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

of Popery led to thl3 eolibitiOn of feeling ; brit
no accredited formularies of the Church of England warrant-
ed persecution. He mentioned the massacre of St. Bartho-
lomew's Day, for which " murder" " Te Deum,"—We
praise thee, 0 God I—was ordered to be sung at Rome by
the Pope, and adverted to the impiety implied in thanking
God than one of the positive commands of the decalogue had
been violated ! As a specimen of the comparatively modern
spirit of the genius of Popery, he read the black oath, copies
of which were found on the persons of the .rebels slain at
New Ross and other places at the time of the Irish rebellion
of 1798. It is as follows :--
" I, A. R., do solemnly swear by our Lord Jesus Christ,
who suffered for us on the cross, and by the blessed Virgin
Mary, that I will burn, destroy, and murder all heretics up
to my knees in blood. So help me God ! !"—(Sir Richard
Musgrave's History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798.)
(Cries of " Shame !") He then proceeded to contend that
Protestantism and Christianity were convertible terms, and
that the principles thereof were "-twisted" into the consti-
tution of Britain. Mr. M. illustrated his meaning by ob-
' serving, that it was related of Phidias, the celebrated sculp-
tor, that having been employed by the Areopagus of Athens
to carve a shield for the statue of Minerva, he so interwove
his own name with the devices of the shield, that it was im-
possible to remove one iota of a single initial without de-
stroying the shield itself. So, in like manner, it might be
affirmed that the acknowledgment of Protestantism, as de-
veloped in that sound form of words which characterises our
beloved church, is so interwoven with the monarchical insti
•• ,

tutions of the realm, that it is impossible to remove auy
portion of that acknowledgment without involving the de-
struction, or at least endangering the stability, of both the
altar and the throne. (Repeated cheering.) He further
appealed to them to resist the demands of the foe, now en-
gaged in bringing every machination to bear against the. high
towers of England's church, and to resolve, in the spirit of
the 'prentice boys of Derry, that there should be " no sur-
render." (Loud cheers.) After a variety of other remarks,
Mr. Mathews (amid loud and reiterated cheering) concluded
thus :—Popery, after many days of slumber and inactivity,
is at length beginning to boast of the increased numbers of
the followers of her faith, and anticipates glorious days when
she shall again place the triple tiara on her brow, and, with
the sceptre of authority, again rule this nation as with a rod
of iron. Be it so. The bright flicker of the taper which has
long burnt dim is the certain presage to its extinguishment.
Let Rome apply the parallel—aye, and take warning ! " Re-
tribution has a foot of velvet, but a hand of steel." The
arm may even now be all but uplifted to smite the scalp of
this gigantic and godless oppression. The trumpet may even
now he at the mouth of the angel, and the blast about to go
forth which, not only in this Protestant land, but among the
nations of the earth, shall level the battlements of the " man
of sin" for ever in the dust ! Let us, then, unfurl the stan-
dard of Protestantism, and by consequence the banner of
Truth—call on Albion's sons, those interested in the welfare
of our British Zion, to rally round it—and animate by every
means the hearts of British freedmen resolved not to be bond
slaves of the mother of harlots ; whilst the watchword of
Protestant England, throughout the length and breadth of
the land, is—" No peace with Rome !"
CHARLES BISHOP, Esq., seconded the motion, and ob-
served as follows :—ln advocating the cause of the St. Helens
Protestant Reading Society, we believe we are advocating
the cause of truth, and promoting the prosperity of the
community, because it gives men the best of all knowledge—
the knowledge of the heart, as well as of the understanding.
It teaches men that gradations in society are as conducive to
the prosperity of the country as hill and valley are to the
beauty of the landscape : it teaches the artizan who is re-
ceiving his fifteen shillings a-week, that he is as useful a
member of society, and may adorn the sphere in which he is
placed as much, as the nobleman who is receiving his thou-
sands ; in the same way that the lowly daisy and the retiring
harebell adorn their sphere as much as the wide-spreading
cedar and the lofty pine theirs. (Great cheering.) Protes-
tant reading societies are as beacon-lights on a dangerous
coast, to warn the mariner of the rocks beneath : and are
there not rocks and sand-banks beneath the subtle sea of
Popery, of which it behoves us to warn the mariner, on
which if he runs his bark, he must certainly perish ? (Hear,
hear.) had our legislature been members of this society,
Popish emancipation had never passed ; but it has passed,
and now the very council-chamber of our Sovereign stinks
of Popery. (Hear.) Had our prime minister been a mem-

tier of this society, he would never have taken socialism by
the hand, and introduced sensuality to a young and maiden
Queen: (Cheering.) That is a stain on his escutcheon that
can never be effaced : though he could now cast Daniel* into
a lion's den, and restore to life the Lady Flora Hastings by
his bleatings, it can never be wiped away. (Great cheering.)
We must sow good seed in our land and an abundant harvest
of good fruit will spring up; we must sow contentment and
we shall reap cheerfulness ; we must sow mercy and we shall
reap forgiveness ; we must sow holiness and we shall reap
everlasting life. Let us make religion our day book, and
truth our ledger; for as a rev, divine observed, " Heaven is
a store-room that can never be broken open and robbed, it is
a bank that will never break." Let us then support Protes-
tant reading societies, that the " earth may be filled with the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Great
cheering.)
S. TOMLINSON. Esq. moved the third resolution, which
was seconded by C. MARSDEN, Esq. in an appropriate
speech, in which he remarked that his support of the society
from its commencement had originated in a view of the natu-
ral tendency to evil in man, in his fallen state, and the readi-
ness with which we perceive weeds of evil spring up around
us on all sides ; and how can it be hoped to eradicate this
crop without cultivating the ground, and sowing in its place
the good seed of the word, which under the influence of the
Holy Spirit, will bring forth fruit and salvation. (Cheers.)
The last resolution having been carried unanimously,
Mr. CRISP rose and said, he felt so desirous to tee the
society formed into an active and operating Protestant As-
wciation, that he would pledge himself to the committee,
whenever that was the case, to present 20 volumes of suit-
able books for their library. (Great cheering.)
After a vote of thanks to the chairman, (who expressed a
hope that it should not be the last time he should meet
them,) the meeting separated at half-past ten o'clock. We
never saw one in which a more zealous and yet temperate
spirit of attachment to the Protestant cause was exhibited
both in the speakers and audience.
* Dan O'Connell?—En.

NUISXNCE IN NORTH JOHN-STREET

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

SlR,—One of the occupiers of offices in North John-street
would he particularly obliged by you informing him, through
the medium of your valuable paper, what steps must now be
taken to remove the abominable nuisance which has existed
for some time, small carts being aliowed to stand for hire,
and the drivers of these carts permitted from morning until
night to assemble in groups on the parapet, and in rainy
weather to congregate in the passages of the offices, where
they make use of the most disgusting language.
The authorities have been written and spoken to frequently
upon the subject, but it. has been of no avail. lam not quite
sure, but perhaps you will inform me, is there not a bye-law
appointing certain situations for the stand of carts? If so,
why is this law not enforced, and the nuisance so often com-
plained of allowed to exist ?
It would not be allowed in London. I call upon the ma-
gistrates to order Mr. Whitty, and those in authority under
h‘inz, TO SEE THAT IT IS DONE, to put this bye-law into
force, and not allow one of the greatest thoroughfares to be
obstructed by such an abominable nuisance.—l am, Sir,
yours, respectfully, B.
Liverpool, 1 ith March, 1841.