The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-08-31 00:00:00

took the chair

—Ladies and gentlemen

u of the nature of t

daout to be opened this evening, and to call to
your attention the fact that they are for the purpose of
-ing before you the operations of the Trish Society and
At the present moment in Ireland. Now, ladies
gentlemen, what I wish to call your attention to is

its work a

ou must look upon the work of this society

its the work of ' one particular

branch

section of the Church engaged in a most holy
and Christian duty towards their fellow-country-
men, but you must also look upon it as the work of the
great United Church of England and Ireland. (Loud
cheers.) I, for one, am not so well acquainted with the
details as the Clergymen and gentlemen who are to follow
me ; and, therefore, I am leaving it in safe hands, when I
say I do not wish to occupy much of your time in any
remarks I may make, but leave those gentlemen, whose
time is wholly engaged in their parochial work—
and who carry their parochial work into the opera-
tions of this socTety,—and who will, by the b!esAng of
God, excite you to take more interest in the work, and
excite in your minds, a more active zeal in its behalf.
(Cheers.) But I may ask, what is the peculiar position
of the United Church of England and Ireland at
the present moment ? It must be remembered that
there is not only a great cause made for that Church
to exercise its immense power to put down Popery
jaie with regard to its spiritual calling, but also to bear
lin mind what is its political relation with that
_

country. And I think here we have a very serious ineuce-
ment, because the time did exist when the Roman
Catholic Priesthood were far better off than the Protestant
Clergy ; still there is a fact patent to the mind of the
people, and it is continually thrown in our teeth. that
this m

ent the great majority of the people of Ireland are
Roman Catholics ; that the great portion of the property,
and all the ecclesiastical property, belongs to Protestants.
Now, then, I say there is a most egregious fallacy con-

tained in that ; but it is not for meatpresent to explain
what that fallacy is. There is, however, a most egregious
fallacy contained in it ; yet it would take too much of my
time and too much of yours to enter into it. But this I
may say—one great and important duty of the Irish
Church, not only in its spiritual character, but also for
-1 reasons and polio--' -,uses, is to endeavour,

-,
as far as lies in its power, to exercise to the utmost
its ministerial functions, to carry out to the utmost
those duties which are attached to its calling, in order
that it may be t•uly fulfilling the sphere in which it is
placed as the established church of the country. (Hear,
hear). It ought to treat all its parishioners—it ought to
treat all its legal parishioners, both Roman Catholic and
Protestant, alike, and to both bring those ministrations of
the gospel, which can alike make them happy here and
secure for eternity. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us
look to the present position, both spiritual and political,
of this branch of the united Church of England and Ire-
land,—and let me in a few words draw your attention to
what are the difficulties with which that church has to
cope ; namely, difficulties not only proceeding from the
character of the people, but from the peculiar na-
ture of their religion—a religion, which, however
prosperous be the country, however fertile its
soil, however plentiful be the gifts which God
in his bountiful providence has bestowed upon it,
however salubrious, however mild or however benignant
its climat-

yet you will find in that religion enough to
cause a cloud and a degree of adversity to that country
which can be assigned to no other cause whatever.

(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Now, ladies and gentlemen,
we are here to consider what that cloud does arise from.
Is it not that we have heard the ministry of Christ at the
altar of God denounce in terms, I may say, of demoniac
•hatred, those whom she ought to treat with Christian
love and charity ? What has been the result of that ?-
but that murderers have paid the penalty of the law, and a
degree of agitatian has taken place, both social and political,
which unhappily has caused too m any governments, not onl y
those having Liberal tendencies, but also those having
Conservative tendencies, (forone is as much to blame es
the other,)—which has caused,. I say, too many govern-
ments to act in a manner, impressed with those difficulties,
rather tending to give into them than to meet them, rather
tending to compromise truth than to lead to the ultimate
explanation of them, through reliance on the providence
of Him without whose aid no good can result from man's
endeavours. (Hear, hear.) Now, these are two of the
difficulties which the Church of Ireland has to meet
with. There is also, ladies and gentlemen, another
difficulty and that is, 1 am very sorry to say, too few
governments of this country have shown towards the
Established Church that degree of respect and regard
which it ought to receive. The Church of Ireland has
particularly fared ill in this way ; and, therefore, I say,
when you consider these circumstances, you have addi-
tional arguments and reasons in exhorting the Church of
Ireland, as no doubt you will exhort her, by the very fact
of your attendance here this evening, to put forth in-
creasing energies in that bright and holy work in which
you are now enraged. Now, ladies and gentlemen, what
is that work ? It is carrying the gospel to the millions of
Ireland. First, it is by teaching of the scriptures—
by teaching to read and hear in their own tongue;
then it is, after those scriptures have become embedded in
their minds, by bringing to them the ministrations of the
ministers of Christ; by preaching the gospel to them,
and by teaching them that way which has been obscured
from their view by the thick mist and cloud of Popery.
This is the work in which the Church of Ireland is
engaged, and this is the time when it is the duty of
the people, not only of Trelanclebut of England also, as
being members of one and the same body, to come for-
ward and help her in the work of reformation. (Cheers.)
Now, ladies and gentlemen, she has adapted herself
to the wants of the people of Ireland, and in this she has
set a noble example to the English branch of that church.
I wish from my heart I could see the Church of
England thus adapting herself to the wants of the people.
There are many things in the Church of England I could
wish to see remedied. (Cheers.) 1 wish from my heart
they were remedied. (Cheers.) I wish T could see from
one end of the land to the other, beginning with the first
and going down to the last, the ministers of Christ with
that holy and spiritual mind, which would make them
ready to cope with the vast amount of evil in this country,
and all the ignorance which prevails. Let, then, that
be done, by one long and persevering effort ; done,
not by concealing these abuses under the false
guide of kindness and toleration, but let it be- done
by sensibly, judiciously exposing them to view,
and then calling on the legislature to remedy them—
(cheers)—so as to make the Church of England cowmen.
surate with the increasing wants, the daily, the hourly,
the yearly increasing wants of the people of this country.
(Applause.) And I can only say, I believe, if a place like
this, of this magnitude and importance, a place of such
commercial prosperity, should make its voice heard-in that
cause, that no greater boon can be conferred. on the
church of this land—no.more decided step can. be taken
towards effecting so desirable a result. Having stated the
difference between the operations of the London and Irish
Society and the Irish Society of Great Britain, and main-
tained that they acted and wished to act in connexion
and co-operation together, the noble marqpis thus con-
cluded :—I will not longer detain you, but before I sit
down, let me call to. your recollection the deep responsi-
bility you all incur by attending a meeting of this nature.
It is very common in this country to have public meetings,
and scarcely anything is conducted without meetings of
this sort. Speakers are advertised, the meeting is made
public, a large number of persons are collected together,
and hear the interesting details of the orators. But let
me remind yon that I hold in my hand very important
resolutions, embodying most important principles,
and extracting from those who, agree to them most
important pled :es and promises. I' shall put these
resolutions one by one, and having obtained your
consent to them, let me remind you when that consent
is once given it cannot be taken away ; you are pledged
in honour and morality, and, more than all, in religion, to
abide by those principles, and to act upon them. Let me
remind your of the serious responsibility which the law
imposes on persons who attend public meetings and pass
resolutions. I know one instance on the part of a man
who attended a meeting, and because he did not hold up
his hand in opposition to a resolution that was passed,
could not rid himself of his liability to a share of the ex-
penses incurred. And if this be so even in common law,
of how much more consequence it must be in Divine
law. (Hear, hear.) Well, then, let me entreat
of you earnestly, seriously to give your consideration
to these things. Let me entreat of you to give every
encouragement to the work of this society; and be
assured that by these means you will do much not only
to diffuse the blessings of the gospel and the light of Chris-
tianity among these benighted people of Ireland, but you
will do much in establishing that blessed union of Church
and State in this country—(cheers)—which has brought
about so much prosperity, and given us a constitution
which, though placed amongst the shadows of the earth,
carries upon it the stamp of heaven ; and 1 call upon you,
therefore, ladies and gentlemen, to be the true and faith-
ful executors of that Testament, that glorious constitution
which you have received from your ancestors. (Continued
marks of approbation.)
The SECRZTARY then read the following
REPORT :

" In presenting their report for the past two years, the
committee of the Liverpool Auxiliary of the Irish Society
feel in doubt whether they ought to adopt a tone of

triumph or of shame; of triumph, at the glorious work
which God has wrought and is still carrying on, by the
agency of this society ; or of shame, at the miserably
small, and continually decreasing, aid which is rendered
to it by your own auxiliary.

" Tliecommittee'would not wish to detain you by any
details of the progress of that work, abundance of which
may be found in the last annual report, as well as other
publications of the parent society ; and further particulars
will, doubtless, be given by the gentlemen, who are to
address you this evening. Suffice it to say, that, by God's
blessing upon this and other kindred societies, Popery
has been shaken to its foundations from one end of Ireland
to the other. The converts from that system, remaining
in their native land, may be counted by tens of thousands ;
those who have emigrated to America (we state it on the
authority of Priest Mullen's notorious letter) may be
counted by hundreds of thousands. The Trish are flying,

not so much 11; rafatriine7; from illeir priests. It is not
uncommon for persons, who but the other day left the
shores of Ireland, apparently the most devout Roman
Catholics, to send home money kg theic Womb to 011 ow,