The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-06-08 00:00:00

s return to power, to an increase of the
ce and consequent impetus of the democratic

_ f I judge aright, it would be ren-
ill more difficult, if not wholly impractica-

element, whereby, i

ble, to give steady efficiency to any system of go-
vernment, and, of course, to any satisfactory defence
of the weak against the strong. Hear, hear.) The
country must decide between them. Is the power of the

crown and the aristocracy so overgrown, so overbearing,
roportionate—that a fresh fusion of democracy
into the Commons has become indispensable to maintain
the boasted balance of our limited monarchy ? (No.) Or
is the power of the Commons already so great, that to in-
crease it will be in fact to establish a republic ; reducing

BOORS FOR REVIEN

and receive atte❑

C, &C.,
s, Red-

the monarchy to a name, and the Sovereign to a puppet—
a puppet, which at the next downward step would be
found too expensive a bauble for republican philosophers
and economists ? My conviction is, that the Reform
Bill, however open to improvements in minor details,
gives as much relative power to the Commons' branch of
our constitution as can be exercised with safety to the
people themselves. (Hear, and applause). This is the
political question of the day, however some interested
parties may attempt to direct it to certain fiscal or
commercial differences. (Hear, hear, and loud cheers.)
But this is not our subject. (Hear). The question
Baines's History of Liverpool, Part VIII. to which I address'myself is of a different character. It is
The part before us concludes Mr. Baines's full this,—ls the religious liberty of England to be maintained
and complete history of the town. When we say by the continued ascendancy of Protestantism, or is it to
" full and complete," we do not mean that he has be endangered, or even compromised, by the advancing
said all that might be said, or even ought to be power of Roman intolerance ? (No.) When Rome is in the
said; or that he has exhausted the subject. There ascendant, freedom cannot flourish. This is true, whether
are points of view from which his arrangements did her ascendancy is exercised by means of the superstitions
not admit him to look at the town at all; for a his- of the House of Hapsburgh, dutiful sons of the Church, or
torian, like a painter, must select his own position, by means of the calculations of the House of Buonaparte,
and in that consists his skill, as well as in the sue- making use of her for suffrages, while she makes use of
cessful execution of his picture. The town of Li- him for bayonets. In both cases—in every case where
verpool is a scene of commercial operations, not she has the power—her iron grasp is laid heavily on the
exclusively, but in its primary and secondary fea- two great pillars of liberty and religion—a free press and
tures, as well as in many of its details; and it is as the
an unrestricted Bible. (Cheers.) The Bible is impounded in
rise and progress of a great port that Mr. Baines
has treated the subject. His history will, we have Austria—the press is coerced in France. Why ? Becausein both Romanism for the present reigns. The Bible is
-no doubt, be the standard one for many y,ars to
come; though supplementary and special treatises circulated with earnestness, and the press is gloriously
referring to the town will not be out of place. The free in England. Why ? Because here Protestantism is
present part is a double one, so that, instead of still in the ascendant. We are told, indeed, by some of
seven, as originally contemplated, the work has our opponents in the present discussion, that there is no
practically extended to nine. It contains, in all, such change to be apprehended from Romanism. On
nearly 850 pages of matter; and our only regret is, the contrary, her cause is warmly espoused by many
that there is no index given, nor any means of who boast themselves the long-tried and consistent
reaching particular passages and statements, except friends and advocates of civil and religious liberty.
through the skeleton headings of chapters. Unconvinced by the recent aggression of the Pope
W. Blackwood upon the prerogative of the British Crown, by the
announcement of the Pope's subjects—that " a crusade
against England is begun ;" by the candid avowal of the
leading papal publications, that " toleration is contrary
to the canons, to the councils, to the catholic religion, to
the peace of society, and to the happiness of states,"
these gentlemen still plead for additional concessions to
Rome, and plead in the name of religious liberty and a
circulated Bible. This has been done, as elsewhere, here
among ourselves in Liverpool. This is one of the ele-
ments at work for the mystification of men's minds, con-
cerning what is smoothly called " Justice for Roman
Catholics as well as to others," in avowed connection with
strong Protestant opinion. In all this it is intimated
that whatever differences of religious opinion there may
be between them and others, there should be no difference
made between them and others in the just and proper
political treatment of them by the state. It is to this
fallacy I now invite your attention. Upon the religious
element in Romanism, if it can be properly so called, I
have no present intention to comment. As far as religi-
ous opinion is concerned, every sincere church and every
sincere man is theoretically intolerant. That is, he thinks
his own views right, and, of course, he thinks what is
opposed to them wrong. But neither Church, nor
State, nor individual, has any right to make this
opinion, however sincere, the ground of intolerant
practice. It is against the practice and the dogma that
such practice is a duty : i. e., against the political aggres-
sive intolerance of Romanism, that we require national
defences. Against false religion, and for the propagation
of the true, we want nothing but evidence and argument.
We know as well as those who insist upon the point, that
acts of parliament cannot propagate true religion, and we
have no such diffidence in our religion as to feel that it
requires any such support ; but against practical intole-
rance, extending to life and property, and free permission
to make use of argument, we want laws, wisely framed,
and vigorously administered. (Cheers.)
I have undertaken to show that "intolerance is inhe-
rent in and essential to the system of the Church of Rome;
therefore the plea of religious liberty, in defence or sup-
port of Romanism, is either ignorance or hypocrisy." It
is easy to occupy a position of our own, and thence to as-
sail an adversary, all the while leaving what he considers
his strong-hold altogether untouched. The force of our
To the EDITOR of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD. arguments may be admitted as general principles, and yet
SlR,—Some time ago, repeated meetings were held in our adversary may feel that they have not dislodged him,
Tranmere, and subscriptions were said to have flowed in or in the slightest degree weakened his foundation. Such
freely, towards building a new church in the crowded dis- must be the fate of all general arguments against the into-
trict of Limekiln-lane ; however, for the last twelve or
eighteen months, nothing has been heard as to when the lerance of the Church of Rome, which do not grapple
church is likely to be built, and the thing seems to have fully and fairly with what Romish enthusiasts feel to be
fallen to the ground. Really some effort ought to be made their unanswerable Scriptural warrant for intolerance.
on the part of the church portion of the inhabitants of The. most celebrated.. and authoratative of their modern
Tranmere. With a population of about 7,000 people,
there is church accommodation for about 600 or 700. periodicals in this country, the Dublin Review, contains
There are no less than six dissenting places of worship, this comment upon the imprecations in the Psalms :
besides schools attached ; and, unless some effort is made Here, then, is the ground for these terrible impreca-
for providing church accommodation for the poor and lions we find in the Psalms * * * turn them how you
better class of workin people in Tranmere, the church will, call them prophecies, or what not, evade the plain
will continue (as it has for some time,) to lose its hold on p
and natural rise of the optative forms in Hebrew, as you
the respect of the larger portion of this population. please, still there is an evident exultation in the destruc-
It is very true that the incumbent and the excellent tion of the wicked, which sorts ill with that theory of
curate of Tranmere do all they can,—rather too much, I Christianity which makes benevolence the sum and sub-
should say, when the curate lectures a mile from the stance of it. * * * The anathemas of the Church,
church after eight o'clock on a Sundae, in a room capable then, are a counterpart to the imprecations in the Psalms,
of accommodating about fifty people' uncomfortably,— the spiritual sword to the material sword of David. and
almost going through a second service.—Yours, &c. heretics are a counterpart to his crafty enemies." (Sen-
A CHURCHMAN.

Blackwood's Magazine

section S.— Ho
The Home Cor,

Housewife,

nod's El

'dinburgh Magazine.
and Sons, Edinburgh

The June number of Blackwood contains two ad-
mirable political articles, from one of which, " the
Policy of the Protectionists," we have marked some
passages for extract. The other, entitled "the
Great Question," should be studied attentively at
the present momentous crisis, containing, as it does,
a striking exposition of the state of parties in the
country, and of the dangers which hang over our
political atmosphere. We have also some excellent
articles of a literary and miscellaneous character.

The Dublin University Magazine.
The number for the present month is less adapted
than usual to ordinary readers, for there is a smaller
amount of poetry and light reading in it; but it is
very interesting to the thinking readers. The arti-
cle, " Rosas and La Plata," is evidently by one who
understands the subject well ; and the letter on the
" Queen's Colleges," without any pretence to fine
writing, gives much valuable information. The
" Heirs of Randolph Abbey," and " Stray Leaves
from Greece," are of average merit ; of " Lord
Jeffrey" we have had enough, through the various
magazines ; and there is a spirit of warm nationality
in the article entitled " Misrepresentations of Ire-

land.'

- • - Batton.)
MEETING ON 'CIiAtSGE on
Unless I can meet this, unless I can rescue such abused
passages of Holy Scripture, point out their true application,
'sily. plied their vocation.
and show that the Christian Church has no right to plead
-xnssing7 are a pocket- them as examples for her imitation in practical intole-
-o £lO notes, o.r. 5 ranee, I shall not have reached the root of this subject.
I shall now endeavour, in the first place, to shew what
`ntolerance is ; intolerance, not merely arising from sud-
• , i ---- end admitted afterwards

land gener- Tcoloeu“w7O*4", 11;untiTolerance deliberately adopted and sys-
t, it is well tematically defended, as a religious duty ; as it is in the
Church of Rome. (Hear' hear.)
I venture to define it thus—a practical anticipation by
man of the predicted judgments of God. The justice of
"lis definition will be appreciated when we consider the
!ferences to Holy Scripture by which Rome endeavours
) defend her doctrine and practice of intolerance.
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord ; I will repay."
)f what shall be. " Dearly

ptural propi
renge not yot