The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-12-27 00:00:00

imrePooL OPERATIVE PROTESTANT

ASSOCIATION.

Last evening a very numerous meeting of the members and
friends of the All Saints division of the Liverpool Operative
Protestant Association was held in All Saints' Church School
Room, Grosvenor-street. The room was crowded by intel-
ligent and attentive operatives.
The Rev. ANDREW WCONKIE, incumbent of All Saints
Church, took the chair, and opened the proceedings by the offer-
ing of prayer. He explained that the objects of the Association
were, to rouse the dormant spirit of protestantism, to resist
the encroachments of popery upon the constitution, and to
shew our Roman Catholic brethren the errors of their church.

The necessity of each of these objects being accomplished
was pointed out at considerablelength by the rev.gent. He quot-
ed from Mr. Crisp's excellent Protestant Almanac, spewing
that because we had found the throne between us and popery
we had neglected to strengthen and defend our Protestant
institutions. He trusted we had still the throne between us

and Popery—indeed, he was sure we had ; but we must
nevertheless endeavour to get rid of the indolence which had
darkened our eyes and those of our teachers. We must sup-
port those Protestant principles which were and had been
the glory of the nation. From Mr. Crisp's publication the
rev. gentleman proceeded to prove that the Roman Catho-
lics had been guilty of perjury. Every year from 1808, they
had petitioned parliament for emancipation. and swore that
they had no desire to weaken or overturn the Protestant re-
ligion ; but this oath was contrary to their oath to the Pope
and their bishops, and it had been violated. We could not
indeed admit them to an equal enjoyment of civil rights with
ourselves, because their principles were subversive of them,
He quoted Lord Bacon's admirable remark, that the Roman
Catholics, whilst they thought it necessary to have a dispen-
sation for every other sin, seemed to have a dormant dis-
pensation to lie tor the church. (Cheers.) He also alluded
to the celebrated Protestant Remonstrance to James the

First—" If you once give connivance to Popery it will press
for toleration ; if it obtains that it must have equality : from
thence it will aspire to superiority ; and will never rest till it
has subverted the true religion." (Cheers.) He further
showed, from the notes to the Bible, published in Ireland in
181 G, that the principles of Popery were such that its pro-
fessors, even in the present day, could not rest satisfied
merely with the extermination of heretical principles,
but only with the extermination of individuals professing
them. One of these notes was " the translators of the English

Protestant Bible ought to be abhorred to the depths of hell.
Roman Catholics must avoid them." Another, " The good
must tolerate the evil when it is so strong that it cannot be
redressed without danger or disturbance of the whole church ;
otherwise where ill men, be they heretics or other malefac-
tors, may be punished or suppressed without disturbance and
hazard they may by public authority be chastised or execu-
ted." (Hear.) And this was the spirit of popery. In ano-
ther note the Protestant clergy were described as thieves and
murderers. Popery had declared the clergy guilty, without
trial, and no doubt, when she had the power she would exe-
cute the sentence of the church. (Hear, hear.) The
college of Maynooth, he regretted to say, had been
established and endowed whilst we had been asleep. The
parliament believed that that institution would have the
effect of preventing the spread of infidelity which then over-
ran the continent, but in the attempt to guard against one
evil another had arisen. Popery had its bishops and priests
over the colonies ; it had its members in the parliament, and
in the privy council, legislating for the interests of a Protes-
tant church!—(hear)—and the ministry actually dared not
allow our Protestant Queen to tell this Protestant nation that
she was about to take a Protestant consort to her bosom.

Why ?—(hear)—Because popery was their stay ; because po-
pery was among them ; because, in them, Protestantism was
afraid of offending the sleek faced lady ! (Hear.) But he
was happy to find that the people had determined to have it
out of the country—(hear, hear) ;—they would willingly pay
its passage to Rome, and give it their blessing by presenting
to it the word of God ! (Cheers.) The reverend gentle-
man concluded his address by calling upon the meeting as
Christians and Protestants to resist the encroachments of
popery and to endeavour to bring its followers to a knowledge
of the truth.

Mr. MYERS, who attended as a deputation from the Com-
mittee of the Association, next addressed the meeting. One
object of the association was to lay open the errors of the
Church of Rome, and therefore it was considered desirable
that this object should be constantly kept in view. The
subject he had chosen was the doctrine of purgatory—the
great principle of popish strength and supremacy. The de-
sire of the papacy had been to have the keys of heaven and
hell, and hence the doctrine of purgatory became necessary.
The gospel offered free salvation to all men through Jesus
Christ, and consequently it was difficult for the papacy to
establish its point. The whole of Christendom was the ob-
ject, but there seemed to be a flaw in the title deeds : the
gospel promised salvation from all sin through Jesus Christ,
but thea there were mortal sins and venial sins ; it was ne-
cessary, therefore, to establish an apprenticeship to salvation
by means of purgatory. Mark the opposition thereby set up
to Christ by Anti-Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, said
the gospel, made a sinner fit for the enjoyment of the happi-
ness of heaven ; said the Pope, that is true, but there is before
that, purgatory and absolution. The Pope could not send
souls into heaven, but he did profess to have the power of
releasing them from hell by means of absolution. (Hear.)
Here he would remark the absurdity of the Roman Catho-
lics defending.the doctrine of purgatory, by referring to the
belief of the Jews in it. The fact was, the Jews believed in
purgatory because they had no atonement—(hear, hear),—
but all Christians had the atonement of Christ which was
sufficient to cleanse from all iniquity. (hear.) To say that
a Christian who believed ia the gospel and in the blood
of Jesus Christ which cleanses from all iniquity believed

in purgatory, was blasphemous ! Purgatory being once esta-
blished, indulgence followed as its fruit—(hear) ;—and it was
remarkable that the intrepid spirit of Luther was first rcu..ed
by the practice of granting indulgences. The Italian priest
immediately trembled on his seat ; Luther had laid fire to the
building. It was not purgatory which popery wanted, but
the profit from indulgences. (Rear.) He should now take
a scriptural view of the question, and confine himself to two
questions ; the Ist, whether there be a purgatory ; and the
2nd, whether purgatory be necessary to a Christian ? As to
the first question, the speaker referred to the 57th Isaiah,
Ist and 2nd verses ; 16th Lukt', erses 25th and 26th •,• 23rd
Luke, 43rd verse ; Bth Romans, verse 18th ; and Ist Reve-
lation, 13th verse. On the other question he referred to
53rd Isaiah; 9th Daniel, 24th verse; 3rd Galatians, 13th
verse ; Ist Peter, 2nd chap. 24th verse ; Ist John, Ist chap.
7th verse; Ist Revelation, sth verse. How, in the face of
these and other scriptural evidence «hic:h might be adduced,
was the papacy able to establish the doctrine of purgatory ?
.Why, because she alepriveAl the people of access to the scrip-
tures. (Hear, hear.) In connection with this remark, be
begged to call for a cheer for the first of the Rev. Hugh
M'Neile's protestant watchworde—" scriptural education!"
(Loud cheers.)
The Rev. J. M'CLINooN, in a very interesting address,
reminded the meeting of Dr. Milale's usurpation of the
title of Archbishop of Tuam, in which title he had been re-
cognized by the Irish executive. (Hear.) Dr. M` Hale's
ob:ect was to annihilate Protestantism from the west of Ire-
land. lie returned six members to parliament, hence the
government wished to conciliate him. At the last meeting
of the corporation of Tuam, in the business of which he fre-
quently took part, he desired that ..£5OO a year should be al-
located to the purpose of building of his cathedral, and it was
granted. Now this corporation was the model on which Mr.
O'Connell wished all the corporations of Ireland to be formed.
(Hear.) He was happy to say, instead of Dr. M'Hale driving
Protestantism away from the west of Ireland, it had rapidly
increased. Some time ago he was consecrating a burial
ground, on which he desired the people not to suffer a Pro-
testant to be interred there, because if they did it would de-
stroy the holiness of the land, as surely as a bit of poison
would destroy a can of buttermilk. He (Mr. WC.)
supposed this classical illustration must have occurred to the
Doctor, from the fact of his father having been a dairyman.
(Laughter.) Mr. NV Clindon then related the circumstance of
a body having been brought to his church at Tuam, to be in-
terred, on which it was seized by a mob, and he was knocked
into the grave, with the expression, " bury the heretic." The
impression upon his mind at that moment was that he should
lose his life, for he was carried away insensible, and even to
the present time he felt the effects of the treatment he had
received. Lord Normanby sent down two stipendiary ma-
gistrates to investigate the case ; bills were sent before the
grand jury against the popish priest, " for riot, in-
stead of " causing to riot," and the consequence was
that he was acquitted. In that country you might do
as you pleased if you were a Roman Catholic, but if you we: e
a Protestant you would be sure to receive the displeasure of
the government. In the county next to his a priest one
night had his dog shot, and Lord Normanby offered a re-
ward of £lOO for the discovery of the offender; three weeks
after a Protestant man was brutally murdered, and Lord
Normanby offered a reward of £3O fur the apprehension of
the murderer ! (Hear.) The rev. gentleman narrated a
number of other facts which had come under his own know-
-1 edge, and contended that the cause of this dreadful state of
t kings was the want of education amongst the people.
(Rear, hear.) They knew all about indulgences, and pur-
gatory, and the other Popish doctrines, but nothing of Co
and of the merits of his dear Son. (Hear.) Mr. M'Clindon
milted several other facts, anal concluded his eloquent
speech by declaring his deep conviction that the present
case, vile, and rn ercenary Gov.ernment were in league with
the popish pri,:sts, for the pur os..e of maint Lining themselves
in office and destr ging the P:otesta re igioa. (Cheers.)
Mr. HAvasaN next add vssed he meting. Sh.)rtly after-
wards Mr. M'Coakey pron arrived the blessing, and the as-
sembly dispersed.

A GALLANT MASTER.—A respectable elderly farmer in the
parish of Chirk, was recently fined in the sum of f►ve shillings
and expenses, for beating one of his female servants with a
stick. It appears, that in consequence of the girl not going
ab.►ut some part of her duties with that alacrity her gallant
mister expected she would, the ashen plant was called in
and applied to her shoulders, and the result was as given
above.—Salopian Journal.
Tue NEW BIATIOP.—M mill speculation is afloat as to the
appointment to the vacant see of Lichfield and Coventry.
Dr. Bowstead, Bishop of Sodor and Man; the Rev. Mr.
Waddington, the Rev. Mr. Anson, Dean of Exeter; theßev.
R. D. Hampden, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford,
have been spoken of by the government prints : but, we be-
lieve, without the slightest foundation. It is generally be-
lieved amongst the well-informed circles, that the Rev. Jelin
Russell, D.D., Rector of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, and
cousin to Lord John Russell, will have the appointment.—
Morning Herald.
GREAT PRODUCE.—Last Season, Mr. Roots, jun. of Box-
ley, dibbled in four pints and a half of wheat, on 50 rods of
ground,with two or three clevels in a hole at six inches apart
in the row, and a foot wide. The produce was the amazing
quantity of 13 bushels ! Surely the dibbling system is worthy
the attention of farmers, as there is great saving in the quan-
tity of seed, the crop being so much more abundant, and also
giving additional employment to the labourer.-21faidstone

-Gaz;ite.
We give the most unqualified contradiction to the confi-
dent announcements of the proposed extent of the brevet and
naval promotions on the marriage of the Queen. Up to the
present moment nothing on the subject is known, either at
the Horse-Guards or the Admiralty. In fact, we believe the
promotion will not be under consideration till the report of
the military commission has been presented, anti parliament
has discussed and decided on the steps to-be adopted in con-
sequence of the resolutions of that commission.—lVaval

. ,
and Military Gazette.
to The Glasgow Herald of Monday has published a return of
the number of letters passing through the Post-office of that
city, for the week ending December 22, in conformity with
an order issued by Colonel 111 aberly. From this retura it
appears that the total of the new weekly average exceeds that
of the old system by about 10,000 letters ; but even with this
addition, the loss to the revenue is very severe—a deficit
existing in the Glasgow Post-office alone of nearly £4OO per
week.
LintEs' CHARITY BALL—The annual ball in aid of the
funds of that valuable institution, the Ladies' Charity, was
held last evening, in the splendid suite of rooms in the
Town-hall. The weather during the whole day had been
cold and threatening, and in the afternoon rain commenced,
and lasted the entire evening. This circumstance caused
the attendance on the present occasion to be somewhat
smaller than that last year; but we are glad to say, that, as
the interest felt in the welfare of the Charity has not abatei,
so the spirits of those who were present were as buoyant as
ever. The number of persons present was about 620,
amongst whom were the Mayor and his family. Joliffe's
band was stationed in the hall, and " the light fantastic toe"
tripped in the ball-room above to the delightful measures of
liorabin's. The company began to arrive about nine o'clock ;
dancing commenced shortly afterwards, and was continued
with uninterrupted spirit till shortly before eleven, when the
gay party entered the supper room, where a splendid repast
was prepared. Dancing was afterwards resumed with re,
newed vivacity until a late, or rather an early, hour this
morning.