The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-03-30 00:00:00

The discussion of the various clauses of the Poor Law Bill
in committee has occupied a leading share of the public at-

On 'Wednesday evening

tention during the present week
Lord John Russell laid before the house his views as to the

adoption or rejection of the various amendments with which
the bill had been threatened.

As an instance of the tricky policy on the part of the noble

lord, it may be remembered that a week or two ago, in mov-
ing the second reading of the bill, he announced that it was
not intended that the commissioners should be allowed to
interfere with those parishes possessing local acts for the
government of their poor. On Wednesday night, in reply to
a question from Sir Robert Peel, his lordship repeated this
assurance. And yet on Friday night, when the third clause
(which purports to exempt from the control of the commis-
sioners the parishes in question) was brought forward, it was
found to leave matters precisely in state quo—his lordship
arguing that the commissioners, by the existing law, have no

power over those parishes, and that it was only necessary for
the clause to leave their disability the same under the pre-
sent bill. Now what are the facts of the case, as they came
out in discussion ? Why that the commissioners are in
reality incapacitated from meddling with the administration
of the law in parishes having local acts ; but that they can

incorporate any of those parishes in a union, and thus bring
them effectually wider their control—thus set aside their
local act, and render the clause in the general act entirely
inoperative.' Had Liverpool, for instance, possessed a local
act, they could not have legally brought its poor under their
control ; -but they could attach to it 'Walton or Wavertree,
and by forming them into a union, effectually set aside the
local privileges of Liverpool, and elude the provisions of the
very act which gives them existence.
Lord John battled out this disingenuous attempt to impose
upon the house and the public as far as he could ; but he was
obliged to yield. Sir Frederick Pollock, Sir Robert Peel,
and, I may add, Lord Sandon, stood manfully in the breach,
and the clause was sent back to the workshop to be re-
modelled.

OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY.—No. II

WILLIAM EARLE, ESQ

Step forth illustrious William, and occupy most worthily
niche No. 2in our gallery ! Au Earle art thou without an
earldom—without a peer amongst the peerage.
" The Queen may make an Oxford knight,
His dignities and a' that ;"

but to make such a man and such au alderman as William
Earle it would he utterly hopeless for her to attempt. The
blandishments of a court could never draw the stoic mind
aside "from its propriety." Diogenes could be more easily
drawn from his tub, or Dan O'Connell from his mendicancy,
than thee from thy stubborn virtue. Thy knee was not made
to bend, even to receive the honour of knighthood ; thy manly
form, like that described by our immortal bard, was not made
" to caper nimbly in a lady's chamber" ; and although some
might illnaturedly pursue the quotation, and say that thou
was't born rather to " snarl and bite and play the dog," yet
we appeal boldly to thy contemporaries to assure the world
that they have always found in thee " the meekest and most
modest of mankind."

occasion

sion of
at the I

ciety seems to me to have been raised up by the hand of Pro-
eidence to supply that particular degree of strength which the
church does not posseSs in itself, and by increasing the num-
ber of its laborious servants to enable it to occupy that field
which the providence of God seems to place at its disposal.
The more we consider the purpose of this society, the more
we consider its object and operations, the more we are con-
vinced it mustapprove itself to the conscience and the reason
of every individual present; for unless a society like this bad
been instituted, all other institutions to which we are at-
tached must comparAtively have dwindled down fcr the want
of support, and the very circumstance that the failure of the
church is shown in one part, must have spread languor and
quietness throughout the remotest portions of it. The
sociecy with which I had the honour of being connected
this morning, the
,Church Building Society, without this
would have been but a poor and inefficient boon to society at
c, lare ; foi what would have been the benefit of supplying
fabrics' made of stones and mortar, if the individuals who are
to form the living church within had not been supplietl
through the instrumentality of this society ? I always have
regarded this society. as a special act of providence towards
the church ; and while I desire to recognise in it that provi-
dence which js at once man's extremity and God's opportu-
nity, I also regard it as that special sort of help of which the
church at this time especially stands in need. lam unwill-
ing to trespass on your attention for a moment further, and
therefore I will call upon our secretary at once to read the
report.
The Rev. R. BARKER (in the unavoidable absence of the
Rev. C. LzKrence from indiapositioti) read the report as

Cradled though thou wert in corruption ; thrown " sur-
reptitiously" in thy guileless youth into the midst of that
chamber of iniquity—our unreformed corporation7-(a piece
of cruelty for which we shall ever blame thy friends !)—few
would have wondered if thy mind had grown "awry," had
become " tetchy and wayward," or had contracted an incur-
able " squint" by watching constantly the devious doings of
thy associates. Few would have wondered if the milk of
human nature within thy sensitive breast had curdled or
turned to gall, and thy lips had been taught to give utterance
only to " distempered" and bitter speech. But how little is
the world acquainted with thy noble nature ! The tortuous
ways of the politician are untrodden by thee. Thy spirit is
of too volatile a nature to be taught to wind and twist in
pursuit of its objects, "like Monsieur Corkskrew worming
through a cork ;" but flies off at once in a tangent, nobody
knows whither or wherefore. The cunning plausibilities of
an Evans, the heavy dogmatism of a Bolton, the feelosophy
of an Aikin—nay the united efforts of all the talents of that
illustrious body, of which thou art an ornamental portion—
strive in vain to bind down to any determinate cause thy
restless and eccentric nature. Thy " winged words" burst
forth when nobody expects them, like the fizzing contents of
a bottle of ginger beer, before we have got the wire untwisted ;
and then mingled froth and acid shower, as caprice or chance
may direct, upon friend or ibe. Nobody was ever knocked
down by the random shots; and although on great occasions
we have known thee to enact a whole battery of pop bottles,
yet the noise and smoke of their explosion have been the only
effects of an awful nature which we have ever observed to
follow the performance.
But let us turn thy countenance to the wall for a moment,
whilst we attempt to convey to posterity an idea of its im-
posing " developements." We have an uncontrollable dis-
like to the task of flattering a man to his face ; and there is
an expression abdut that of the subject of our sketch which
is not to be trifled with. Mr. Alderman Earle, as we have
before hinted at, is not, either in features or in person, an
Adonis. It is true that his cheek is of " celestial rosy red,
love's proper hue ;" and yet we have never heard that he
sacrificed deeply to the " rosy god,"—as an alderman ought
to do—or that, on the other hand, like Captain Wattle, he
was " ail for love and a little for the bottle." No :—the
vermillion tint upon the cheek of William Earle is the pure
emanation of modesty; and as his blue frock and beaver, his
cane and eye-glass come " sidling" upon our view, on " the
flags" or in the council-room, we are insensibly led to asso-
ciate them with the person of one who has " done good by
stealth,, and blushed to find it fame." His forehead is nei-
ther Phidian nor Roman, but only a very ordinary feature,
which seems to have been made expressly to take up little
room inside his grey hat. His eyes are not " deeply, darkly,
beautifully blue :" and yet the alderman can see as far through
a deal board, or a job of his brother Alderman Evans, as the
possessor of more poetical optics. The prevailing expression
of his physiognomy is one of " restless mischief ; and if we
could be allowed to manipulate his cranium, we would stake
our phrenological judgment upon the fact that " combative-
ness" and " destructiveness" are very large, and " venera-

follows :
" The committee of the Liverpool Auxiliary Church Pas-
toral Aid Association address the subscribers again after a
shorter interval than usual, in consequence of the London
committee having requested that its annual meeting might
take place in the spring, and not in the autumn. In com-
plying with this request, the committee have had some diffi-
culties to contend with • the clergy who kindly permitted
collections in its behalf in the last November preferring to
repeat their appeals later on in the year.*
" They are happy in being able to state an increase in the
funds of •1840 upon the receipts of 1839. In 1839 the associ-
ation remitted £143, this year £2OO, exclusive of incidental
expenses. In the same sear the St. Michael's branch re-
mitted £3B, this year £57 16s. 6d. Yet the disproportion
of such a remittance to the wealth of our town must be still
obvious. Men are not yet awake to the claims which the
spiritual destitution of their country has upon them : we do
not feel the claims this society peculiarly has upon ourselves;
we do not, as a community, acknowledge the authority of
Him who has given us power to get wealth.
" Willing to attribute in part this languid support to some
deficiency in themselves, your committee have added to their
numbers, and made arrangements for more systematic ef-
forts ; and now again commend the plan of the society to a
Christian, public. Adapting herself to the existing ecclesi-
astical institutions, intruding upon no spiritual ce, re-
specting every parochial division, she multiplies the labourers
in the Lord's vineyard, by providing .stipends for curates ;
she renews the energies, by dividing the burthens, of mi-
nisters pressed above measure, above strength; and readers
the excellent machinery of the church capable either of of-
fensive or defensive warfare. If it be asked, What has she
done ?' it is answered, ' 275 incumbents are assisted by her
funds, whose • average income amounts to £163, and whose
cure of souls includes upon an average 7,000 persons; and
half of these incumbents, it must be added, have no parson-
age houses. Thus she ministers to the necessities of more
than two millions of souls.'
" But the peculiar claims which this society has upon the
town must be urged. Grants to the amount of £5OO have
been Made to a community capable not merely of supplying
her own but; of ministering largely to the destitution of other
districts. Reports have been kindly furnished to us of the
operation of some of these grants. The Rev. A. 111`Conkey
states, that in his district there are about 7000 souls, exclu-
sive of about 1000 Roman Catholics. How feeble would be
the labours of a solitary individual in such a district ! But
through the liberality,of this society he has a faithful fellow-
labourer : and thence in All Saints Church, besides the
Sunday .services, there are two week-day evening

tion" small.
Mr. Earle, although undoubtedly a shrewd and an able
man, is not an orator. He never talks for an hour by
" Shrewsbury" or any other " clock." No,—speechmaking
is not his forte. He does not belong to the regulars—heavy
brigade or light infantry—for this especial reason, that he
never would stand training. But he is a very effective man,
nevertheless, in a skirmish—good in a flank movement, and
superb in " pinking an officer." His great fault is his rest-
lessness. If he has no enemy to fire upon, the moment he
is loaded, he pops his gun in the breach of a comrade, and
goes off in a shriek of laughter; or he jumps like the old
man of the sea, upon the shoulders of some unlucky Sinbad
of his party, and kicks his heels into his sides until lie is
weary of the amusement. Our worthy friend James Aiken
vows that he is " uncannie," and Francis Jordan is ready
to asseverate that his relationship to the " good people" is
undoubted.
It has been seriously maintained, that from his standing
and talent William Earle possesses equally as good a claim
to represent Liverpool in parliament as Sir Joshua Walmsley
—a fact which we should be the last to deny. It is unfor-
tunate, however, that the rules of the house would not allow
him to shine to perfection in St. Stephen's. He would
make a good debater if he could be allowed to speak 40 or
50 times in the course of one debate, to interrupt his anta-
gonist every sentence—to chatter like a magpie, or grin like
a marmoset—to lat off squibs at the speaker's head, or creep
under the table to play with the mace, or tickle Sir Robert
Peel's feet,—to twirl Tom Duncombe's mustaches, or clip a
hundred weight of whisker jrom the face of Mr. Muntz, the
Brummagem tea-tray man. Such antics would not, however,
comport with the dignity (!) of the reformed House of Com-
mons; and—William Earle must therefore for the present
confine the sphere of his vagaries to that august assembly of
which lie is the proper " decus et tutarnen."

THE CONVICT MISTER.

The, Rev. J. Connor, whose clerical income is for the most
part drawn from a grant of this society, thus describes St.
Simon's district :—"fhe populatidn I estimate at 5000 ; the
exact amount, however, cannot be told. The following is the
return of one street, one of the best in the district-379 adult
residents, 250 children; of the 379 adults 29 attend a place
of worship ' • 31 profess to go occasionally, leaving 319 who
never attend a place of worship at all.'
" Your committee very briefly allude to the attack which
has been made within the last year upon the plan of acting
which the society has laid down. They have readily re-ex-
amined her foundations, while hearing such apparently grave
assertions of their unsounanebs. But they thank God that
she has not been permitted, as they humbly coheelve, to lay
down 'foundations at variance either with gospel truth or
ecclesiastical order, and the regard which her eminent use-
fulness lead them to feel for her, is strengthened by the un-
called for censure with which she has been assailed. They
cannot but observe with satisfaction that the venerated
diocesan continues his distinguished 'support to the society.
And they must suspect that the asserted irregularity of the
society's demand for satisfaction, as to the qualifications of
those whose stipends she supplies, which bad escaped the
eyes of these prelates who are among her vice-presidents, is
no irregularity at all.
" Your committee will venture to ask for a preference for
this society, because of this very feature in her operations.
The greatest curse which can befall a church or a country is
an unsanctified clergy. Then the salt has lost its savour,
and wherewith shall it be salted.' And every precaution
against such an evil, which is consistent with great princi-
ples, is not only permitted but imperative upon people to
adopt. Such a precaution is found in the plan of this society.
Intrust me with your funds,' she says, ' for the noblest
objects, the maintenance of ministers of God.' By what
means,' it will be answered, shall I know that lam aiding
men deserving so high a name, and true to their ordination
vows ?' It is replied, so far as a modestly-pressed scrutiny
and a human judgment can accomplish, none but such men
will we be the means of introducing into the ministry or
supporting in it.' Is it not obvious that, however sacred
the office of a minister, there is nothing in itself to insure the
holiness of hiM Who may exercise it? Is there anything so
mysterious in his office as to forbid the laity's pronouncing
- its degradation ? Are they forbidden to mark their ^

upon ....wt. _-..
probation of those who bear with them the signs of apostles
Our forefathers bestowed their wealth on those religion:
houses which were marked by the sanctity of their members.
Were they to be blamed ? A lay patron, who shall most
carefully examine the character of him whom he purpose to
present to a benefice. Is he trenching upon episcopal func-
tions ? Why, then,.should the 20,000 persons who constitute
this society be exempt from responsibility, or relinquish the
right of such discrimination ? ...
" But, if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such
custom, neither the churches of God.
" One and all, your committee would desire to answer
those who would provoke them to argument, with the words
of Nehemiah, am doing a great work, so that I cannot
come down : why should the work cease, and I leave it and
come down to you.' Thousands of our countrymen are
perishing for lack of knowledge ; the love of Christianity con-
straining us, we would go forth to their rescue. The popula-
tion annually increases by many thousands. If that increase
be met by a provision, owing to the awakening of exertion
amongst us, we fear the mass is yet unassailed which has
accumulated through centuries of lethargy. With thankful-
ness we therefore read, in the last publication of the society,
as some of the results of her exertions, that 401 additional
full services on the Lord's Day, 172 on week days, 161 cot-
tage lectures have been set on foot within the four years of
her existence. And would animate ourselves, and all who
have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to so contribute to her
funds that she may continue, like some fertilising river, to
diffuse, in an increasing ratio, similar blessings through the
length and breadth of the land.

" * Independent of the churchei which, being indebted to th
society, will naturally suffer her caugd to be pleaded, four clergy
men have promised to introduce the subject to their congregation
this year." •• • •

The Rev. Dr. BYRTH rose to move the first resolution.
He was assailed with considerable hissing, which lasted for
some moments, and prevented him from proceeding. He
commenced as follows :—I wait, sir. (Renewed hisses.)
There is no argument, continued the rev. doctor, more con-
clusive than• the sound which I have heard, with which my
appearance has been paid. It proves to a demonstration
what each of the individuals who use it and no notion of its
proving. It proves sir, that if they were to meet one upon
the fair ground of discussion, they would be unable to utter
one syllable—that they could only have recourse to that reptile
eloquence which proves them to be unfit to be members of any
meeting assembled together for a Christian purpose. (Hisses.)
Whatever may be the differences of opinion between me and
the persons who have so degraded themselves as to meet me
with such a sound—(Renewed hisses.) Oh, I can bear it.
(Applause.) I rejoice in it. (Hear.) I believe that it bears
testimony to a truth that will be told even with the voice of
thunder through this large community, ihat they hear only the
voice of serpents. (Hisses.) Go on, I say. Let it be even
more. But when you have done I will speak to the subject.
I will not speak to the subject before. (Hear, hear, and
some hisses.) If it be the wish of the meeting that I should
sit down, I am prepared to sit down. I have done nothing
to deserve the disapprobation of this meeting. (Cries of
"Oh !" and some hisses.) lam sure, sir, that there is not
a man here who entertains the sentiments which the persons
who utter those disgraceful sounds think and approve, who
entertains them more firmly than I do myself ; but what I
ask is to be heard upon the subject upon which I speak ? Let
men meet me in fair argument. Let not men deal with me
like cowards. (Hisses.) What have I done ? (Hear.)
I know if I were to say " no popery"—and no man can say
it more strongly and more from the heart than myself—l
should have great approbation. I hate popery with as cor-
dial a hatred as you—(hear)—and there is no man who has
done more or suffered more than myself to demonstrate that
faithfully. (Hear.) Let me not be attacked in this mise-
rable, unchristian way of assault, oh ! altogether unfit for
such a place as this! (Hear.) I should not have appeared
here if I lied anticipated that there would have been a large
portion of persons who so far forget the dignity of Christians
as to hiss one because he comes forward to advocate a Chris-
tian cause, taking advantage—a beggarly advantage—of his
appearing upon an, occasion like this. Why did they not
fairly meet me? (Hear.) For all anonymous, scurrilous
abuse, be it for once and all said, I hold it in contempt ; but
upon this occasion let me be heardor, if there be another
hiss, I will sit down. (Applause.) I now proceed to the
question. I stand before you in order to move that " the
report which has been read he printed and circulated at the
discretion of the committee." I have no question that the
discretion of that committee is very sound. I shall suggest,
however, that the report be so circulated that it should find
its way into every parish, should make its appeal to every
family. (Hear, hear.) And without referring for one mo-
ment to that which will pass from my mind even as the idle
cloud, I would ask those persons whose zeal seems to be so
exhuberant, and I rejoice at it, in the favour of the great
cause of Protestantism, to shew they are indeed Protestants,
by helping us to send more ministers of the true Protestant
religion into every part of the country. (Cheers.) There
was one portion of the report which especially struck my at-

(From the Shropshire Conservative.)

Since his conviction this wretched man has continually
protested his innocence of the crime for which he is con-
demned to die. Mr. Dawson, the governor of the gaol, a
most humane and excellent man, has been very attentive to
the prisoner as far as his sense of duty warrants his attention,
—and the Rev. D. Winstone unceasing in his endeavours
to prepare his soul for the awful change he is about to un-
dergo. We hear that this day week is appointed for the exe-
cution, and have no hope that Baron Gurney will recommend
a commutation of punishment, although the prosecutor, Mr.
Mackreth, has endeavoured to obtain an interview with the
Judge, and failing, has addressed him a letter which we sub-
join. A. petition for a commutation of the extreme penalty
was forwarded to the Marquis of Normanby, on Thursday
night—but without it is powerfully backed, must prove un-

. . .
availing.
The following is a copy of the letter addressed to Baron
Gurney by Mr. Mackreth on Wednesday morning:—
" Talbot Hotel, Shrewsbury, 24th March, 1841.

"MY Lone,—l hope your Lordship will pardon the li-
berty I have taken by addressing you in regard to the un-
happy man (Josiah Mister) who now lies under sentence of
death, in the gaol of this town. And although lam satisfied
that the verdict of the Jury was a just and true one, yet, my
Lord, I am prompted by my feelings, and a Christian charity,
which teaches us " to love all men, and to do good to those
that persecute us," most humbly to supplicate your Lord-
ship to incline mercifully to my prayer; and, if it please you,
to mitigate the sentence of the unfortunate prisoner, by
sparing his life. lam much inclined to beg your clemency
for the following reasons: viz.—That as it hath pleased God
to spare my life, and to restore me to a state of health equally
as good as though no accident had ever befallen me ;—for the
sake of the prisoner's youth, his respectable connections, and
the hope that his present afflictions, may be the means of re-
forming his conduct, and induce him to spend the remaining
portion of his life as a Christian in the sight of God, with a
grateful feeling to his Maker, and the country whose laws he
has offended. For these reasons I humbly supplicate your
Lordship, that you would be pleased to prolong the life of
the prisoner, by allowing him to live until such time as God
may, in the order of nature, summon him to appear at the
Judgment Throne of Christ.
" Most respectfully I subscribe myself, your Lordship's
very obedient and humble servant,
W. M. MACKRETH.

CHURCH PASTORAL itID SOCIETY, tention, and which, as I heard it, I thought I would make it
the subject matter of the address, however brief, that I should
speak to you this evening. (Cheers.) It was the security
The annual meeting of the Liverpool Auxiliary to the which this society has supplied for the true Protestant evan-
Church Pastoral Aid Society was held last evening, in the gelical principles of those whom it will sanction as its agents.
Music Hall, Bold-street. A very numerous and highly re- It was one of the accusations brought against the society at its
ment that it was intended to be a party society—that
spectable body of the friends of the society assembled on the ftosmobileecnteewas to propagate certain party views. As faras lam
Amongst them we observed— concerned as the advocate of this society, 1 rejoice that it
Revs. the Chancellor, F. Barker, H. M`Neile, H. Carpen- was so. They said it was the " Simeonitish heresy" that
ter, W. Rawson, F. Ould, Long, W. Falloon, Brown, J. we wished to diffuse, and very true ;we do wish to diffuse
Dodd, Moncrieff, Dr. Berth, J. N. Connor, W. W. Ew- among the people the knowledge of the " truth as it is in
bank, J. H. Stewart, J. Jones, T. Bibby, R. Davies, T. Jesus,, ' and not to aid in reviving popery under a mitigated
Gardner, Bagnall, Dwyre, A. M'Conkey, Arne, W. and disguised form, as if we thought it to be possible that a
Furnival, Galaher, D. James, G. Mansfield, Smith, P. man might, though pretending to be a Protestant minister at
Long, J. Ingram, Birkett, Carr, Rushton, T. B. the same time, act as if he were a popish priest. (Hear.)
Brasher, R. P. Jones, and Marsden; A. Hodgson, Esq., It would be impossible, it appears to me, that any one really
W. Jones, Esq.,:C. Inman, Esq., Pawles, Esq., J. Rigby, having at heart the interests of the Church of England should
Esq., Payne, Esq., J. Howard, Esq., J. Eden, Esq., T. give his money to a society which did not watch most dili-
P. Pemberton Esq., &c., &c. gently over the character and the qualifications of those
The Very Reverend Chancellor RAIKES took the chair. whom it sanctioned and set forth ; and admirably as it is
The proceedings haying been opened with prayer, by the stated in the report, it is that of the very principle of patron-
Rev. F. BARKER, age connected with the church from the beginning sanctions
The CHAIRMAN said—Ladies and Gentlemen,—l believe the proceedings of the Church Pastoral Aid Society. Did
it is almost unnecessary for me to trespass for a moment the ien, it might be asked again, who founded churches,
upon your attention by any explanation of the character of who gave their property in order to employ ministers perma-
the society which you are met this evening to support, but I nently, give it without having an object in view ? No ; the
still would wish to be permitted to say, that of all societies men whom they employ, and the objects for which their pro-
which have a claim upon our support as clergymen, I know perty was given, was the propagation of that which they be-
of no society which can be put in competition with this. This lieved to be the truth. NVe ask no more than this. We
society came to the aid of the church just at the moment of come forward here as a society ; here are men to be em-
the church's extremity—just at the moment when the expan- ployed for the propagation of what? Surely not of that
the church was leading to the exhaustion of its powers, which we do not believe, but of that which we do. It
oment when the field was opened which the church may be that others believe something which is different.
,ound to occupy but had not the power. This so- It is indeed a mournful spectacle exhibited in the present

, that there is a divided church. The fact cannot be
concealed—there are two parties in the church (hear) ; and
he is the person who is the enemy of the church that would
forget that fact, and act as if differences did not exist. Why
should we not have the power to sanction such persons as
we believe to preach the truth, allowing to others that they,
if they choose, should sanction and authorise persons who
should preach what they believe to be the truth ? Can it
be, I would ask any one who hears me, desirable that there
should be a minister employed who, to the congregation of
the parish to which he was sent, should be one of whom it
might be supposed that he did not preach that•which was
the real doctrine of the Church of England? The. Pastoral
Aid Society places itself upon this foundation, that it will
sanction no one who does not come forward in order to
preach that which itself believes to be the true doctrine of
the Church of England. I have pleasure in moving that
this report be printed and circulated. I should have more
pleasure in moving this resolution, if I felt that I carried
with me the suffrages of the audience to which I am address-
ing myself. .(Cheers, and one hiss.) Oh, for shame! We
are met for a Christian purpose. (A cry of " Protestant
") I carry with me the suffrages of this
I feel sure that I do. One solitary serpentiue
voice, amidst a large audience, only gives assent (cheers) to
the Christian sentiments uttered in this place. (A. hiss.) Oh
the time shall be when the very voice that now utters that
disgraceful sound, will change and applaud. That is a tran-
sitory sound, contemptible as it is ; and the man who utters
it will feel he is the most contemptible being here. (Hear.)
But be that as it may, I say again, that to me it is a pleasure
to stand here and bear even the pelting of that which is con-
sidered to be a pitiless storm. (Cheers, hisses, and some
laughter, drowned the conclusion of the sentence—.)
The HAIRMAN—Go on Dr. Byrth.
Dr BYRTH.—I will. I move that this report be printed,
and because it is a faithful Protestant document. I move
that it be circulated under the discretion of the committee,
because I believe it will work most powerfully for the great
cause which is dearest to my heart, and that cause is the
prosperity of the Church of England. (Cheers.) I can
bear to be misrepresented ; I can bear to have men mistake
me ; but they must bear with me when I tell them that there is
not a heart in this place that beats more fervently in its wish
for the prosperity of true protestantism, than the heart that
is within the frame that stands before you. (Cheers and
and a hiss.) Give me credit for that, and hiss me if you
like for anything else, but do believe me when I say I would
believe you. The miserable persons who have used such
means to ;put me down, I would believe them, if they told me
that they thought they were conscientiously doing good ser-
vice. I ask of them, then, to believe me when I say that
there is not a stronger Protestant in this place than myself,
(hear,) no man who hates popery with a more complete
hatred, no one who would make greater sacrifices in order
to demolish it. (Hear, hear.) With these remarks I re-
sume my scat, humbly apologising, not for the expressions
of sentiments which 1 shall ever retain, namely, hatred to
all bigotry—though it expose me to the direst charge of
spurious liberality, I will cherish it as a christain senti-
ment—but apologising for having had to tell any one who
has come here professessing to advocate a christian cause,
that he has not exhibited christian spirit. The reverend
doctor then sat down. amidst mingled cheers and hisses.
ADAM HODGSON, Esq.—l rise, sir, to second the resolu-
tion which has just been read to you, and am quite conscious
that after the excellent observations which you, Mr. Chair-
man, have made, there remains little for me to say, as to the
leading objects or operations of this society. I should, if
time allowed, or my health permitted, be glad to make a few
observations on the secondary or indirect effects which result
from the labours of this society, but I must confine myself to
a single point. Amongst the indirect effects to which I allude.
there is one of peculiar magnitude, and it is—as has been
remarked by our beloved diocesan—a name which it is im-
possible to mention without exciting the most enthusiastic
feelings--that in adding ministers to 'the church, you are
increasing the number of civil magistrates in the country ;
for every minister of the gospel is, in truth, a most effective
oistrate. In this observation, I entirely concur. The
:tablished church is a most effective security for the civil
constitution of this country, and the surest bulwark against
-evolutionary sentiment, and at such a time as this we are es-
.cially called upon to strengthen its defences and promote
,cy. And in this good work, some of us have been
already engaged this day in another place in forwarding the
interests of the Church Building Society ; and it is a work
to which we shall always contribute in the best way when we
endeavour to make the church a blessing in every part of the
land. It is not by arrogant assumption, by supercilious con-
duct, by unkind, or uncharitable feelings towards those who
dissent from the church, that her services will be best com-
mended to the people ; no, sir, but it is by making her ser-
vices acceptable to, and valued by, the people, (Cheers.)
This is the true way to defend her, and promote both her
welfare and that of the country. In a time like this oir a
restless appetite for change, the church and hee-s.i.s.ters are
nastittite the first objects of attack. This is no new
history, and has given rise to an emphatic remark
e whose opinion comes with peculiar weight at this
I will read td you the remark in the author's own
words, and I must premise that he is neither tory, nor high
churchman—neither a Bishop of Exeter, nor a Sir Robert
Inglis, nor a Mr. William Gladstone, of Liverpool, but one
who considers himself as peculiarly the friOnd of civil and re-
ligious liberty—one whose feelings are all on what is called
by a sad mis-nomer the liberal side. The remark, sir, comes
from the pen of one who has contributed much to form the
character of many of our statesmen of the present day, and
some of the members of her Majesty's government ; it is
from the pen of Professor Smyth—the Professor of Modern
'2---and is as follows :

oneratives

audienc

civil m

its effi

event in

from o
time.

lry in the University of Ca

h, as I have said, is to be dealt with—and that afte
monious or measured manner, but in a way totally alien to
rit and meaning of our constitution—in a way perfectly re-

Now, it is not for me to step out of my province, and to speak
upon the subject of the church, but as a reader of history, and a
lecturer on history, I will leave a few observations with you, which
I hope, when you are in the world, and listening to the sweeping
and irreverant observation that you may hear in it, you will not
entirely forget. I must then in the first place remark, that'when-
ever the times become critical, the clergy are the first to be attached ;
when revolutionary altars are dressed, they are the first victims ;
they are naturally the representatives of peace and order; their
habits, their studies, indispose them to innovation and experiment;
they are necessarily in the way of those who are desirous of change,
still more of those who are ready to risk confusion ; and being

men whose profession it is, by their expostulations, examples and
interference, to desseminate, piety, and check licentiousness, they
are naturally disagreeable, troublesome and hateful to those who
are the leaders in civil commotions. The possessions too of the
chureh are an insulted species of property, very tempting to re-
volutionists, and those who want it for political purposes. Mesa of
the ecclesiastical order, are themselves, also, an insulated descrip-
tion of men, neither from their numbers nor their characters
qualified to defend themselves. On all these accounts, they are the
first to be vituperated and insulted, assaulted and plundered by
revolutionists who mean ill, and by revolutionists who know not
what they mean. And as these things are the preludes to civil
calamities, and the ordinary prognostics and harbingers of all sorts
of atrocities, men of this sacred character are the first whose

rights the thoughtful and the gocd will set themselves to defend,
and whose political consequences they will endeavour to uphold;
the first whom they will step forward to support on every principle
not only of justiee, generosity and humanity, but even on the
principle of common securit,

are very remarkable words, wrung from a man of
candid and honest mind—forced from him by the facts of
history, and the times, against all the opinions he had che-
rished from early youth. I will not attempt to follow the
train of thought which this extract suggests—l will not sum-
mon up those turbulent scenes which it calls to mind, so
little in accordance with the primary object of this meeting.
That object is to supply the religious destitution of the coun-
try, by enabling the Church of England to perform her duty
to every part of the community ; and I consider it a matter
of legitimate congratulation, that while supplying the spiri-
tual destitution of the country, we are at the same time con-
tributing to the strength and solidity of her civil institutions.
This is that important, indirect effect necessarily produced
by the ministration Of the church and the operations of this
society ; and when taking part in such a good work, merely
as a member of this society, I feel that, along with the
faithful minister, I am conferring a most important be-
nefit on my fellow men—a benefit valuable to them not only
for time hut for eternity. I have only now to say, that the
time is short, and that we are bound to work while it is
called to-day. When I look around me, and miss so many
from this platform to whose faces I have been accustomed—
some taken away by death, some removed by Providence in
those mutations which take place in a transitory world—
some by domestic affliction—some by ill health and other
causes. I feel strongly impressed with the importance of
labouring in every holy and righteous cause with all our
strength and ability, whilst the power so to do is spared us
by a merciful Providence. (Cheers.) _

The Rev. Wm. W. EWBANK, incumbent of St. George's,
Everton, then came forward amidst loud cheers, and said
that the resolution entrusted to his care was—

" That the spiritual destitution of our country must
awaken the sympathies of a christian community, and calls
for their energetic and powerful exertions for its removal."
He would fain hope that the mere simple announcement of
such a resolution as that would be quite sufficient to call
back those christian feelings to our hearts, which, he
of losing. , some of them had nearly been in danger just now
He was comparatively a stranger among them,
and' therefore perfectly ignorant of the cause of this little ex-
citement ; but he did feel that the great object of such meet-.
nnp as this was not to manifest any unchristian feeling of
that nature, but in order, by the blessing of God and under
the impression of his Holy Spirit, to meet together, in order
to do everything in their power to further the great and
christian objects now brought before them. He would not
enterinto any details connected with the society, his sole ob-
ject being to insist upon one or two of the most striking
points in the resolution. The, first was the use of the most
emphatic word " must." Ihe spiritual desecration of our
country, it was asserted, must awaken the sympathies of a
christian country. They were aware of the great differences
in the reception into the heart of spiritual blessings from
those, equally the gift of God, which related only to temporal
mercies. 'We knew that every good gift comes from the Al-
mighty ; but we had continual and striking proofs before
us that men were apt to forget in the gift the great
Giver of the . gift ; that men could therefore accept
these good things and yet feel that they bad not the
slightest inclination to impart them to others. They often
found that the richer a man became, the more God poured
down the tide of prosperity upon him, and harder his heart
became, and the less inclined he was to be touched by the
misery of his neighbours. But how different it was with re-
spect to these spiritual blessings. He that had received the
largest portion of them had always the most anxiety to iinv
part them to those who were deficient. In short, our holy
religion was in complete opposition to the natural selfishness
of our hearts. No sooner had we received those precious
blessings ourselves, than we were immediately led to desire
the imparting of them to others; and therefore he thought
there was great force in the expression--" that the spiritual.
destitution of our country must awaken the sympathies of a
Christian community." It was utterly impossible that a man
could be a Christian without having in his heart a desire to
impart the blessings of christianity to others. But this re-
quired sometimes an awakening the Christian sometimes
appeared as if he had gone to sleep, as if he was not
awake to his privileges and to his duty.' He resembled some-
times a man in a trance. He bad within him all the vital
principle in his nature, but that vital principle was not
brought forth into action ; and, therefore, it was necessarY'