; and when genius and culture blend, glorious
11,-88"1,8 will fructify and precious seeds ripen. Sir,
'4ow that what I say is true, and that it humbles
41)...°408wohpiiileic Isay it. /The special genius, in which
insight and poetic glow are blended in a
'''sl armony ; the peculiar culture wherein a thoroughly
heer drill is united to the romantic freedom
Comes from the fresh inspirations of our own age
-toese have met in you. (Hear, hear.) The Greek
eafildthtehee German elements are combined in the theologian
Christian religion of our own day to whom it is
he:‘,sted to speak with purity and with power, that the
oierts of the people may hear and receive gladly.
it:, hear.) Sir, I have been four years in Great
14. I have earnestly sought to find its greatest

of opialion. I have
High Church, Lew Church, Broad Church ;
mgohkotsnedg of
of Christianity, its
Presbyterians, independents, Baptists, Metho-
dists.lialo England is rich to _day, in strong men, brave
men, generous men ; but, sir, wherever I look outside
the liberal communioil, I see giants in fetters. I see
Seers, but with their countenances veiled. Only within
this communi:4n do I see those who can do justice to the
New Gospel which God has spoken to the times
(hear, hear) ; that gospel which will express the full
truth of Christianity as a Providential law for man's
renewal, while it does full justice to man's expansive power
to receive its influence. He to whom it has been given to
speak this great gospel has an inestimable privilege.
When such a representative man has come among us,
attended by and feeling such solemn responsibilities, it
becomes the body, of which he is representative, to do
him full justice, and to receive - his claim as one which
comes not from any private or personal source, but as a
great gift from above. Now, sir,
.the communion of
liberal thinkers throughout Great Britain owe it to
themselves, to their age, to their representative men,
to afford a position whereon they can fulfil their appointed
duty. It was not by an accident that the minister of
Hope-street was transferred from this place to the capital
of this great kingdom. Such events, although they are
completed by human instrumentalities, come from pro-

vidential means—are under providential guidance. 1
am but expressing what I know to be in the hearts of
the people of Hope-street, when I say that the liberal
communion of the great metropolis afford a place whereon
a word of power may . be spoken to the hearts and the
minds which can receive it, and pour it gladly and widely
over the kingdom. (Hear, hear.) As 1 regard the signs

of the times in Great Britain, the day of grace is rapidly
speeding, and the day of trial rolls resistlessly on. Here
stands on the one side the hierarchical demagogy— and I

put those words together purposely—of the Roman
Catholic Church ; and on the other side stands bald,
hard, and bigoted naturalism. An internecine war goes
on between these two. Where is the mediator ? Ido
not see it in low church, high church, or broad church.
In the broad church only is there promise ; and it lacks
unity, confidence, and completeness. It can be found
nowhere except in the liberal communion of which you,
sir, are a member. (Hear, hear.) The word which was
given to me by the Spirit of Truth is spoken, and I
gladly give way to one who has proved himself in many
hours the tried and trusted frieUd of Mr. Martineau - one
whose just and timely words did more perhaps than
anything else to determine the change of ministration
from Liverpool to London ; one who, in the _Prospective
Review, long served as a guide and a representative of
liberal opinion, and of earnest religious life. (Loud
applause.)
The Rev. John 11. Thom rose, and was received with
loud applause. He said : My friends, by the great kind-
ness of your committee, I am privileged to perform the
somewhat perilous duty of interposing even for a moment
between you and your guest • and, in the name of those
who are not immediately of! Mr. Martineau's form of

thought, to swell the greeting which you have given to
him, and to express our sympathy and our joy in your
rejoicing upon the occasion of his first visit to us since
we lost him from among us. It is true that I have no
commission to represent those who are not in Hope-street
church on this occasion. To seek such a commission
would have been quite too formal upon such an occasion,
and would have been a formality utterly unavailing,
for not a single soul belonging to any of our churches
would not gladly this night add his voice to mine
and speak for himself. My friends, I believe that after
the personal presence of our friend with us
to-night—not in the spirit only I am glad to say,
but in the body—after that the fittest theme for
congratulation is, that the especial good, which we con-
templated as some compensation fur our loss in resighiug
him to a different sphere of services, is in the fairest way of
being accomplished (Hear, hear.) And, moreover, that
.another good which, perhaps, you did not contemplate
which, at all events, you had not calculated upon with
equal certainty, has already come into existence, and is
I hope, at this moment, an established fact. When you
parted with Mr. Martineau in this church, you felt that
you were giving him to all our churches. (Hear, hear.)
You knew that when he ceased to teach you, it was only
that he might become a teacher of teachers. You
were consoled in the, no doubt, sad and regretful thought,
that you were no longer to receive from his hands your
weekly supply of the waters of life, by the con-
sideration that he was to be engaged in forming the minds
and in calling forth the waters of grace from the hearts of
those who are .to deter-

„ae measure and the stature
of free religion and of liberal Christianity for the next
generation. (Applause.) But I congratulate you, that
over and above that, you have done what, perhaps, you
never thought of doing. YQU have sent a missionary to
enlighten the people of London—(hear, and laughter)—to
sweep away certain very strong prejudices as if they
were so many old cobwebs. (Applause and laughter.)
You have converted the metropolis to the opinion which
we very long entertained here respecting the character
of your former pastor and preacher. Certainly, a very
short time ago, London, in relation to Northern Uni-
tarianism, was in an extremely bewildered and dis-
tracted state of mind. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) I
devoutly hope that there is no reporter present, and that
what I am saying to-night is not going to get into the
inguir.er. (Laughter.) For, certainly, when London
spoke of the particular subject of Northern Unitarianism,
and especially spoke of it in connection with the subject
of our guest's visit, it spoke only in dismal cries, and in
shrieks of the most inarticulate description. (Hear, hear,
and laughter.) Now, I do not know what this dark
magician—(laughter)--has been doing with the people
up there—for that was the character h had about a year
ago—to enable them to bear the light without being
dazzled ; but I do assure you, that it is a fact now, and a
most remarkable fact, that they can actually at present
look at him without winking (laughter)—and they
can actually speak of him without screaming.
(Renewed laughter.) In earnest seriousness,
1 do heartily congratulate you, I congratulate us all,
that there is a harmony row between north-and south as
to the religion, the spirit, the character, and the tenden-
cies of him whomi we have so long delighted to honour.
(Hear, hear.) And as a sign and evidence of that
harmony, an arrangement, I hope, has now come into
effect by which our friend and his able: and right-minded
colleague will be again placed in the pulpit as well as in
the professor's chatr—(hear; hear, and applause)—an
arrangement not only of the utmost importance to the
young prophets who are under their moulding hands and
to all our churches, but, I sincerely believe, an
arrange-
ment which will have an effect, direct and indirect, upon
the religion of the country, and upon the christianity of
England. (Applause.) I do regard it as one of the
most felicitous circumstances that I can congratulate you
to-night upon the prospect of Mr. Taylor and Mr:
Martineau becoming public religious teachers in London,
a congratulation which could not have been offered to you
one single night before this night without some move of
difficulty being in the way. (Hear, hear,) I know that, for
the sake of the feeling and the motive, my friend will
excuse me if I have mentioned this subject somewhat
prematurely, and I shall stand no longer between you
and him. (Applause.)
The resolution was put, and carried by enthusiastic

acclamation

The Rev. Mr. Martineau rose, and was received with
loud and prolonged applause. He said : Mr. Chairman,
and Christian friends, I can say little at the outset in
reply to this hearty and enthusiastic reception, beyond
the simple assurance that no joy with which you have
received me this evening can at all exceed that which
restores me to you once more. Before I attempt to
advert to the many affectionate and kindly things said of
me this evening, permit me to turn my thoughts and
yours a little away from that subject, and to cast my eyes
among you for a while, during the interval between the
present evening and that on whieh I last addressed you
here. We are, by a happy thought in your arrange-
ments, in the last evening of another year. It is
impossible for me not to direct my attention
backwards, and to consider what have been
the changes which have occurred in your society,
changes which naturally impress me, who have
begin absent,from you, on my return to Liverpool again,
during the interval which has elapsed. I should feel
that my heart was false to the affections formed by my
long residence with you if I did not:observe and register
as jt were, before proceedingto enter upon newer topics,
the changes which have taken place among you since
last I saw you face to face. There are, undoubtedly,
some friendly looks I miss upon this occasion. I miss,
for instance, the honest countenance of one of the most

manly, incorruptible, humble-minded, and benevolent of
the sons of Liverpool - I miss the honest face and
friendly grasp of John Finch. (Hear, hear.) I miss
also one of.the kindest, the most modest, the most faith-
ful, the most religious of our heads of families, David
Smith, who, however, has left us behind a legacy —he
has left us representatives and successors in whom his
influence and his virtues re-appear among us. (Hear,
hear.) And I miss, also, the benign countenance of the
elder of a pair of brothers, whose names are destined to be
handed down to the perpetual gratitude of our church—l
miss the face of Christopher Rawdon. (Hear, hear.)
I may be pardoned, perhaps, for considering that we in
Liverpool are of one congregation, whether we sit in this
place or in that. (Hear, hear.). I should feel that I was
doing an injustice to your feelings and my own did I not
note and record those
changes at this moment. He was a
ma n who
combination of earnest expe-
riences, of the most various experiences of the world, of
had a singularalmost all that its accomplishments could give—an undis-
twbed native KnOcitY and a warm generositym-a man I

always looked upon as the very model of a Christian gentle-
man. (Hear, hear.) Indeed, whenever there was an object in
regard to which I wished, as the minister of this congre-
gation, for any practical aid and help, I said, 'without
slight or disrespect to any others, that there were none
whose names more readily occurred to me, to whom my
mind so readily turned, to whom I was more anxious to
present my opinions at once, than these two admirable
brothers. (Hear, hear.) Men are of various
temperaments and dispositions, and a Minister
knows well enough that some require great care and con-
sideration as to the best way in which they can be
approached. There are some whom you conceive, for a
while, you can scarcely approach at all, and others who
yield not at your pressure. But those gentlemen I always
knew would not only receive me in the beginninc, with
the utmost courtesy, but I had only to ask myself the
question whether the cause for which I made an appeal
to them was worthy of the sympathy of honest men, and
the support of compassionate men, and if it were so I was
not only sure of being received with courtesy at first, but
that I should retire with the additional grace of thanks
at last. (Hear, hear.) They were indeed supporters of
our cause and our church. It would be ungrateful on our
part this evening not to remember them. May the great
guardian of their spirit and of ours preserve the memo-
ries of their virtues ! These are not all, nor are they
happily the chief changes I have to note among you this

evening. I see arounc-fme for the most part-the same
faces which I have seen before. So long as our
venerable friend, Mr. Bolton, retains among us the moral
weight of his character and of his name, we may be sure
that our centre of gravity will not be greatly changed.
(Applause.) For a weight such as his, independent in a

remarkable degree of aniof the contingencies of fortune
a weight, independent of any of the considerations of
party strife or political ambition —a weight, singularly

_
dependent upon the -coMbination of sense, uprightness,
and integrity—is seldom to be seen. (Hear, hear.) It
is delightful to me to hear his voice again, and to see his
venerable form among us this evening. (Applause.) Mr.
Bolton's character and his estimation among us have
borne perhaps the severest test to which they could well
have been put, namely, that they were able to bear the
strain and shock of the utmost divergence of opinion
(hear, hear) ; that every 'citizen of Liverpool; whether he
agrees with him or does not agree with him, hails him
with equal honour and respect. (Hear, hear.) Few of
us 'have not at one time or another had occasion to differ
with him in judgment, as a necessary incident in the case
of a mind which works so much by its own independent
force; but I venture to say that there is not one
of us who, after such a difference, does not
carry away an honour for him quite as high as he com-
menced with (hear, hear), nay, perhaps higher, because
it has stood the test of so great a shock. (Hear, hear.)
Long may he be preserved to give the dignity and weight
of his character to your society. (Hear, hear, and loud
applause.) I see, indeed, for the most part, a familiar
gallery of portraits everywhere around. The dear old
faces are still before me. Perhaps, in some cases, there
may bed: d a "

.iscernet. tittle more of the touches and the
traces of time ; but, surely, time is an artist whose work
a Christian need never deplore. He may, indeed, pale
the cheek, he may blanch the hair, he may print upon the
countenance the trace of many a sorrowful experience.
But this also is frequently done with so much deepening
of the higher expression, that he seems rather to take
away the veil, as it were, from the spirit, than to cover
over the graces of the natural life. (Hear, hear.) It, is
not for a Christian to regret the changes which are
wrought by such a cause, and I rejoice, therefore, uncon-
ditionally and without reserve, in renewing the old
friendships, and seeing the old countenances before
me to-night. (Hear, hear, and applause.) It may
be supposed that after so long a residence among you, my
feelings would uaturally cling to the old associations, but
I venture also to say that no one rejoices more than I do
to see everywhere the indications and signs of a new life
arising among you, to take the place of the old, a life
manifestly calculated to pour the influence of a freshening
mind and a brightening season among you, and to per-
form many labours which it did not fall to my lot or to
my power to be able to achieve. I always knew that it
would be so. I knew that my friend on my right hand,
my successor, with his rare gifts and graces, with his
genial and generous spirit, with his pure and bright and
joyous faith, would be able, not only to bring out into
ripeness the best fruits of the eider time, but to scatter
many a good and fruitful seed in the new. (Applause.)
And accordingly I see the traces of it everywhere. The
needles of the ladies have acquired an expertness and an
activity which even exceeds those of our previous expe-
rience. (Laughter.) The number of the teachers in
your Sunday schools has received large accessions; and
the number •of scha!ars has at least undergone no
decline, but I believe it has also, in the same proportion,
increased. (Hear, hear.) Aud as for the social spirit
which prevails among you, I have only to appeal to the
splendid exhibition I see before me this evening to be
assured that it has undergone no decline, but has ex-
perienced an increase among us. I say, then, that I
wish here, publicly and from Iny heart, to thank my
friend and brother for his good workmanship —workman-
ship iu which I everywhere behold the skill and the
style of the 'l)ivine master workmanship which, I
believe, will truly carry out the Spirit of the Gospel, and
truly sustain the honour of his own great name. (Ap-
plause.) I thank him from my heart. But, sir, now
that I have uttered his name, how am I to make any
return for the recognition which he, as well as the pro-
poser of this resolution, and my friend, Mr. Thom, have
given me this evening ? From you, indeed, my friend,
whom I have known so long—from you who, having
trained me for so long a time, sent me forth, as it were,
to enter the field as a sample of your work—from
you I need hardly be surprised at the recognition which
I have received this evening. It comes to me very
much as to the grown son may come the caresses and the
pride of his mother, who fancies, notwithstanding that he
may be the most ordinary of mortals, that there is some-
thing extraordinary and remarkable about him.
(Laughter.) I accept it with affection and with gratitUde.
But, from my more recent friend, my successor here, I
confess it comes to me with an overpowering surprise,
and I can only see in it a sign, not of any gifts, not of any
deserving in myself, but only of that kindly and generous,
spirit, which I have occasion, at least, to recognise as
characteristic of his country, and which you well know to
be pre-eminently and deeply characteristic of himself.
As for the great things which he has overwhelmed me by
anticipating from Me, I for my own part am perfectly
unconscious of my ability to achieve any of them I
went to London, not for a larger, but rather for a more
special sphere —a sphere, indeed, so inconspicuous that
nothing could take me more by surprise than the
ferment of surprise which the prospect of it occasioned
in our denomination. lam happy to say, that that feeling
which was then awakened —a feeling which was quite on
one side, and for which there was no manner of recipro-
city or echo in my own heart —has apparently passed
away with the occasion which gave it birth, and I can
truly say—and I may say after what Mr. Thom has
remarked respecting the London Unitarians—that I have
received nothing but the most unmixed and unqualified
kindness from every class among our own religious com-
munity. (Hear, hear.) I am sure that, although the
paper to which he has referred bore the names of some of
my old friends, the occasion had not passed away before
all was forgotten. The pastor and the friend of my boy-
hood, Mr. Madge, received me with the greatest regard
and affection ; and my old and intimate friend, Mr.
Thacker, the intimate acquaintance of my collegiate life,
received me with no less warmth and kindness. Mr.
Thom has alluded to the remarkable, and, indeed, impres-
sive fact, as it is, to my mind, that, in conjunction with
my principal and colleague of the College I have received
the call of the congregation to succeed to its ministry. That,
is indeed a most remarkable incident. (Hear, hear.)
I receive it with gratification, as a proof of the continu-
ance of that oneness of spirit, that real religious peace
existing among us, and which is now confirmed.
(Hear, hear.) The tie of that connection gave to my
mind strong reasons for listening to the invitation of the
congregation just now. As for the future, it is not for
men to calculate upon that. It is for the Christian to do
his work, not to measure it. Were Ito anticipate how
far I can perform the work,.l believe it would thoroughly
cripple and deter me. I must endeavour rather to the
utmost to forget myself. If lam thus permitted to
forget myself, then I shall be content to put my whole
energy and heart into the work, and leave the result in
the hands of the great Providence of us all. (Applause.)
Sure I am of this, that if my friend Mr. Taylor and
myself should be placed in the, post, and if we should not
be able worthily. to represent the principles of
liberal Christianity in the metropolis of England, the fault
will lie in ourselves and not in our opportunities. I
am firmly convinced that that is the place, and I am
firmly convinced that now is the time, when a very con-
siderable change may be wrought in the christianity of
the country. 1 know it is said that the difficulties are
now very great from peculiar causes. The difficulties
which we have to encounter now are very greatly changed
from what they were forty, fifty, or sixty years ago.
Then Unitarians stood absolutely and hopelessly alone,
objects of general abhorrence and antipathy. (Hear.)
There was nobody near them. They were merely objects
of repulsion, and of theological reproach. Now the
difficulty appears to be to find any person who really
differs with us. (Hear, hear.) Go into private society,
travel in a railway carriage or in an omnibus, and when
the conversation turns upon subjects of morality and
religion, you will generally meet with a concurrence
and a sympathy which are most unexpected, and which
too are most provoking. (Laughter.) You cannot meet
with a person who really will oppose you. Yet; never-