The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-05-31 00:00:00

TO THE PROTESTANTS OF LIVERPOOL

Petition ! Petition ! Petition ! Churchmen of Liverpool, to
a man enter your protest against the Popish-socinian-liberal-
combination education scheme. Wesleyan Methodists ! let,
not one of your body keep his name back on this all-import-
ant occasion. Dissenters of Liverpool—where are you ?
this a time to stand back and allow political feelings to blind
your better judgment ? Will you preach 'pure religion from
your pulpits, inculcate it in your families, and yet silently
allow a scheme to be carried forward, which must, as far as
human probability can see, have the effect of blighting all that
you have hitherto done in the cause of truth ? We are not
satisfied in calling the measure a whig scheme, for we cannot
suppose that they have cunning enough ; and we would not
wish to suppose them base enough, to concoct such a mea-
sure, so exactly calculated to un-christianise a people. No,
it smells too strong of the Vatican, to be of pure whig
vigour. They are but the tools employed in Satan's best
machinery—Popery.

A PROTESTANT.

THE QUARTERLY REVIEW AND OXFORD

TRACTS.

The following excellent letter, against the errors of Pusey-
ism, has appeared in the columns of our truly orthodox con-
temporary, the London Record. We offer no apology for
transferring it into our own.

TO TILE EDITOR OF THE LONDON RECORD.
SIR,—I can hardly bring myself to agree with you that the
article in the Quarterly Review, on Puseyism, is likely to do
much mischief. In the first place, its tone is so decidedly the
tone of " one of the firm," that no one, I conceive, for a
moment, will fancy he is listening to an impartial judge. In
the next place, it is now known that. the article in question
is written by Mr. Sewell, of Oxford, a young gentleman of
considerable classical ability, but whose opinion on religious
subjects no one, 1 should imagine, would contend was entitled
to any great weight with the church. It is not like an ar-
tictle written by a Faber, a Townsend, or a Benson. It
surely should not escape notice that the Oxford views, like
the Plymouth and Irving views, are espoused and defended
by no long tried and experienced minister. The champions
of the cause are " novices," of high moral character, and
strong in classical and ecclesiastical learning ; but, for the
most part, little acquainted with human nature, except as
they have seen it in a university, or studied it in Aristotle,
and taking their.theological tenets more from the fathers and
Mr. Knox, than from the articles and homilies of our church.
Compare their writings with the writings of the reformers,
and if vou believe the latter preached the pure gospel of
Christ, I think it is impossible to admit that the former are
men taught of the Spirit. Happy would it be for them if
they felt the truth of that valuable remark of the Bishop of
Chester in his charge : " Spiritual knowledge has this pe-
culiar characteristic—it has little connexion with superibr
education, or cultivation of mere intellect."
I must confess, to my shame, that I was for a while " one of
them." This I ascribe very much to my having taking up tbo
exclusively their works, and giving heed to nothing but what
was written on their favourite topics. For a time I preached
their views with all zeal, and was looked upon as one of the
most devoted of their party. Gradually, however, I began
to feel that there was an indescribable difference between the
tone of their writings and the Bible. I was obliged to con-
fess myself that I had lost much of my spiritual comfort,
since I had taken up their views, my flock looked distressed
and diipirited by my teachinz, and with all my efforts to per-
suade myself to the contrary, I was often convinced that
these views tended to pride, not to humility ; to contentions-
ness, not to love ; and to alienate me from some of the good
men, and good works, in which I formerly took an interest
Through God's mercy, I determined to lay entirely aside for
a season the works of Pusey, Newman, Keble, Palmer, and
Hook, to read no more the British Magazine, or British
Critic; to give up preaching on the subject of the ordinances
and the succession—at least in any other than a general man-
lier ; and to betake myself to the simple study of the Bible,
and more free intercourse with my poor. I soon found my-
self in a different atmosphere—l seemed to have lighted on
new ground.

The gospel was again to me a gospel of liberty and joy. A
sense of real power again accompanied the word to my soul—
peace returned as a flowing stream, and love to old friends
and interest in good old causes revived, and with them a
sense of victory over an enemy who had for a while separated
us. My parishioners, too, smiled again.
Let me solemnly assure you this is neither a feigned, nor.
I believe, an exaggerated experience. And let me only en-
treat any minister who has become entangled with the view:
of this party—after having first put it to himself whether In
has the same happy witness of the spirit with his heart a.
heretofore, and his people the sane enjoyment of his miuistn
—to make trial of my plan to give up for a season the work.
and subjects referred to, and to take simply to his Bible, am
to communion with his people in conversation and prayer
and, I think, I will answer for the effect.—l am, Sir, yours
PRESBYTER ANGLICAN US.

The sale of sea weed is increasing very rapidly in Clare
There were on Saturday morning 177 car loads offered for
sale in Enniii.—Limerick Stan4;yl.,