The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-30 00:00:00

S N
APRIL 30, 1846.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGA-
TION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS.
A meeting in furtherance of the objects of this Society was
held on Tuesday in the Hanover-square Rooms, his Grace the
Duke of Buccleuch in the chair. Amongst others on the
platform we observed the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop
of St. David's, the Bishop of Jamaica, Lord Glenelg, Lord
Sandon, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Dean of West-
minster, Archdeacon Manning, and the Rector of St. George's,
Hanover-square. The room was crowded in every part.
The Noble CHAIRMAN opened the proceedings by reading
letters of apology for non-attendance from the Bishop of
London, the Bishop of Oxford, the Speaker of the House of
Commons, Lord Chief Justice Tindal, Mr. E. Denison, and
others. He then proceeded briefly to state the objects of the
Society, and in doing so observed, that in the last year alone
no less than 63,000 individuals emigrated from this country
to foreign parts, and he called upon all true Christians to
assist in affording the benefits of the Gospel to the millions
in the colonies, who were so destitute of those blessings. The
Society was founded in 1701, and if it was then found neces-
sary to contribute to its success, how much more incumbent
was it upon us to do so now ? Multitudes of our own coun-
trymen were daily going down to the grave without the con-
sc lation afforded by a minister of the Gospel. He concluded
by making an earnest appeal on behalf of the Society, and
expressing the joy he felt at the increased means of spiritual
comfort which was now afforded to the convicts in the penal
colonies.—(Applause).
The Bishop of WINCHESTER moved the first resolution,
and in doing so expressed his confidence that when the emi-
grants and colonists, in behalf of whom they had met, heard
that the meeting had been presided over by his Grace, their
joy would almost be unbounded.—(Applause.) The reso-
lution which he had to move was to the following effect :
" That the emigrants from this country to the
British colonies, amounting to forty thousand annually,
and the colonists already settled there, require a
much more ample provision for their spiritual wants than
they are at present able, with all the efforts they are making,
to provide for themselves." Those emigrants arrived in the
colonies very generally in a most destitute condition, and the
clergymen were called upon to afford them temporal as well
as spiritual comforts. His Lordship, then read a long
extract from a letter of the Bishop of Calcutta, to prove
the destitute state of the colonists in a spiritual sense.
The resolution which he had read referred to the efforts of the
colonists themselves. He rejoiced to say that those efforts
had been great and very successful. In Calcutta, for in-
stance, the Legislature there had voted during the last year
3,0001. for the support of the Church, and 3001. for the in-
struction of the young. The local dependencies were also
enabled to supply the ministry in a great measure from the
natives, who, under God, would be the means of spreading
the Gospel far and wide. But after all, in the words of the
resolution, " a much more ample provision was required."
—(Applause.) He had that morning received a letter from
a merchant, who was a member of a large emigration com-
pany, who had instructed him to say that they were willing
to give every asssistance in their power to the agents and
friends of this Society in carrying out their noble objects.—
(Applause.) His Lordship then referred to the' recent glo-
rious victories in India, and remarked that a wide and exten-
sive field had been opened amongst the heathens for the
furtherance of the Gospel.—(Applause.)
Lord GLENELG most eloquently seconded the resolution.
Mr. BYNG supported the resolution. He felt convinced
that the late wars in India, although they had not added to
the possessions of the British Sovereign, they would add to
the possessions of the Great Sovereign of all, by the con-
version of the heathen to his cause.—(Applause.) He con-
cluded by handing in, amidst loud applause, a cheque for
100/. as his mite to the funds of the Society.
Lord R. GROSVENOR also spoke in support of the resolution,
and said that it was a crying shame to this wealthy country
to suffer the colonies to remain in their present destitution
with regard to spiritual instruction.
The resolution was then pat and passed.
The Bishop of St. DAVID'S moved the next resolution—
" That the connexion into which this country has been brought
for its commercial and political relations with vast numbers
of the heathens imposes upon it the duty of imparting to
them the blessings of the 'Gospel." If it was necessary to
adopt the first resolution, which related to emigrants from
this country, who had in their infancy imbibed the principles,
surely this which referred to the case of the poor benighted
heathen, on whom the light of the Gospel had not yet shone,
ought more especially to be adopted and earnestly carried
out.—(Applause.) There was an impression abroad that the
gigantic work which this Society had undertaken could not
be accomplished by it. That impression, in his opinion, 'was
not founded on fact. No doubt if the Government had as-
sisted them the wonk would have been easier—(Applause)—
but if the work were rigorously carried on the difficulties
which were, by some, represented to be greater than they
actually were, would vanish. The colonists themselves
contributed largely, perhaps more largely in proportion to
their wealth and numbers, than the people of this country,
to thefunds of the Society.—(Applause.)There were some who
questioned the propriety of regarding the condition of the
heathen whilst we neglected the ignorant and depraved con-
dition of our own people at home.—(Applause.) It was true
that there was heathenism to be converted at home, but he
maintained that the causes of converting the foreign as
well as the native heathen could not be separated.—
(Applause.) There was this connexion between those two
objects—by everything that we did to enlighten the mass of
heathen ignorance and depravity at home we were lightening
the work that remained for us to do abroad.—(Hear, hear.)
The conversion of the heathen abroad would not diminish
our efforts in the cause of Christianity at home, but rather
bring down blessings upon all our undertakings.—(Ap-
plause.) These were our palmy days of commerce and con-
nexion with the heathen, and if we failed to take advantage
of the opportunities that were now held out to us of propa-
gating the cause of the Saviour, we might hereafter have
most bitterly to regret our apathy and neglect.—(Hear.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER seconded the resolu-
tion. He said that they must all be aware that nations like
individuals had their responsibilities, and that as to indi-
viduals so to nations talents were committed, for the use or
abuse of which they would be severely called ultimately to
account.—(Hear, hear.) If we reviewed our station among
the scale of nations, to us had been extended,
an empire great amongst the other nations of the
earth, and if to us above all other nations of
the earth had been committed the charge of an
extensive empire, comprising many millions of heathen in •
habitants, upon us rested above all the duty of iproviding
those millions with the knowledge of that Christian truth
and the enjoyment of those religious privileges which were
our pride as well as our consolation.—(Applause.) He did
not mean to claim for the Legislature of this country an ex-
emption from the responsibility of providing such instructions
for the heathens—(Hear, hear)—but he contended that
each and every one of us were individually responsible to
perform those duties.—(Applause.) He had been assured
by letters from parties that had been engaged in the recent
battles in India that the victory avas to be attributed to the
interposition of a providential hand, and did it become us
not to feel thankful for such divine blessing? Those conquests
had added another million of heathens to the many millions
already under the sway of the British sceptre, and were we
not now more forcibly called upon to contribute to the fund
of such societies as these, for the purpose of extending our
common faith to the benighted Pagan ?—(Applause.) If
they could look forward to the melancholy period when the
greatness of this nation would have to decay, they would
leave behind them not the relics of civil or ecclesiastical
edifices, but the nations that we had blessed by conveying to
them the blessings of the truths of the everlasting Gospel.—
(Applause.) The historian that would have to record the
fate of this empire would no doubt say " this was a wise and
an understanding people ; this was a people that had the
Lord for their guide."—(Applause.)
The Noble CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, which was
unanimously passed.
The Bishop of JAMAICA then moved—" That the two-
fold object of providing means of spiritual improvement for
our emigrants and colonists, and making known the Gospel
to the heathen dependencies, has, under the Divine blessing,
been so long successfully pursued by the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, that it is entitled to the sympathy
and support of the present meeting." His Lordship, amidst
repeated applause, gave a cheering account of the progress of
the Gospel in foreign parts, which had been effected for the
most part by the efforts of this Society. He contended for
the responsibility of providing the people both at home and
abroad with spiritual instruction. Ought not our "kings
to be nursing fathers and our Queens to be nursing mothers
to the Church ?"—(Applause.)
Lord Joint MANNEns seconded the resolution, and in the
course of his speech regretted that, in this, the nineteenth
century, it should be found necessary to call such
meetings as these, and he "feared that if something
more were not done by the State for the spread of
the Gospel, our foreign possessions might at no distant day
be plucked from the diadem of the British Crown.—(Hear,
hear.) He was sure that when this great meeting sepa-
rated they would not cast away the responsibility that
devolved upon them. It was well that the princes and
nobles residing in the ancient city of Westminster should
aid the noble objects of the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel abroad. He had no doubt that ere long the
churches abroad would be supported by the colonists them-
selves—they were, in fact, in some places doing that already.
—(Applause.) But we must not forget that we were respon-
sible for the spiritual instruction of the hundreds of our
fellow-countrymen that yearly left our ports, and the best
way in which we could discharge our duty in that respect
would be by contributing to the funds of this Society, the
great supporter of the Church.—(Applause.)
The resolution was then passed.
Lord Sexism moved the next resolution, which called
upon the public for increased contributions to the funds of
this Society.
Archdeacon MANNING seconded the resolution, and said
that the amount which had already been raised for
the purposes of this society was most paltry, when
compared with the magnitude of the work which
they had undertaken. Shame should burn on our
cheeks and our faces be covered with tears of repentance
when we reflected on the manner in which we had
discharged our duties with respect to the evangelisation of
the heathen.—(Applause.) It appeared that 50,0001. only
was the sum which had been contributed for the purpo'ses
of this Society during the last year. What an insignificant
sum was that to be raised for so sacred a purpose, in so
wealthy and Christianised a country as England.—(Cheers.)
The duty of evangelising our fellow-men was coeval with our
baptism ; we were clearly " our brother's keeper " in this
respect.—(Applause). He himself represented multitudes of
poor labouring men, and he rejoiced to have to say that never
was there a gathering at his church that every one, the very
poorest of them, di 1 not contribute to the purpose of evan-
gelising the earth.—(Applause). Let Westminster and the
rest of England do the same.—(Applause). He hoped that
all the pastors of the Church would repeatedly and earnestly
inculcate on their hearers the duty of contributing to this
Society. England owed a vast debt to this institution • let
them set about discharging that debt without delay.—(Ap-
plause). The Church of England at the present moment
owed a very deep obligation to these missionary societies,
and they appeared to be the surest means of restoring to her
amity and strength.—(Applause). The vital principles of
the Church demanded an extension not diminution.—(Ap-
plause). The Church was a moral police for a turbulent
population, and it had no doubt been greatly extended at
home during the last fifteen years; a thousand churches, as
many pastors, and incalculable schools having been add d to
be secure
whilst but it was impossible that the heart couldausr.e
whilst the extremities were allowed to fester. ( ppl )
The resolution was then put and passed, after w.hicha vote
of thanks was passed to the Noble Chairman, which having
been responded to, the meeting separated.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Queensberry arrived at
Farrance's Hotel yesterday, from their seat, Annan, Duni-
&Whirs.

. THE IRISH COERCION BJLL.
A meeting of the friends of Ireland was held at the Crown
and Anchor Tavern last evening, for the purpose of express-
ing their hostility to the Irish Coercion Act, and was very
numerously attended.—Dr. kogers presided.
The SECRETARY (Mr. Daily) read letters from the O'Co-
nor Don, Mr. Grattan, and Mr. Smith O'Brien, stating their
inability to attend—the last-named gentleman stating that
his absence was occasioned by the recent proceedings in Par-
liament in reference to him—all, however, concurring to the
full in the object of the meeting.
On the platform were Mr. Dillon Browne, • Francis
,De Monte Esq., from Madras ; the Rev. Mr. M.P.doore, the
Rev. Dr. Bl‘Grhee, and several other Irish Members and
gentlemen.

- The CHAIRMAN said he regretted that a more eligible per-
son had not been selected for the presidency on the present
occasion. He himself was more fitted by professional duties
for other spheres of.action, but as an Irishman he could not
refrain from expressing his sympathy with his unfortunate
country. They would hear from the speakers who .would
address them that evening of the sufferings of their country,
whose sufferings were unparallelexl, a fact to which he himself
could testify, having travelled in countries where despotism
countrywit-
nessing
ptrheee
ednitser
esni ndg
es co
neenl eusd
ewd hbiyc he
ehfei sr
eoi
ewgn
exercised in its full force its baneful influence, without
er t u n a t e
onunitho
meet-
ing the necessity of union, the want of which had given
their enemies the power of oppressing them, and had led to
all the evils by which they were at present afflicted.
Mr. Dmitost Bnowste said he appeared there that evening
for the purpose of recording his detestation of that Bill,
which sought to trample on the last remnant of Irish liberty.
--(Hear, har.) He did conceive that this meeting would
have been an assemblage not only of Irishmen, but of
Englishmen, and all the elements of democratic power, to
preserve inviolate those liberties which were handed down to
them in the reign of Charles the First. He regretted, there-
fore, that there were no representatives of the people of
England present there that evening.—(Hear.) It had been
objected to them, that by the course of policy they had pursued,
with reference to the Corn they were lessening the
sympathy of the people of England for Ireland.—(Hear,
hear.) Nov?' he denied that, for there were none more
anxious to give cheap food to the,; English mechanic
than the Irish people, and the Irish Members had, on
more than one occasion, endangered their popularity by their
adherence to the principles of those who were opposed to the
corn-laws.—(Hear, hear.) But were the Irish Members to
stand still and allow the Ministry to chain them while the
League tied their hands?—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He
did not see that 'they were called upon to act in any other
way than they had done.—(Hear, hear.) Did they find any
opposition to the various obnoxious measures which had
been introduced from time to time against Ireland exhi-
bited by Etiglishmen.—( Hear.) - Were there any demon-
strations on the .Rart of England against the Arms Bill?
Where were the advocates of English liberties and rights
on the present -occasion ? Where were Mr. Cobden,
Mr. Bright, Mr.- - Thompson, Mr. Wakley, Mr. Dun-
combe, and that little contemptible wasp, Roe-
buck.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Irishmen, as well as
Englishmen; were convoked by the advertisement to attend
there that evening, and- esist this aggression on the liberties
of the subjeCt, and yet they had not responded to the call.
It, therefore, devolved upon Irishmen to depend upon them-
selves, and by persevering in their present course they
would obtain their liberties.—(Mr. O'Connell here entered,
and was received with the most deafening and protracted
applause.) He would conclude by proposing the first reso-
lution, and by assuring the English Members that there was
a recuperative power in Irishmen to obtain for their country
its legislative independence, and restore its nationality.
The CHAULMAN then read the following resolution :
"That the government of Ireland has been one of unmitigated
cruelty and unrelenting injustice. That this course of legis-
lative criminality has led to incalculable woes to Ireland.
That therefore, considering the sanguinary character of the
many previous Coercion Acts, all of which have failed in sub-
duing the spirit of Irish justice and liberty, we repudiate with
as much indignation as is consistent with faithful loyalty, the
pending effort of the Ministry
-to inflict upon Ireland another
characteristic Coercion Bill, a. Bill which in its malignity, its
unconstitutional character, its brutal perversion of domestic
protection, and its sacrifice of public liberty, is only a proper
sequel to the long sad catalogue of injustices, of which Ire-
land has been the victim."

Dr. DRURY briellyseconded the resolution which was carried
with acclamation.

The Rev. Dr. M'GnEE proposed and Mr. Richard TAyLon
seconded the- following resolution : "That the calm,
eloquent, and determined conduct of the Liberator in re-
sisting the first reading of the atrocious Coercion Bill is de-
serving of our warm and heartfelt gratitude."
Mr. O'CONNELL (who was received with the greatest
enthusiasm) said, that until the present moment he
was not aware of the strength of his party. in England.
He was desirous of proving himself deserving of that
support, by showing himself the uncompromising advocate
of civil and religious liberty all over the world.—(Cheers.)
In every portion of the globe—in every country—in every
clime, freedom had in him an unflinching advocate.—(Loud
cheers.) And every enslaver had in him an enemy.—
(Cheers.) That had been the great object of his political
life. He hid struggled for it for his own native land—he
commenced his struggle for freedom when the Catholic was
an unmitigated slave.—(Hear, hear.) The circumstances
under which he was then labouring, the disqualifications
which were imposed upon him, were almost in-
credible. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman then
referred to the different provisons of the penal code. But
these were no longer to be recollected, they were so dis-
tant—(Cheers.) •He mentioned these circumstances to re-
mind all those who might hear him of the justice of their
claims to national and legislative independence.—(Hear.)
He had spent thirty years of his life loooking for freedom,
and was then struggling in Parliament to keep what they had
got of that liberty.—(Hear.) He did so because he was not of
opinion that slavery was a cure for any malady. With
respect to what had been said about the corn-laws, he had
to say a word. He considered the corn-laws an English
question, and he came to England expressly for the purpose
of supporting that measure. He certainly did not deny that
he had acted vexatiously with reference to the subject, and
he would take advantage of all the forms of the House in
persisting in that line of conduet.—(Loud cheers.) The
Hon. and Learned Gentleman having deprecated the com-
mission of crime in Ireland, which he traced to the conduct
of the landlords, concluded by saying that if he were spared
to see England restore to Ireland her nationality, he would
on College Green hurl the cry of triumph, and wish prod-
perity, and strength, and success to England; but if it were
otherwise, he would say, Woe to England."—(Loud
cheers, in the midst of which the Hon. Gentleman resumed
his seat.)

Resohitions of approval of the conduct of Smith O'Brien
and other Irish Members were agreed to, as well as in favour
of repeal; after which the meeting separated.

PUNISHMENT OF DEATH.

---
A great public meeting was held on Wednesday evening in
the large room at Exeter Hall, to consider what, means ought
to be used for the abolition of the punishment of death. The
hall was crowded in every corner long before the hour for
the commencement of business.

W. Elvenr, Esq., M.P., who was unanimously called to
the chair, introduced the subject to the meeting which had
called them together. It was unnecessary, he felt, to detain
them long. Their adversaries on the question had been
driven from point to point and from crime to crime in this
kind of award, and now death was inflicted only for one
crime—the crime of murder.—(Hear, hear.) He remem-
bered at the time when it was attempted to abolish death as the
punishment for sheep-stealing and burglary, that one rose
up and said the consequence of that would be, that they
could not trust their domestic servants ; when it was moved to
abrogateit asthe penalty of forgery, another said commercial
credit would be at an end. - Was the punishment of death,
he asked, retained on the principle of the lex talionis, like for
like, death for death ? He believed no man did so. Or was it
then retained for the sake of example? Why, on the part
of their adversaries, a motion had lately been made that
this sentence of the law should be executed in private, so
that for them the argument from example went for nothing.
But if they supported the present system on the ground of
example let them send their children to the spectacle—
(Cheers)--and the more especially if this was meant to be
part of a national system of education.—(Laughter.) If
any did maintain it on religious grounds, he believed that the
spirit and the precepts of Christianity were directly opposed
to it. There was one remarkable difference in the line ofda-
fence taken up by parties on its behalf. He (Mr. Ewart) and
his friends depended on the Parliamentary Statistical Returns
which had been got up from year to year. These
showed a diminution of executions, and with that a diminu-
tion of crime : and what was also worthy of observation, they
exhibited an increase of convictions, thus showing with what
crrtainty criminals can be detected when juries were un-
trammelled by a perverse sentence. He begged the meeting
to bearin mind the result which had been drawn from these
statistics
sbeyl
vllslsr
executionsscu red thereaand Wrightson,
d wasww ehal cdl
ehismtwai
ban slui,
st tohendaotofwne irttihhmeteshe. efidTgiuhmreel)-8.
feltnuti themselves ofm
in their efforts against this systematised evil, at the same
the scene wenhticwhhhieehsahwe akronuenwd
whim,
proceeding wea byn
time they were encouraged and strengthened in •
sthiteiognebnyerathl astheilrl oppo-
sition
Liverpool, and Southampton, and other. plaasces. It had been
said, however, that they desired the abolition of this sentence from false sentiment and from false delicaey f in
He said that was far from him. If any false sentiminendi existed in the community in connexion with this question
it had been produced not by the crime, but by the punish-
ment of the crime—(Hear, hear)—for he believed that the
criminal was exalted into a species of hero, not by the crime
lie had committed' but by the punishment inflicted upon
him—it .was the awful punishment of death which enlisted
false feeling. If crime had produced this false feeling, then
it would have continued while they viewed those crimes in
reference to which death had been abolished, but that false
feeling continued to exist only towards that one crime which
was still punished capitally. No one had any such feeling
now towards the sheep-stealer or the burglar, for the occa-
sion had been taken away. They had been asked by the
other side, whether they were prepared to offer any
punishment, instead of that which it was sought to abolish.
Now, they were not there to find out the correlative scale
and character of punishment and crime, yet they were con-
vinced that there was a punishment more adapted to crimi-
nals guilty of murder, and that was imprisonment for life;
for what could be more awful to man—what greater torment
—than to be for the rest of his days the companion of soli-
tude and his sin ? Such a prospect would carry with it more
weight than the punishment which swept a living being
in
a moment out of existence; and if this solitary imprisonment
and reflection produced sorrow in the criminal, and
repent-
ance, then it became a sentence more in accordance with the
spirit and end of religion.
The
of John Hon.
Bright, M.P., who was received Gentleman's speech was interrurptivedbyd
tithetbo
audience
en-
trance
with long-continued cheering.
to
• which the Noble Lord did by
Lord NUGENT was called on by the Chairmana tdo,
first resolution,
this particular
He said the Roman laws were moderate in
edicts, said
statutes, and the history of sanguinary laws. in other nations.
until the times of the Emperors,whose move the
existed for 23 years, was an example Seneca, taught the people crime.
oode was abolished,
revolution there
cle-
mency, but at the French
the
and the assassins returned among
ofmi cdritmbaetkteoopt
of the British Isles, for 30 years
their prey. The statisticsd pple like beasts to
Tbte Tt
blui the c anna code,ion inw which
pace with the abolition ofcp
divided into cycles, showed
i inu t
punishments,on
convictions had increased in every de-
that the number of
a that
capital
the d
when there was an increase dpopulation. They showed also
scription of crime except murder. In the crime of murder
this kingdom stood next to Spain, and was eight times worse
than Prussia. In Belgium, between the years 1834 and 1837,