The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-07-26 00:00:00

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On Wednesday evening last Mr. Brindley conta44;laN
course of lectures on the errors of the Atheistical 1;-(1Mti-""
called " Socialism," at the Music-hall, in this town, wfi • ...-••••"
the absurdity of what are named the " Five fundamental facts"
of the system, and the wickedness of the principles deduced
therefrom were fully exposed. Mr. B. took the " Facts" seri-
atim as proposed by Mr. Owen in " The Book of the New Moral
World," and showed their folly and inconsistency in such
forcible terms, that the " Socialists" themselves could not
but join in the laugh against them. Mr. Owen states in ex-
planation of his First Fact, observes Mr. 8., that he has
made a " DISCOVERY !" And what did they suppose Mr.
Owen had discovered? Why, that an individual, before he
was an individual, had not individuality—or, in his own
words, that "Man, before he is born, is passive and
unconscious, and has SW controul over the kind of organiza-
tion lie shall receive," and therefore, (therefore!) because he
has no power over himself before he is born, or has identity,
it is confidently concluded that he can have no freedom of
action when he is iu existence, and has an independent king.
And upon this self-evident fallacy the system of Socialism is
built up. Mr. Owen, having also satisfied himself that the
whole world were and ever had been " ignorant, irrational,
and insane," declares, in His 9th "Fundamental Law" of
Nature, that a " man can only become rational when he is
made from infancy to receive all true ideas without any ad-
mixture of error." And when closely pressed by Mr.
Brindley, in December last, at Worcester, he declared, in
the presence of nearly 2000 persons, that he was placed in
rational circumstances as follows—" When about ten years
of age, coming home from school one morning to his break-
fast, he observed that his dish of Flummery looked quite cool,
and ready to be devoured ; accordingly, he hastily conveyed
the deceitful food to his mouth—for a skin had formed at
the surface, concealing the latent heat beneath—when to
his horror and surprise, the heat was so great as to cause
him to scald his mouth and throat to such a degree that it
set him thinking, and the consequence was, that, at ten years
of age, the red-hot flummery placed him in rational circum-
stances, and he discovered the world be one vast LUNATIC
ASYLUM, and that all besides himself were ignorant, irra-
tional, and insane. These, observed Mr. 8., were Mr.
Owen's own statements ; how ridiculous soever they might
appear. And Mr. 0. had further assured him, that he knew
a means ,by which to manufacture far superior ladies and
gentlemen to any that had yet existed. The lecturer then
challenged the emissaries of Owen to come forward, and, if
they could, refute his arguments, offering them equal time, &c.
to reply, when Mr. J. Finch, and an exceedingly ill-lookinK
man, named Rigby, calling himself the emissary of the dis-
trict, stepped forward, but refused to reply then in the pre-
sence of Mr. 8., promising, however, to do so next week,
when their opponent had left town. Of this the audience
expressed in strong terms their disapproval, and called upon
them, but in vain, at once to defend their cause. Mr.
Finch having made some very indecent remarks as to Mr.
Brindley's motives in opposing socialism, was so severely re-
primanded by all present, that he was glad to sneak off.—
That evening the many failures of the Owenites to put in
practice their views, were exposed, and their system of fraud
and blasphemy laid bare. The extensive means employed
to spread this soul-destroying poison greatly surprised us,
not being aware that they had so completely organised them-
selves in this work of social destruction. To think that so
gross a sensualist, and so terrible a blasphemer, as Robert
Owen, should have been PRESENTED TO OUR VIRGIN
QUEEN BY THE FIRST MINISTER OF THE CROWN is truly
disguSting, and shows that it is high time some very decisive
measures were employed to root out this evil from among us.

THE CHAPLAINCY OF THE BOROUGH GAOL.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIRS In your paper of Tuesday se'nnight, there was a
letter, signed by Mr. Isaac Holmes, one of our Town Coun-
cil, being a reply to a communication of the Rev. G. Stokes,
of Grove-street.

Mr. Holmes hints that some curious conduct has been
pursued by our reform magistrates, relative to the appoint-
ment of Dr. Buck, as chaplain to the Borough gaol :—that
expectations were held out to poor Mr. Stokes, which
not realised. There is also a hint at some item of expendi-
ture by the corporation, for doing the duty by some one in
lieu of Dr. Buck, but for which the latter received payment.
Surely our corporation who could not, or rather would not,
pay a chaplain at the Infirmary, the pittance of £4O per an-
num ; although there had been a chaplain there, for nearly
ten years paid by the corporation ; I say, surely they have
not been giving the public money for services which Dr.
Buck engaged to perform. I wait for a reply ; and do, Mr.
Editor, join me in requesting Mr. Isaac Holmes to come -
forward more fully and plainly.—l remain, &c.
A CLERGYMAN.
Awl
[we hope Mr. Isaac Holmes will throw some light on the
subject of this letter.]—E.L.S.