The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-06-21 00:00:00

' a signal triumph over that slippery personage the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. Though opposed by
Government, we rejoice to find that Mr. Cresswell's
motion was carried by a majority of sixty-five. After
so decisive an indication of the feelings of the House,
with respect to the justice of the claims of those who
suffered losses by the confiscations of the Danish Go-
vernment, we hope that Government will see fit to
settle the matter satisfactorily and immediately. Mr.
Cresswell deserves the praise of the mercantile com-
munity, for the zeal and ability which he has mani-
fested in prosecuting this important subject.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOLS

On Tuesday last, according to custom, the children belong-
ing to the Blue-coat School, and the principal schools con-
nected with the Established Church, assembled to the num-
ber of many thousands, and after promenading through seve-
ral of the principal streets of the town, they proceeded round
Nelson's Monument, and then to St. Peter's Church. The
procession was joined by the Mayor, and several members of
the Town Council, who were attended by the mace-bearer,
sword-bearer, and other officers of the Corporation retinue,
the churchwardens of the parish, Sze.
A number of the children, consisting of the best singers
selected from each of the schools, attended the church, where
the usual charity sermon was to be preached, it was announ-
ced, by the Rev. Walter Farquhar Hook, D.D., vicar of
Leeds. The church was filled by a highly respectable con-
gregation, amongst which we noticed most of the clergy of
this town and neighbourhood
The prayers and lessons of the day were read by the Rev.
Rector Brooks, who went through this part of the service in
his usual impressive manner.
The Rev. Dr. Hook gave forth as his text, the 15th and
part of the 16th verses of the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel
according to St. Mark. " And he said unto them, go ye
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
The reverend divine said, in the command here given, they
saw the object which they ought continually to have in view,
—namely, the propagation of the Gospel. That which was
desirable, was not merely that the Bible, but that the Gospel
should be propagated. Few persons 'would deny that this
ought to be the aim of all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ :
but when it was admitted, that they ought to labour for the
propagation of the Gospel, the question immediately arose,—
What was the Gospel? Dr. Hook here showed how each
sect held up its own peculiar tenets as most evangelical,
while the opponents of all asked with the triumph of a biting
sarcasm, " What is the Gospel?" The Gospel was in reality
the truth as it was in Christ. Jesus. After alluding to the
controversies which had taken place with the Romanists and
with others, Dr. Hook said the proof of plenary inspiration
could not be brought forward in favour of any other book, or
writings whatever, except those which were received by them
as the Gospel. The Bible, therefore, was their rule of faith,
their law, and the testimony by which they were bound to
abide. hen lately it was proposed by those high in au-
thority to establish schools, they were compelled to opposi-
tion because they could not countenance schools if those
schools did not propagate the Gospel. It had been common
to lay down the Bible, and the Bible only, as the religion of
the church, instead of advancing it as their rule of faith.
Unitarians, to do them justice, took their stand upon the
Bible, only they interpreted according to their own notions.
Dr. Hook next proceeded to a review of the points upon
which the various bodies of Dissenters take their stand,
those of whom it had been said they oppose the Socinians on
church principles, and the church on Socinian principles.
No human intellect, he observed, could comprehend the
whole scheme of the Scriptures at once. To prevent con-
fusion, it was necessary to have some scheme of theology.
There were some who had denounced all creeds, articles,
formulas, and confessions. He was called upon to remark,
by what had passed, that they were not seeking to add to the
Scriptures. It was this burdening of the simple truth with
too much of form that was the great error of the Church of
Rome. They, however, sought not to add to the Scriptures,
but merelyto keep correct the original system of theology.
Luther, Calvin, and Arminius, had each been the expounder
of a system. If the followers of each did not distinctly
swear to adhere to the system, they make it their rule of
faith. What was meant by Calvinism and Arminianism but
the adherence to one or other of the systems brought up by
these eminent men ? The Calvinists and Armenians mutu-
ally charged each other with being unscriptural. Who was
to decide ? Were they (the church) to take upon themselves
to say that they were more learned or more wise than others ?
They might say they had prayed ; but what would this be
but an uncharitable insinuation that those who thought dif-
ferently from themselves had not prayed. What right had
they uncharitably to assume this? Dr. Hook proceeded to
direct the attention of his hearers to the proper mode of
procedure, which, he submitted, was by resolute inquiry,
with common sense for their guide, and direction, which, he
said, would certainly lead them right. If they directed these
inquiries amongst the Armenians they would find, that the
founder of that system was a good, and wise, and holy man ;
they would see the nature of his doctrines, and examine his
scheme of theology. But he was not infallible. They would
inquire from Calvin, and they would find, that his own
authority was that upon which his system rested. It might
appear consistent, but it was the work of Calvin, and he was
not infallible. If the modern Unitarian recommended his
system to notice, that was still more absurd. He said that
the Bible, and the Bible only, was the foundation of his be-
lief. But then he took the Bible and his own authority to-
gether, and, where he found they did not agree, he brought
forth his army of sophistries and special interpretations.
His system was, in truth, properly that of private judgment.
The Romanist, again, judged of Christianity according to the
system which had been formed at a period subsequent to the
Council of Trent. Now, they would look what common
sense would lead them to do, in judging of an ancient book.
Would they not, guided by common sense, look amongst the
contemporaries, and judge by their mode of interpretation
what ought to be that which they themselves should adopt ?
Thus they sought to ascertain the sense in which the Gospel
was understood by those to whom the Apostles preached. If
they found that a traditional system which the Apostles pur-
sued, which was to be traced in all the writings of the indi-
viduals who existed immediately after the Apostles, was
adopted in, and by, all the primitive Christians, they must
say, that that was the right system; and it was precisely the
system which the reformers of the church had adopted or
recurred to.
So much had been said on this subject, that he must be
pardoned for again observing, that they did not seek to add
to the Scriptures. They took the Scriptures as they were—
looked back to the ages when the exhibitions of the apostles
were fresh in the memory of man—scrutinised and examined
the records of those days,—and taking the system then un-
derstood as the meaning of the Gospel, they looked upon it
as a perfect interpretation. But it might be asked, what
were the unlearned to do ? They had the Book of Common
Prayer. The reverend divine here explained the mode in
which the Book of Common Prayer was compiled from the
liturgies and formularies of the primitive church. Thus,
they might truly point to the Book of Common Prayer as
the guide of faith, and the voice of the primitive church.
This book was the only work which professed to be a record
of the primitive church, for the papists did not profess to
refer to antiquity. Now, he had asked them by what means
the Scriptures could be rightly interpreted, and he had re-
ferred them to common sense as a guide. It had been sta-
ted, that the Book of Common Prayer was not definite in its
doctrines, but this only showed its striking accordance with
the Scriptures. The Scriptures were not definite, or they
would not have so many opinions as to what was the Gos-
pel. In the Book of Common Prayer they had not a correct
scheme of theology, but they had a series of doctrines and
truths to be religiously observed. There -sere points on
which, doubtless, learned divines very conscientiously dif-
fered ; but, to he disposed to anathematise au individual for
such differences, were indeed to be actuated by a spirit worse
than Popish.

There were some persons who superadded to the more
generous system of the Church of England some more strict
system. Some of these were so strait, and were worshipped
with such close determination, as to amount to an idolatry
of the chosen system. This was an abuse of a principle.
The human mind was averse from a laborious system of
analysis or investigation. In weak minds the trouble was
proportionably greater, and hence, therefore, there was the
more veneration for a system ready made. The Calvinist,
therefore, was found holding fast by the system of Calvin,
which first took his attention ; and those of other denomina-
tions in like manner. By these adoptions, as was made
manifest by experience, the mind was narrowed, and every-
thing was measured according to the standard so taken. All
who preached according to that system were regarded as
preaching the true Gospel ; all who differed from it were
presumed to have in like degree departed from the Gospel.
Any advance in Scriptural knowledge, therefore, was impos-
sible ; and to any such advance he was opposed, since the
individual had his Gospel in that system. Having left Christ
for a system, men were led, step by step, into deeper error,
and they were found maintaining their religion and its doc-
trines with a degree of violence inconsistent with all religion.
So violently -did they contend for their principles, that it
appearekas if the very spirit of that for which the expound-
ers of the Gospel should contend—the spirit of Christianity
—had been lost sight of. Like other idolaters, these system-
mongers were fond of lashing themselves into a fury before
their idol. What was it that caused Popery to stink in the
nostrils of the people ? It was, that they wished to push
their system, even by the aid of the fires of Smithfield. Did
not some ultra-Protestants at this day urge their system,
and show a spirit of intolerance for all who did not adopt
their opinions, almost equally great, though, thank God,
they had not the power to enforce their opinions by equally
cruel measures ? Since such individuals spoke as if they
(those of Dr. Hook's opinions) approached the confines of
Popery ; yet it was true, that it was by those who were nick-
named the High Church party that Popery was to be suc-
cessfully resisted.

What was the cause of all this excess of veneration for hu-
man systems ? Mere idolaters of systems regarded the system
as an end, whereas all systems of theology, however perfect
or imperfect, could only be regarded as means. Even God's
Word should only be regarded as a means, with the sacra-
ments, of bringing us to Christ. Man was nothing—Christ
was everything. This was the very foundation of Christi-
anity. In Christ was salvation, and the first main endeavour
ought to be that we were one with Christ, and Christ one
with us.

He drew some ingenious illustrations of his position from
the law of England, as regards the unity of man and wife,
who, it was said, were completely identified; the church, he
said was bound by a similar union. He combined with this
some analogies between the church and the living body and
its members. As for union with the body, Christ was the
head of the church, as the husband was the head of his wife.
In the epistle to the Ephesians it was stated, that there was
one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism,
one God, and one Father of all ; and they were directed to
keep " the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." If
they would be saved, they must be attached both to the body
and soul of the church. He was not Scriptural who said,
" I have faith, therefore I need not sacraments ;" nor was
he Scriptural who said, " I have sacraments, and therefore_l
need not faith." They might imagine exceptions as in the
case of infants, but those who could act for themselves, and
accorded not with these ordinances, were but as dead and
putrid members of the body..
The reverend divine exhorted them to rest not on their
faith but on Christ, and to solicit him by prayer : to rest not
on their works but on Christ, and to pray to him : to rest not
on their church but on Christ, not on the ordinances of the
church, but on the communion of the church with Christ.
He wished them not to rest on the system of theology which
the church provided, but to use that system in order that
they might understand their Bible, and that they would ob-
tain a truly Christian temper. Then, when men differed
from them on points of their theology, they would not revile
but pray for them.
The reverend preacher made some further slight allusions
to the plan of education recently proposed by the ministry.
Those who were denominated li gh church preachers, these
were much reviled for the opinions which they held. Such
were at least able to give a reason why they refused to give a
sanction to a plan of education which did 'not in their esti-
mation, tend to extend the Gospel of Christ, the true end of
all religious education. Dr. Hook concluded by an earnest
and eloquent appeal to the congregation on behalf of the
children of the national schools of this town.
The collection at the door amounted to the sum of £l5O.

ROYAL GIN.—At a public house in Vere-street, Clare
market, London, is to be seen a splendidly gilt cask, on which
is painted—" To be had here, Queen Victoria's Royal Gin,
fivepence per quarter')."