The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-03-19 00:00:00

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT,

The Court for the relief of Insolvent Debtors was opened
yesterday (the 18th instant), at the Sessions House, before
William John Lowe, Esq., her Majesty's commissioner.
The number of petitioners who had petitioned the Court was
forty-two. The following is the result of the cases adjudi-
cated upon, up to the time of our reporter leaving the court
yesterday evening :
John Smith—discharged:
Samuel Harsnett—ditto.
Hawlow—ditto.
Joseph Taylor—two months' imprisonment.
Elizabeth Whitmore—discharged.
Michael Green—to produce copy of agreement to-morrow.
William Connor—discharged.
John Fryer—ditto.
Joseph Birtles—ditto.
Wilharn Muir—ditto.
Edward Fox—to be discharged on paying £6O into court.
William H. Gibson—six months' imprisonment.
James S. Woodburn—to produce promissory note to.
morrow.
Evan Meredith—to produce detaining creditor to-morrow
Joseph Wharton—petition dismissed.
James consey (a black)—discharged.
The petitions of 26 insolvents remained to be disposed of.

ST. lIELSN'S MOTE irAl‘'ir- IttADlNti SOCT!fI

The meeting of the members and friends of the St. Helens
Protestant Reading Society, alluded to by us last week, took
place on Monday evening, in the Town-hall, which was
crowded to excess. Upwards of 1200 persons were present,
and many were unable to obtain admission.

Lee Watson, Esq., the president, took the chair, supported
by other gentlemen connected with the society.
The followinz report was read by the Secretary :

REPORT
Of the Committee of the St. Helen's Protestant Reading
Society, presented at the Annual Meeting, March 15, 1841.
The object of this society, and the mode of its operation,
being exhibited in its rules, which are few and simple, we
beg to refer to them on those subjects ; it may, however, be
well to point out in some detail the advantages of its system,
and particularly the way in which it connects itself indirectly
with, and carries out the objects of, several other societies,
as well as to furnish a statement of its present condition and
prospects. These, indeed, afford matter for very pleasing
consideration.

It was commenced about two years ago, with only 8 or 10
members, and it has graduily increased until it tiow consists
of about 270, divided into 16 sections, and extending over a
very considerable space. Besides the town itself of St.
Helens, in which we have 5 sections, the Ravenhead Plate
Glass Works form an important division, which extends to
Thatto Heath, while the Greenbank District supplies us with
upwards of 40 members. Even Smithy Brow constitutes
itself a district of our literary and religious association. But
the society is equally appreciated in more distant parts of
the neighbourhood. We are in great force at Marshall's
Cross ; we have a firm knot at Denton's Green ; we have
lately established an outpost at Newton, which already con-
sists of 15 members ; and we have at present in hand the
formation of additional branches at Parr and in Rainford.
It is, indeed, evident, that the society is only in its infancy,
for every mouth brings in additional members, and shows us
additional ground to be occupied. We have received invita-
tions to extend ourselves to Ashton on the one side, while
without invitation we are endeavouring to stir up Prescot on
the other ; and, carried forward as it no doubt will continue
to be by the temperate and persevering zeal of our members,
we may expect shortly to extend at least over the whole

parish.
Having mentioned the pi•ogress and the prospects of the
society, the committee beg to call your attention to the ad-
vantages of the system adopted by it, which are several.
And first, its mode of circulating books, being that so ex-
sivelv in use by what are called book clubs throughout the
kingdom, is found the most convenient and suitable for the
population of every place excepting very large towns, in which
alone extensive libraries can be formed accessible with little
trouble and at all times ; but in all other places the circulating
system is the most convenient, as is proved in this town,
where the very excellent library established by the kindness,
and almost at the sole cost, of our valued minister, Mr. Fur-
nival, is made use of by
.only one fifth the number of persons
that have joined our society. The kind of books circulated
by us are, we conceive, well stilted to act as substitutes for a
library. They contain selections from works both ancient
and modern ; they include sacred poetry, sermons, and of
course theology, together with history and natural science,
although these latter necessarily in a subordinate degree;
while their periodic character causes them to contain such
references to various passing events of a religious and mis-
sionary nature as gives them in that respect a greater degree
of interest than books from a permanent library could possess.
This society may, we conceive, be looked at as connecting
itself with several others—for instance, Tract Societies, in-
asmuch as it supplies in the same way the wants of a class
of readers exceeding in education those to whom tracts are
generally distributed, although it is true that most of the
tracts which many persons of education would be apt to pass
over with disdain would be found well worth their perusal,
and are indeed the productions of men of first-rate learning,
ability, and piety. It may be considered to connect itself
with Sunday Schools, for what would be more desirable or
more natural than that a youth, who has been trained in one
of those most useful institutions, should be induced, when
he has quitted it, to avail himself of an institution like the
present, which is so calculated to carry forward his education
in the path of that knowledge which, with God's blessing,
maketh wise unto salvation. Its connection with missionary
societies is obvious, from the information on missionary sub-
jects which, as already mentioned, it incidentally diffuses
And lastly, its connexion with that vast engine of usefulness,
the Bible Society, is not less plain ; for although the Bible
Society can only diffuse Bibles, the aim of it is that Bibles
may be read as well as diffused, and the tendency of all that
we do in this society is to send people to the Bible. Are
doctrines enforced ? reference is made to the Bible. Are
controversies discussed? to the law and to the testimony is
the appeal. The religion of Protestants is the religion of the
Bible, and we recognize NO OTHER STANDARD ; and it' un-
learned and unstable persons wrest the Scriptures to their
own destruction, there is for their errors no other remedy
than the same Bible, which, if studied, in a humble, sub-
missive, and prayerful spirit, the promise of God is given that
the enquirer shall be led into all truth.
Mr. JOSEPH CRISP, of Liverpool, moved the first resolu-
tion, declaring it to be the duty of all Protestants, particu-
lady at the present time, to testify their sense of the value of
their principles, by using every means in their power to pro-
mote them. He congratulated the meeting on the great pro-
gress made in the spread of those principles in that town and
neighbourhood, as proved by the growth of the society, and by
the iinmerous and respectable assembly before him. He felt
peculiar pleasure in proposing the resolution, as, if carried,
it pledged the meeting, in a great measure, to advance one
step further, and turn their society into a Protestant asso-
ciation. (Cheers.) By the attendance that evening he would
guarantee that, if they did so. they would have an active,
zealous, and really operative society. It would be taken in
hand by a class who, from his experience in the town of Li-
verpool, he would declare his belief to be the true and best
friends of the Protestant constitution and the Protestant in-
stitutions of the country—he meant the operative classes.
He knew that their society had advanced far towards be-
coming a Protestant association, and he had some years back
declared he would not be satisfied until he saw a working
Protestant association in that town. He might be asked by
some present, whatare the objects of a Protestant association,
and how do they carry out their objects ? The objects are to
spread sound Protestant information amongst all classes of
the community, and also to exhibit the real character and
workings of popery ; also, to keep a vigilant watch on the
various encroachments of popery, and to arrange measures to
check their progress ; to expose the false statements of pa-
pists and milk-and-water Protestants ; to encourage the
publication of sound Protestant works. He here read an ex-
tract from " Inglis's Ireland," to show the opinion the
Romanists held respecting their pastors, stating that emi
grants sending money home to distribute amongst their rela-
tions, sent it, not to the'priest, but to the Protestant clergy-
man; and also that it was a very common occurrence for.
Romanists, dying and leaving a little money, to appoint the
Protestant clergyman as their executor. So much for the
honesty of popish priests, as expressed by their flocks. It
then might beasked, how do you carry out these objects ; and
his answer would be, by public meetings—a fine specimen we
have before us of a protestant meeting; by sermons; by the
press; by the establishment of libraries; by petitions to
Parliament; by the distribution of tracts, &c. He knew
that some objected to their associations, considering them
political ; but lie knew not how any consistent churchman,
upholding "the connexion between church and state, could
object to the connexion between religion and politics in a
Protestant association. He felt assured that they were the
best defenders of the British constitution, and be longed to
see them spread through every town and village of the land.
He cared not for that false charity which led many to hold
back, not wishing to disturb that friendly feeling between
Protestantism and popery ; for he knew very well that
wherever such a feeling appeared on the surface, there was
always an under-current working against Protestantism.
He would ask tie ladies and the operative females of St.
Helens, what they thought of my Lord Morpeth's publicly
expressed opinion—" that he did consider the female portion
of Ireland as exhibiting more chastity than any people of
the sister isle." He could only describe this as an infamous
libel upon the females of England, and much upon a par with
the 'statement of his lordship's master—Daniel O'Connell—
that in England nineteen of the females out of every twenty
were mothers before they were married. As an Englishman,
he unhesitatingly declared them to be a couple of liars. As
gentlemen were to follow him who would be much more
competent than himself to give them interesting information,
he would not further detain the meeting ; one truth, at any
rate, he had told them, and since proved—that he was no

orator.
Mr. EMERSON, an operative of Wigan, seconded the reso-
lution in a most able speech, every position of which was
proved by reference to scripture. He took notice of the com-
mon objection made to the Protestant religion, that it existed
not before the reformation. He wished to know whether
Christian principles had not been diffused, by our Saviour
and his apostles, for a number of years before his disciples
received the name of Christians, which we read they did first
at Antioch. In like manner, Protestant principles existed
from the foundation of the church, although the name was
of later origin. (Cheers.) He wished to call the attention
of the meeting particularly to the words of the resolution.
It appealed to us as Protestants—and were there not, he
would ask, in the corruptions of the Romish Church things
against which it was the duty of all who believed the scrip-
tures to protest I (Cheers.) He then referred to their wor-
ship of the host, of the Virgin Mary—to their multiplication
of sacraments, and other perversions of Christianity, quoting
with admirable precision the testimony of scripture against
every one of them. We find it predicted that " many shaF
follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way o 1
truth shall be evil spoken of." The argument, then, whicl
Romanists bring forward from the great extent of their sway
and from which they would have us conclude that so exten
sive a church must be the true church, is of no value. No
a few, but many, shall follow their ways ;—and do we no
see clearly predicted here the progress of infidelity as well as
of Popery. When people saw such perversions of Christi-
anity held forth as the truth, was it not natural that they
should run into the opposite extreme, and disbelieve all reve-
lation, as we see is so commonly the case in neighbouring
countries at this time ? The resolution stated, that if we had
a sense of the value of our principles, we should testify it.
He pointed out the difference between a nominal reception
of principles, and hying a real sense of them. The sons•in-
law of Lot had no sense of the truth and importance of the
message which be communicated to them from the angels, or
they would not have despised it, and been overwhelmed in
the destruction of the city. (Cheers.) Again, the present
time was particularly pointed out in the resolution as calling
on us for exertion, and he thought it did so. He knew that
at the present time there existed a great deal of distress in
the country, and many, no doubt, were suffering hunger;
and as when our Saviour was an hungered the tempter chose
that time to bring his seductions before him, so did the emis-
saries of Satan, the infidels, who now shewed themselves so
prominently in the land, choose this time of distress to attri-
bute to Christianity those evils which flowed only from an
ignorance of it. (Great cheering.) We regret that we are
unable to give a more detailed report of this sound and scrip-
tural speech, which occupied about an hour in the delivery,
and was received throughout with the most earnest attention
and great applause.
JAMES MATHEWS, Esq. (of Liverpool, solicitor), rose to
address himself to the third resolution, which stated, " That
as the books circulated by this society explain and illustrate
the principles we profess—as they tend to undeceive those
who misapprehend them—to expose the errors of those who
oppose them—and to show the apostolic character and anti-
quity of the Protestant Church—the circulation of these
works is therefore calculated, in the opinion of this meeting,
to do great good." After expressing the pleasure he felt in
responding to the call that he should take a part in the pro-
ceedings of that meeting, Mr. M. went on to prove the fal-
lacy of the allegation that we are indebted to Rome for a
knowledge of Christianity, as it was planted in Britain as
early as A.D. 58; and referred to Bishop Burgess Tracts,
Bede, and Lingard, independent of several of the early fa-
thers of the church, in confirmation of his views; and to
show that the statement which had been made, that the doc-
trines of Rome were those of the " church catholic" was
false, he brought forward the following important admission
of Mr. Husenbeth, a Popish divine, " that although the La-
tin clergy ought to be able to trace every point of (what he
calls) Catholic faith up to the apostles, they, in truth, cannot
do so through the testimonies of fathers of the three first
centuries !" (Pamph. pp. 9, 10, cited in Faber's Facts and
Assert., and p. 62, and see his Diffs. of Rom., b. c. 7,
2d edit.) He adverted also to the persecuting spirit of Po-
pery, and bearing in mind her motto,
." semper eaden2"—
always the same—urged upon the meeting the
this infallible
" mother and (so called) mistress of the churches" should
again re-enact the stat. " de heretic:a comburendis," and
place upon the neck of Protestant England the iron yoke of
her worse than Egyptian bondage. He combated the k
idea
• that because some few had been put to. death shortly after
the reformation. began, that Protestantism was chargeable
With these acts of violenoe. The remains of the '' old Leaver"