Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-17 00:00:00

Satidday, December 17, 1859

teratelv surrendered as the understood issue of
the process. A. minority having made a noise,
having raised a fictitious spirit of discOntent, and
thereby caused frequent recurrence of heart-,
turnings and -unseemly parochial oppositions ;
having, too, got out a pretty strong impression
that Parliament is not to have a moment's rest
trona insolent and unreasonable importunity,
'Church Rates, we are gravely assured by those
Who are generally more amenable to calm and
impassioned reasoning, are to be sacrificed for
the sake of peace, and to silence a vulgar
.erY• The whole matter amounts to this
'it is too late to inquire whether your
arguments are valid, and your faets per-
tent and correct ; we have-done with logic and
justice, and history too. The question is one for
the present day. Church-rates are after all in
s°ine measure or in some mode made to depend
su the inclinations of the people. The people
Will not have them, and therefore they must-go."
That is, the Church of England is ,to sacrifice
several millions of money in order to .propi-
tiate the savage injustice of politico-religious
sectarianism. -
Of course there is one eternal, argument left,
and it stands alone. It is the old and stock one,
Which spoliators have been accustomed to• use
.titile out of mind to impart a tone of elevated
.I*inciple to` their little pecnlations. " The Chnrch
(4 England surely is not afraid to depend upon
the voluntary' efforts of her members ! If she
once unreservedly commits the whole of her in-
lerests to their pious liberality, she will
,not have
reason to regret her confidence." ,
Now, in the first place, let it be borne in mind
l'erY attentively, that this is the plea upon which
tiot only Church Rates, but all Church pro-
ilerty of every kind, including the tithes of the
Ishd, are to be confiscated, that is 'stolen. The
Est answer •to it is, that it is beside the question.
It property be mine, I claim it, whether or not
'stater people think that I could, do without it, or
should be better without it. -It would scarcely
14./e allowed as a sufficient reason for depriving a
father of his, independent source of income, that
he was surrounded by well-to-do sons, who
uld never see him want ; and that besides, his
Pendence upon them, would give opportunity
401' the exercise of those feelings of filial piety,.
Which
otherwise would be less' prominently
Pught forth. That her children may be confi-
'Lenny expected to use their pious energies in
'tier to compensate the loss, supplies no plea for
fibbing the Church of anything that she at pre-
44eut rightfully calls her own.
But over and above the plea of ownership, we'
Tis Bert that all Church property is of a piece with
'What are more peculiarly called the voluntary
entributions of the passing moment. These men
Who argue against Church property are arguing
against voluntary gifts, only made in another and
more permanent shape than the occasional efforts
charity. In the case before supposed, in-
/elving filial duty, would not an investment at once,
for the yearly benefit of the parent, take rank among
tiler acts of liberality which a son might more
l'aelnodically discharge ? The pretended advo-
tates of " voluntaryism " have given themselves'
false name. They are opponents of pro-.
liberality. They tell the charitable
that they cannot with safety add to their other,
Rifts 'to religion, by endowing a Church in per-
tuity, and securing it from the precariousness
Of occasional bounty ; for that in course of time,
they themselves will appropriate what has lost in
pho,
r'araliCe some little of its character as an
lienable gift, to their own fraudulent use. On
'i:°lnparison of the amount of voluntary effort the
iZirch of England need not be ashamed. But
looks upon the property which she holds in
test, no matter how ancient that trust, may be,
just as much the fruit of the voluntary self-
44*ce of her children, as the gifts of the passing
h~
a... 7. Her right to both rests precisely upon the
e obvious ground. To interfere with either
the same violation of the commonest honesty
al'a justice.

.1„
'I,RAPOOL STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE.
e understand that Mr. Thomas S. Raffles is a can-
lite for this important office, vacant by the removal
14'1-r. Mansfield to the Worship-street Police-court, in
4°ll. Independently of the high legal qualifications
e rr• Raffles, as shown by his discharge of the duties
.).14;1111dge of the Salford Court of Record, the cireum-
ef hiabeing the.son of one of the most popular
tet Mtell in :Liverpool—a native of the town—and a
.1
ellitul of many estimable personal qualities, must
the- the strongest claims upon those with whom
ceaPPointment rests, and who will naturally wish to
aatisfaction to the town.

LATEST NEWS.

I.IIY
AND IRISH MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.]
, .
FRANCE.
•

THE FRENCH,FUNDS., •
PARIS, Dec. 16.
I 14;2'6 P.M.—The BourSe opens a.nim' ated, with,
-ecm firm ; Rentes 70.80.
P.m. Business very active, but Funds de-'
41, ed• in consequence of <a rumour that the Con-
-4.8 had been adjourned till the 20th or 22nd of
. Yesterday's _ improvement of per
his • °f Rentes has not been maintained, and the
t Price t°-day was 70.55.

THE CONGRESS.

1/10 Patrie mentions a rumour that Prince
°ltschakoff will declineto attend the Congress
48
Plenipotentiary of Russia, unless England is
represented
~ by some important member of the
Cabinet.
It appears to be generally understood that the

Congress will not meet on the sth. It will
probably open about the middle of January.

La Presse- contains an article, in which it
is observed. that Sardinia and England must
have demanded, and obtained serious guarantees
before sending a definitive answer to the invita-
tion of France ; and further remarks that the
Congress would be impossible, if the principle of
non-intervention, had not been accepted by all
the Powers.