The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-09-06 00:00:00

THE L.t..,RPOOL .STANDARD.

LAYING OP Tuiz FIRST STONE OF THE CHURCH

OF ENGLAND NORTH SCHOOL.

Yesterday was, announced as the time fixed upon for laying
the foundation stoue of the new North School, :or educating
thechialren according to the uninutilated word of God, in fur-
therance of the resolutions determined upon at the great meet.
in;:heldin the Amphitheatre, a few weeks ago; a proceeding
whicluour leaders ...will recollect was found ' necessary from the
extraordinary decision come to by the reform . Town Council,
of excluding the Bible from the Corporation Schools, and sub-
stituting in its place, for the religious instruction of the chil-
dren, the great mass of whom are protestants, certain selections
and new versions of the scriptures with annotations appended ;
a system of education adopted for the instruction of the chil-
dren in the public schools.in Ireland, where the great mass of
the people hold the Roman Catholic faith, and who would not
receive instruction from the Protestant Bible.
It was determined that a procession should take place, embody-
ing the children of the various public schools of the town, the
clergy, and the members of the Tradesmen?, and the Operative
Conservative Associations, who had signified their wish to attend,
and such of the laity, and inhabitants as chose to join. Ten
O'clock, was the hour fixed upon for assembling, and St. Peter's
,Church-yard was chosen as the Most favourable rendezvous. The
morning was exceedingly beautiful, the sun, gladeuing with his
rays, and giving brightness and joy to the exhilirating and soul-
stirring scene, whilst the freshness of a fine breeze was delight-
ful. Shortly bef ire ten o'clock, groups of children began to
assemble in St. Peter's Church-yard, headed by their teachers,
and arranged in ro‘v,s as they came from the various schools,
each school having a banner with the name of the dis-
trict to which it belonged, at its head. The members of
of the Tradesmens' and Operative Conservative :Associatious
assembled in the Blue Coat School-yard; in the school, the
clergy, and the trustees of the intended building met. The
scene at this time was most lively and interesting, whilst the
merry clang of the church bells added no little to the gaily of
the scene, and to the happy smiles of the assembled children.
At half-past ten o'clock, the procession began to move. The
route announced, was down Church-street, up Lord-street, along •
Casae.street, down Dale-street, along Scotland-road, Burling.
ton-street, and to Bond-street, where the foundation of the
intended building is situated. The whole of the route was
lined by crowds of spectators, and the excitement caused
by the unprecedented, pro-popish proceediug of. the 'Town
Council, and the determination to oppose and frustrate it,
appeared to have settled into a fixed and firm determination of
purpose. Notwithstanding the immense mass of people as-
sembled, all was order and regularity. The crowd appeared to
consistof the more respectable classes, and was not drawn to;
;;ether by idle curiosity to hear the• beating of a druM, no
music being in attendance, and the banners used being simply
one at the head of each association to distinguish the two,
and the simple banners borne by the childien at the head of
each
_school.
At eleven o'clock the head of the procession reached the top
of Lord-street.. The order of procession was as follows:
Four hundred members cif, the Conservative Operative Associa-
tion, four abreast, headed by a large red silk flag, bearing the
inscription in geld. letters, " Liverpool Opeiative Conservative
Association," and after this, the brass plate which was -to .be,
placed under the foundation stone. After this, headed by, a flag,.
came the members of the Tradesmen'a.conserYative Associa-
tion, walking four abreast to the. number of 960. Then:canie
the girls, followed by the boys of each school, •.walking four
abreast. First cause the Church of England North School girls
and boys, headed by a flag with the inscription " Church ,of.
England North School, instituted July, 1536." After this came
in the saute order the girls and boys of the South •School. Then
came the children of St. Thomas's School, girls and boys,
headed by a flag and in the same order followed the children in
rotation of St. Matthias School, St. Augustine's, St. Jude's,
The National School, St. Marv's, Wavertree.National School,
St. Michael's, the Welsh SchOol, St. James's, St. Paul's, the
Workhouse School, St. Mark's, Liverpool and KirkdaleSehool,
St. Bride's, St. Andrew's, Moorfields', Edge.hill, and several
other Schools, the banners of which we could •not distinguish
for the breeze, in all twenty-six schools, the Blue Coat School
children bringing up the rear, who with their uniform dresses,
and regular step had a very pretty appearance; the whole num-
ber of the children, exclusive of the Blue Coat School children,
amounting to 7,700. After these followed the Rev. Rector
Brooks, walking with James Aspinall, Esq., the late Mayor,
bearing the silver trowel for spreading the lime on the founda-
tion stone, and Sir Thomas Braticker. Then followed, two and
three abreast, the clergy of the town, to the number of about
forty, dressed in their surplices. We recognised amongst them,
the Rev. T. Monk, the Rev. J. H. Stewart, Rev. J. C. Prince,
Rev. C. Morrell, Rev. J. Halsall, Rev. W. Blundell, Rev. R.
Blacow, Rev. F. Barker, Rev. W.. M'lver, Rey. J. Gardner,
Rev. R. Davis' Rev. E. Spencer, Rev. R. Davis, Jun., Rev.
W. Maynard, Rev. Tattershall, Rev. C. D. Gladwin, Rev.
.1. Chee.haM, Rev. W. Tyrer, Rev. Bibby, Rev. H. 'l'atlock,
Rev. W. Hesketh, Rev. R. Cardwell, Rev. F. Ould, Rev. R. L.
Townsend, Rev. C. Wray, Rev. R.. Montgomery, Rev. J. E.
Bates, Rev. T. B. Barker. Rev. J. H. Stafford, Rev. James
Lawrence, Rev. J. Lyon Dr. Ralph, (of the Scottish Church,)
Rev. J. Jones, Rev. 'T. G. Leigh, Rev. T. Moss, Rev. R. Ap-
pleton. Rev. T. L. Pain, Rev. T. Hutton, Rev. J. Fearon,
Rev. W. H. Brandreth, Rev. Jas. Dixon, Wesleyan Minister,
and several others whose names we did not learn.
After these followed about two hundred and fifty of the
principal laity of the town and neighbourhood, embodying
many of the old magistrates, the trustees in whom the property
of the school is invested, several of the committee of the Cale-
donian free-school and members of the Church of Scotland, &c.
&c., these forming the rear of a procession such as has not,
perhaps, been witnessed before in Liverpool. Some judge-
ment of the length of the procession may be formed from the
fact that, though walking at an ordinarily quick pace, it occu-
pied forty aminutes in passing St. George's Church. We almost
thought it interminable. •
About half-past twelve the .procession arrived at, and was ar-
ranged round the' site of the intended building in Bond-street;
the spacious foundation was occupied by the children, the vari-
ous flags being planted round. At the upper end of the founda-

tion an extensive platform furnished with raised seats was
appropriated for the accommodation of the ladies, and on which
about 3(X) were assembled.

The foundation stone is a solid block of granite weighing
about a ton, and having a large hole scooped out for coins, &c.,
and for the brass plate intended to be placed within it.. Over,
'the stone thlzsetiool-flag or red silk was raised bearing the in-
scription in gold letters, " Chutch of England North School,
instituted the 13th July, 1836," and the representation of the
bible and crown in the centre.

The front of the school will be 139 feet long by 68 feet deep,
to be built as an elegant, neat, and substantial edifice. The
school=room will be 80 feet by 39 feet, and attached will he an-
other nom to be hied as as infaut school, which will be 39 feet
by 19.

. .„.
About half-past twelve o'clock, all being arranged, every spot
of ground being occupied, the Rev. Rector Brooks, accompanied
by James Aspinall, Esq., Sir Thomas -Brancket, and Peter
Bourne, Esq., and followed by the clergy, approached the stone,
when the children commenced singing an appropriate hymn,
composed fur' the occasion, to the tui,e of the old hundiedth
psalm, the-assembled crowd taking off their hats and joining.
The sun :shone beautifully, and, as the thousands of infant
throats warbled forth this hymn to their Creator, joined in one
swelling burst by the deeper tones of manhood, it had a most
solemn and imposing effect; and we venture to assert that such
a scene, such adoration, and in such a cause, could not but be
acceptable to Him to whom it was offered up.
After the hymn was concluded, Mr, Samuel Holmes read the
inscription on the brass plate intended to be placed under
.the
stone. It was a large handsome plate, a foot square, and the
inscription was engraved in bold style, it was the workmanship
of Mr. J. 13: Leatherbarrow. The inscription was as follows:
" This first stoueof the public school-rooms, to be erected for the
scriptural education of the children of the poor of this parish in
the principles of the established church, was laid on the sth day
of September, in the year of our Lord 1836, and in the seventh
year of the reign of .his Majesty King William the Fourth, by
the ReV. Jonathan BrOoks, M.A., one of the rectors of Liver
pool. The fund for this building, as also for others Which are
to be hereafter erected, was raised by the voluntary donations
of the inhabitants of this town to record their attachment and
devotion to the great principles of protestantism and the free
use of the revealed Word of God, and exceeded in the short
space of a few weeks the sum of £IO,OL/0."
We may here add that the property of the school is invested
in the following trustees :—Rev. Jonathan Brooks, M.A., and
the Rev. Augustus Campbell, M.A., rectors•, Sir Thomas
Brancker, Christopher Bailin, Thomas Bold, Josias Booker,
Moses Edwards, John Fletcher, Thomas Foster, Robertson
Gladstone, George Grant, Charles Groves, Adam Hodgson,
David Hodgmin, Samuel Holme, Thomas B. Horsfall, William
Jones, James Lawrence, James Laughton, Edmund Mollineux,
William Potter, Henry B. Sandbach, John A. Tinne, and J.
N. Walker, Esqrs.
JAMES Ast'INALL, ERq., then stepped forwards, and, ad-
dressing the .Rector, said :
"I am deputed by the committee of the Liverpool Church of
England School Society to hand this trowel to you, and to re-
quest that you will lay the first stone of one of three schools, in
which the scriptures ate to be freely taught by the established
clergy, and the principles of the primitive protestant trinitarian
faith, according to the doctrine and discipline of the reformed
church now established; and God grant that it may ever remain
established in this protestant kingdom of England. Let toe
first congratulate you, sir, and the rest of the clergy upon the
position you now hold in this town, and upon your emancipation
from the fetters to which you would needlessly have been snb-..

jected had you tamely submitted to remain in possession of
the corporation schools.
" I congratulate you, also, upon the noble answer which the
laity have made to the appeal of the, clergy for theirsupport, and
upon the 'liberality with which they have assisted you in raising
£10,670 in donations; and £420 in annual subscriptions in seven
weeks, in order to continue to you that liberty with which the
protestant reformation has set us all free, the liberty for you to
teach, and for us to hear and read the whole un:nutilated word

of Go'd without let or hindrance from the authority of man.
" FM. this the first reformers forfeited their lives,..—for this
we contend, and this is what you, the clergy of the Church of
England, will never attempt to deny us. But while we value
this inestimable privilege we are not disposed, I hope, to abuse
it. To the church as the great keeper of our bible—to you as
its Christian ministers, authorized, though not infallible inter-
preters, we shall ever apply firr assistance in the comprehension
of its truths;—to your discretion, unfettered and unrestricted,
we am, willing to commit the children of our poorer protestant
brethren, who, I rejoice to say, have proved themselves to be of
the same mind -with us in this great cause, and we should con-
sider you as unjust stewards, unworthy of your vocation, if you
trustedthe children of your communion to strange teachers,
over whom you had no controul during school. hours, and were
content with the niggardly permission of giving to them that
religious instruction. which is the most important part of educa-
tion, amid the Confusion and disorder of a school-room when
the schoel-houses are closed.
• " Education without religion is a curse instead of a blessing,
and religion without doctrine is like faith without works, a body
without a soul, dead and vain—signifying nothing.
" In conclusion, sir, I thank God that this vain attempt to
abridge the liberty of the protestant reformation has been made,
because I trust that we shall now, clergy and laity, roused by a
sense of mutual danger, join heart and hand in defence of our
common christianity, and in support of that established church,
which, as the enlightened advocate of civil and religious liberty,
and an integral part of the British constitution, is an object of
interest, not to its members alone, but to the whole of that com-
munity who wish for the preservation of rational christianity,-
and the safety of that mixed monarchy, King, lords, and coin-
mons, under which, by God's mercy, we have enjoyed our liber-
ties so long, and which, by God's help, we are prepared and de-
termined, fearlessly, resolutely, and firmly to defend."
On the conclusion of his address, Mr. Aspinall presented the
Rector with a silver trowel, bearing the following inscription
" This trowel was presented to the .Rev. Jonathan Brooks,
A.M., senior Rector of Liverpool, by James Aspinall, Esq.,
treasurer, upon the occasion of laying the first stone of the
Church of England Schools, built bv.voluntary contributions,
on Monday, the sth September, 1836,"
Several coins of the present age, and the brass plate. having
being placed in the receptaCle appropriated for them, the stone
was adjusted. . .

The Hey. ItEcTott,Bnooks then
.stepped forwards, and spoke
nearly as follows':---" Mr. Aspinall, and gentlemen, my t►,rst
duty is to express to you the pride, and satisfaction which I feel,

_ . .
at the honour which the committee have been pleased, to confer
.
upon me, in appointor, me to fay the first stone pf ,tbis huild-
hit: M 3; 3ii6ii'd. 61),i0,:e i's' Co etiieefi ,!;iziV/ eAr','t)tilil i.t NVtliit

Could add to the gratification, it has been to receive from your
bands this instrument of my work, both upon private and
Public grounds. Upon private grOunds, sir, because it gives
me au opportunity of ackuowledgin,g the friendship, and in-
timacy which has so long subsisted between us ; and on public
grounds, because you have shown to great a degree of in-
terest in a work we are so immediately concerned in.—
Sir, ' when the rectors of Liverpool, in conjunction with the
whole of the clergy,—not only of this parish but of its home-
diate neighbourhood, for I will not advert to solitary exceptions,
—when they thought it incumbent 011 them in the conscientious
discharge of their duty to make a call on their fellow-townsmen
to enable them to substitute new schools,---;schools in which the
word of Gud.should be taught in its original extent and freedom
and purity,—When they did that, sir, they could .hardly have
hoped, however Confident they might have been that the cause
which they advocated was based on the word of eternal truth,
yet they could hardly have ventured to expect, or hiipe, that
that appeal Would have been responded to in so liberal, in so
gratifying, and in so efficieut a manner as it has been. (Hear.)
Tney could hardly have ventured to hope that in a few weeks
they could be placed in a situation to erect buildings able to
accommodate the children of rhe poor to a much larger extent
than those schools they had lost—(hear and cheers)—and that
they Should have raised a snot amounting very nearly to
£ll,OOO. (Cheers.) Now, sir, Liverpool, from a small and
insignificant town, has, during the last century, raised itself to
a high rank in the class of commercial towns; by the noble
spirit and public eriterkize of her inhabitants she has gained a
degree of prosperity which has been equalled by very few, if by
any others, and certainly has been surpassed by none. Her
beneYoleuce aud her liberality have kept pace with the increase
of her wealth, and she has .to boast of her many institutions
which are calculated to inapt-eve the condition and promote the
temporal happiness of her people, and also to relieve the wants
and sufferings of those amongst her sons whom misfortune, or
sickness, or the casualities of life have brought into that situa-
tion to want assistance. But, sir, the reason that has given
rise to our present meeting, has developed another and a nobler
feature in the character of her population: (Cheers.) It has
shown the uprising as one man to preserve untainted that trea-
sure which is beyond all price, a clinging, well worthy of chris-
tians, to that sacred revelation of Him who died to redeem us.
(Hear.) This, sir, has proved that though they are occupied in
the bustle of secular engagements, and are busy in the concerns
of time, yet they also have proved that they are sensibly alive
to the more important interests of Eternity. They have proved
that the principles of the Reformation are not evanescent or
extinct—that they are still the boast of Englishmen—that the
spirit of a Luther still animates the Protestants of England—
(hear)—that that great man, though dead, still speaketh,
and that the words that our own venerable and illustrious
Martyr addressed to his fellow-sufferer at the stake, are not
words to be soon forgotten—that they were truly and strictly
prophetic ; " Master Ridley, we shall light a candle this day in
England which shall never be put out." (The assetnbled mul-
titude here burst into three cheers, which were echoed by the
children.) Now, sir, what was the great principle of the Re-
'formation but liberty of conscience secured by the free and un-
shackled use of the scriptures? It was the declaration of one
'Of the most religious and moral monarchs that ever swayed the
sceptre of these realms, that "he should be glad to see the day
when every cottager in his dominions had a bible and was able
to read it." Sir, that wish was well worthy of a British and a
Christian King. Society after society has been formed to
'make that wish effectual, and if every cottager in the kingdom
has not a bible now, and I might almost say too, is not able to
read it, it is not because he cannot, but because he will not
read it. (Hear,) Now, sir, since, that never-to-be-forgotten
meeting which was held at the Amphitheatre—(loud cheering)
—aspersions have been thrown and cast on the clergy; in the
bitterness of disappointment they have had motives the most in-
famous attributed to them, and they have been charged with sanc-
tioning a falsehood in the assertion that the Bible was excluded
from the Corporation Schools. (Hear and Cheers.) Sir, the
thorny path of polemical controversy is quite foreign to my
habits and disposition, and I never enter on the very boundary;
but when a sense ofduty calls upon me to defend my faith, or ex-
press an opinion, I trust( never shall be found wanting to perform
it in a steady, and unflinching manner. (Cheers.) Now, how
stands the case with regard to this charge thrown on the clergy ? I
deny its truth, and have only to advert to two simple facts,
which I trust will put it in a right light, and prove to you that
they were justified in their conduct. The first simple fact is
this, that the present Town Council, at the recommendation
,of
this education committee, did positively, and unreservedly
resolve to adopt a system of education which is called the Irish
Board system. This fact is uncoutrovertible; it has been at-
teempted to be defended, but never to be denied. Now, sir,
the other fact is this, which is equally notorious. That system
was formed for the particular circumstances of the country in
which it was to be used, and the object of it was this, to endea-
vour to bring together two opposite, and contending parties.
In doing so, the Protestants would not receive the Roman Catho-
lic version of the scriptures, aud the Roman Catholics would not
receive the protestant version. It was, therefore, determined
that there sh wuld be no version at all, but a selection was to be
made by the Church of England ministers, by Roman Catho-
lic priests, and by Presbyterian ministers, who should endea-
vour to steer clear of all, and put the Bible itself, as a whole,
out of the question. (Hear, hear.) How then dues it stand
in Liverpool ? The resolution has been adopted, and the
system introduced. The very essence of the system is tie
non-admission of the Bible as a whole, and how is it possible to
draw any other inference, or come to any other conclusion, but
that the Bible is excluded as a whole. (Hear.) I trust we
shall bear no more of the clergy of Liverpool sanctioning false-
hood. Sir, if we wanted any further justification, we should
find it in the general expression of feeling which has responded
to Our call—a feeling net confined to the town of Liverpool, but
extended to e;ery remote corner of the island, and not confined
to the members of the Church of England, but also freely and
boldly expressed by many respectable members of our dissent-
in, brethren • and truly we could not wish for more complete
j laitication brethren;
this. 'I
conceive it to be the glorious distinc-
tion or the town of Liverpool that that system has received its
death-blow here—(the audience here again burst into a simul-
taneous cheer, which was thrice repeated)—and I know not; sir,
that we can better deal with it than by burying it under the foun-
dation-stone of this building. (Cheers.) I shall beg leave to
advert in a few words to the beneficial effects we hope may be
produced by the work of this day, and then conclude. We live
in an age, sir, in which the cultivation, of
_the mental faculties
And the diffusion of knowledge is exceeding any thing of former
times. What has been called " the march of intelligence" has
almost progressed with giant strides, and we have been taught
to expect that the time is not far off when the free exercise of
reason is to secure the happiness of many. But, sir, we must
not allow ourselves to be deluded by such specious theories
as this—we must not allow philanthropy to usurp the throne
of God. (The audience here again gave three loud cheers.)
It is quite true, sir, that it is our duty to improve our rational
faculties; they are the gift of God, and no gift of His is with-
out its use; but let us read that book which informs us of our
duty, and we shall find no authority there for resting on such
vain faculties. They are blessings, and only blessings, when
they are under the controul and guidance of Christian pi inciples,
andwhen they want that controul, they are capable of and most
likely to be perverted to the worst of purposes aud to make
their possessors the greatest enemies to the peace of society. Sir,
it is a narrow-minded philanthropy which confineth its views
to the present world, and careth not for the souls of men. That
system which is the best, is that which makes a provision for
the impruvement in sound, religious, and moral instruction of
those who are taught. Sir, the money, or the temporal pro-
perty which a parent leaves to his child may be dissipated and
dispersed—may be taken away by the common casualities of
life, or. 1 need not tell you, especially in a commercial
town like this, how frequently property may change its hands,
and literally make to itself wings and fly away ; but a
truly religious education amidst all the uncertainties and trials
of life is never lost, and is a balm to sooth every sorrow, and is
the richest possession a man can have. Such is the education
we propose to give in the building which is to be erected on
this ground, and we trust we shall be able to make the child-
ren of this town able well to do their duty to their God, to their
parents, to themselves, and to society, aud to live as good chris-
tians,and good men. ( Hear.) I have no more subjects to ad-,
vert to. I appeal to that God who searcheth the heart, and
who alone can know the motives and feelings by which we are
actuated in this attempt to add to His glory and the benefit of
our fellow-creatures, that He will shower down His blessings
on our undertaking, and prosper the work which we have just
commenced.
On the rev. gentleman concluding, the assembled multitude
gave three enthusiastic cheers, iu which the children as heartily

joined.
The Rev. C. I'. GLADWIN then read the following prayer,
the meeting standing uncovered:-
0 Eternal God. mighty in power, of majesty incomprehen-
sible, who bast promised thine especial presence where even two
or three shall be gathered together in thy name, vouchsafe, we
beseech thee, to be present with us who are now assembled to-
gether. to found a school in which those Holy Scriptures which
thou hast caused to be written for our learning may be freely
taught, uncorrupted by the oppositions of science, falsely so
called, unmixed with the doctrines and traditions of men.
" 0 thou who didst command that the little children should be
brought unto thee, and didst declare it thine especial office to
preach the Gospel to the poor, be pleased, we beseech thee, to
accept the dedication of this place to thine own appointed work,
and vouchsafe to prosper this religious undertaking.
Bless those who have contributed by. their bounty towards
it, and forget not the labour of their love in promoting the study
of thy Holy Word. Let their eyes behold the success of their
designs for the service of thy true religion established amongst
us, and grant that those children who shall enjoy the blessing of
scriptural education through their means, may show forth its
fruit in,holv, obedience to thine undefiled law, and dutiful alle-
giance to die powers on earth ordained by thee.
So that truth and' justice, brotherly kindness and charity,
devotion and piety, concord and unity, with all other virtues,:
may so flourish amongst us that they may be the stability of our
times, and make our church a praise in all the earth, through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
After which the children, as before, sangLan appropriate
hymn, the crowd joining.
The Rev. Rector Bauoks then pronounced tbe blessing ; and,
the multitude, after giving three tremendous cheers, dispersed
at about half-past one o'clock, the children walking in order to
their several destinations.