The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-02-20 00:00:00

(Front the Detroit Free Press of Jan. 11.)

The steamboat Erie was forcibly taken from this port on
Tuesday night, by a.body of men belonging, it is supposed, to
"the patriot force on Whitewood Island. The alarm bells were
rung and our citizens generally rallied as soon as possible to the
'wharf, but before any considerable number had collected the
Boat and her men were nut of the reach of our authorities. We
understand that 'the proper officers proc,.erled yesterday to the
seat of war, 'to recover the boat and arrest the offenders.

Urotn the Evening Star of January 27.)
FROM THE FRONTIER.
The Bois Matte (or Whitewood) Island expedition of Judge
Sutherland on Lake Erie, appears to have hail as inauspicious
a termination as that of Van Ilensellaer at Navy Island, Gov.
Mason, it is not' stated, went doWn • the river from Detroit,
dispersed the patriot forces, and arrested several of the ring-
leaders. The Detroit Advertiser of the 13th gives the names.
'l'. Dufert and IX D. M'Kinnev, was yesterday held to bail
by the Judges of the U. S. District Court of Chambers.
John B. Norton, jun., and J. B. Vallee, were received as bail
for the former, and T. C..,Shuldon, and John Largy as bail for
the latter.
The defendants are recognized to appear at the Circuit Court
of the United States, in June next, the principal in 3000 dol-
lars, and in each security in 1500 dollars.
Gen. Sutherland was arrested yesterday afternoon, and taken
before the District Judge
After the loss of the schooner the patriots retreated to Gib-
raltar on the American shore, 20 miles below Detroit, where
they,, ita violation of every prirwiple of neutrality. opOnly en-
camped, and remained until broken up by the active young
Governor of Michigan who is, as we recollect, though young,
an old soldiet, having served is the Great Teledo Border War

with credit.
'['he Governor recovered and brought back the arms. Gen.
Sntherland had previon,ly tone np to Detroit where he was
arrested, Ile was tiied the next day before Judge Wilkins of

the U. S. District Court, then sitting, and arquitted. The
General pleaded his own case, and when the decision was made
known he was enthusiastically cheered. The Detroit paper
very cooly adds as the conclusion to this business, which really
places us in a very Unpleasant, nit to say disreputable light
in the eyes of other nations, " the General is still in the com-
mand, and it is expected that another expedition will be under-
taken without delay."

A bill paised the popular branch of the legislature of Michi-
gan, making provision for 2000 men to protect the frontier.
It would seem, therefore, that though the patriot force may
be dispersed, the materials remain there ready to congregate
whenever occasion presents, as the inhabitants seem to gene-
rally approve of their illegal movements.
LATER I NTELL IGENCE. —By the Cleveland papers to the2oth,
we learn that a large number of Indians had come down in one
of the steam boats, from the upper lakes, destined fur the royal;st
force at Malden. One of the persons killed of the patriots in the
schooner [the Ann] captured off Malden, was from Cleveland.
Dr. Theller, the leader, was wounded under the eye. There is
said to be no doubt, that he and all the other patriots taken
alive were massacred.

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.—Under this title the Mer-
cury of Friday last follows up its remarks of the week
before upon the pamphlet recently published by the Rev.
H. M'Neile. Now, we object, in limine, to the applica-
tion of such a term as " religious persecution" to the
language or the acts of the rev. gentleman, or of any
other clergyman who deems it to be his duty to declaim
against Popery. With exactly the same propriety might
the charge of " religious persecution" be broutzht
against Mohammedanism or Heathenism. With equal
justice might such an accusation be brought against our
Saviour and his apostles for denouncing the .false doc
trines, hypocrisy, and tyranny of the Scribes and Phari-

The editor of the- Mercury knows, or ought to know,
that it is the bounden duty of every minister of the
Church of England to endeavour to root out all " heresy"
from the land. This obligation derives additional force
from the circumstance that such " heresy" may be
fraught with danger to our national institutions and sub-
versive of our civil and religious liberty. This is pre
CiselY the character of Popery. It is not only opposed
to scripture, but is likewise an enemy to every species
of rational freedom. The clergy are therefore bound to
oppose ii, not only as preachers of the gospel, but also
as citizens of a Protestant community.

The Mercury insinuates that the Rev. IT. M'Neile
wishes to per.ecute the Papists for the purpose of con.
verting, them to the Protestant faith. The editor of- the
Mercury knows or ought to know, that the rev. gentle-
man disavows any such intention. The whole tenor of
his ministration proves that, while he detests Popery, he
entertains the most charitable sentiments towards it.s de-
luded victims. In fact his detestation of Popery must
spring from his anxiety to save those who have imbibed
its poison from their misery. Let the editor of the Mer
cury peruse the following description of the enslaving
influence of Popery, and say whether it be a blessing or
a curse to mankind. If he acknowledges that it has
proved a curse to the human race, then let him show his
own consistency in abusing those who seek to remove
this curse from the face of the earth. We quote the fol-
lowing from the eloquent speech of the Rev. R. J.
M.Gliee at a recent meeting of the Glasgow Protestant
Association :

The Rev. Gentleman spoke as follows:—" Mr Chairman, I
never stood up to address a public meeting with a feeling of
more solemn satisfaction than that with whichl stand here this
evening, to advocate that sacred principle which we are con-
vened to vindicate and discuss. The great principle that we
come to advocate this night, is the principle of spiiitual free-
dom for our fellow-men—the right, the inalienable right of man,
uncontrolled by his fellow-worm, to read fir himself the word of
the eternal God—that word which teaches him his guilt—that
word which proclaims his pardon—that word, according to
which he shall be judged—that word which reveals the Re-
deemer by whom alone he can be saved—that word which con-
tains the will of his God, which it is his duty to know; the will
of his God, which it is his duty to do. If it is granted that it is
the duty of man to do the will of his Creator, it must be con-
ceded that it is also his duty to know it ; and if it is his duty to
know it, it must he granted that it is his right to know it. Duty
is more than right. Right implies but a privilege; duty im-
plies an obligation. The man who dares to interfere with the
right of his fellow-man to read the Word of his Creator, inter-
feres not only with his right, but with his duty to his Creator;
and be arraigns the power that gives him the right, for he ar-
raigris the power-that alone imposes the obligation of duty•
Therefore he who invades the right and obstructs the duties of
his fellow-man, arraigns the power, and flies in the face of his
Creator. The Church of Rome does this. She stands between
the sinner and his God. She sets herself up as the authorised
interpreter of God's will to man. She denies his right to apply
to the Wort of his Creator; for she insists upon his duty of
submitting to her authority. She usurps the prerogative of the
Deity, and imposes upon the souls of men the basestsubjection•
It •is to show the falsehood of this—to bring the principle to the
test— to bring it to such a test that the poorest man can under-
stand it—to prove the guilt of that tyranny and superstition,
and vindicate the right of man's immortal soul, that we are con-
vened here to-night; and I hope that God, in whose house we
are assembled, will hear that prayer just offered at his footstool,
and that we will be enabled to assemble in the spirit of the
eternal God, to be edified and built up in his Memo' truth;
and in the spirit of devoted philanthropy, and true benevolence,
and love to the souls of our fellow-men.
* *

"Now this is that lash of spiritual tyranny which the church
of Rome holds over the souls of men, to deprive them of their
right of reading and considering and appealing to the Wo-d of
God for themselves ; for though they say we let them read the
Scriptures, how does the Roman Catholic take these Scriptures
up ? Why, he takes them up under this feeling, that hedare not
exercise upon them his private judgment; that he dare not in_
terpret one point contrary to the dogmas of the church, because
the church is the only interpreter. Therefore, though he takes
the Bible in his hand, he takes it with his heart so bound under
the tyranny of the church of Rome, that he dares not let out
upon it that intellect and those talents and capacities which God
.has given him—he dare not consider the question, What dues
God say here for my eternal salvation?' (Hear, hear.) Now
we say this is a false principle, and we wish to show the people
that it is fundamentally false—that it is a mere spititual lash of
tyranny held over them (like some object of affright presented
to the mind of a child in the dark) to frighten them from exer-
cising their faculties as rational and immortal beings. You

know that the people are taught to receive this creed from their
infancy—it is instilled into their minds—and therefore they are
accustomed to think that there is a sense of interpretation, put
upon the Bible by the church, and that which the priest tells
them are the dogmas of the church which he has learned ; and
that, therefore, when they hear him they hear the church.
Slow we say if there is any sense of interpretation, and if we
are to receive tha Scriptures in the sense the church has laid
down, what is that sense ? We call on the priests to give that
sense to the people, if it has only existence but in the tyranny
of the church of Rome.

" Now, I care not of being accused of being an enemy to..
what is called. peace here,' when I remember who they were of
whom it was said, these fellows that have turned the world
upside down are come hither also.' (Hear.) But this is my
answer to Bishop Murdoch and his professions and letters on
peace. If the Church of Rome desires to make peace with
Protestants, let them honestly come out and renounce the
hortid weapons of war and tyranny in which they bind all who
attempt to assert and vindicate the rights of conscience; but I
say that when it is written in the Word of God that there r+i no
peace to the wicked'—when it is written that the way of peace
they have not known'—when it is written that 'the chastise-
ment of our peace was laid on Christ, and that by his stripes
we are healed'—when it is written that he is our peace,' that

' he has made peace by the blood of his cross,' and that the
blessed message of his gospel is ' good tidings of great joy. and
on earth peace and good wilt.to inen'—l know no peace, and I
will keep no peace with a system that shuts out the light of my
Redeemer's face, and the blessings of his 'word, the blessings of
his peace, and the blessings of his salvation from the souls of
my fellow men. The servant that makes peace with the tnan
who robs his master is a knave; the soldier that makes peace
with the rebel against his monarch is a traitor; and I will make
no peace with a system that robs my God, my master, of his
glory, and my fellow-men of the right and liberty of rational
and immortal beings—the right to read the weird of their Cre-
ator. (Cheers.) My soul should be delighted to hold out the
right hand of peace and love to all my Roman Catholic friends
and neighbours, but it must be a peace that is ratified by the
God of peace, it must he a peace which will not leave an accusa-
tion upon my conscience for a guilty neglect of my fidelity to
my fellow-men." (Cheers.)
This is the spirit in which the Rev. H: M'Neile would
address Roman Catholics—not for the purpose of inti-

midating them into a belief of the Protestant faith, as
the Mercury would insinuate—but for the purpose of
seeking to liberate them from the spiritual thraldom in
which they are held by their priests. The Mercury, af-
ter quoting the Rev. H: M'Neile's parallel between sla-
ve.ty and Popery, endeatotirs to prove that it is ima-
gitiaty." , The following is, we Suppose, intended as his

"prop!" :
" The black captive is at butrilling slave; Olio if h€ titttiriptt