The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-03-03 00:00:00

ST. DAVID'S DAY.

DIVINE SEB.VICE.-SCHOOL EXAMINATION.-
FESTIVITIES.

St. David's Day having this .year fallen on a Sunday,
the anniversary of the patron saint of Wales was celebra-
ted in this town yesterday, and with the usual enthusi-
asm, by the natives of the principality.
In the forenoon, the children of the Welsh Charity
School, in Russell-street, about 400 in number, attended
by their teachers aid numerous benefactors, walked in
procession, with flags and banners, to St. David's Church,
Brownlow-hill, to attend divine service. The Rev. Mr.
Hughes, incumbent of the church, the Rev. David Parry,
vicar of Llywel, the preacher for the day, Ellis Jones,
Esq., the honorary secretary, and a number of other gen-
tlemen headed the procession. The children were well
and neatly attired, and their countenances beamed with
satisfaction.

The sermons in aid of the schools were preached in the
Welsh language, on Sunday last, at the same church, by
the Rev. David Parry, of 13recknockshire (berore named).
The congregations were unusually large, filling every part
of the church.

Yesterday, divine service was performed, on the arrival
of the procession, at the same church, commencing at
half-past ten o'clock, after which a most appropriate and
eloquent sermon was preached by the same reverend
divine. He selected for his text that well-known passage
recorded in Deut. vi., 6, 9. In his introductory remarks
he showed that the "commandments" alluded to in the
text, formed part of the conditions on which Jehovah made a
grant of the land of Canaan to the Israelites for an everlast-
ing inheritance. Having arranged the matetials contained
in the passage under four different heads, he proceeded,
under the first, to describe the nature and requirements of
the moral law as a rule of life, and represen!ed it as a holy,
comprehensive, universal, perfect, righteous, good, and
perpetual rule. His iliustrations of each of these points
were remarkably simple and striking. Under the second
head he showed that a necessity existed for this divine
rule to be engraven on the heart, for out of it are the
issues of life; and that every attempt to improve the
morals of men would prove ineffectual except it com-
menced with the inward man—the spirit—the soul—the
heart. His third division embraced the imperative duty,
which lay upon all ranks and classes of society to instruct
the rising generation in the law of God. It was God's
injunction. No child was born into the world with in
nate knowledge of divine things. Not to teach the chil-
dren of the poor was to deal unfairly by them. And to
expect them to discharge the various duties of life to the
satisfaction of their friends and the public, without in-
struction, was hard and unreasonable. Under the last
general proposition, he urged with great point and fervor,
the duty of using diligence in training up the 400 children
now in the Welsh Charity Schools in the way they should
go; and made a very touching appeal to the natural
affection of parents for their children, with immediate
reference to their eternal wellbeing. We regret that want
of room prevents us from giving at greater length the
materials placed in our hands. The sermon was a rich
mine of biblical divinity. The collection after the ser-
mons amounted to about £2O.
After the service the children and their benefactors
returned in procession to the school, and their fine appear-
ance attracted numerous spectators. The number of
children now educated at this excellent establishment is
180 boys, 110 girls, and (in a separate room) about 120
infants. Amongst those present at the examination of
these interesting juveniles were Thomas Roberts, Esq..
president; Ellis Jones, Esq., secretary ; Owen Williams,
Esq., chairman of the committee; Jonathan Hughes,
Esq. ; John Jones, Esq. ; John Hughes, Esq. (surgeon);
and the following Rev. gentlemen :—William Hughes,
David James, Thomas Harries, and Thomas Jones.
Amongst the female visitors were the lady of the Rev.
D. Parry, the Misses Ktffin, &c.
Prayer being offered up by the Rev. W. Hughes, the
children sung a hymn in a tasteful and affecting manner.
The girls then read a chapter from the Old Testament,
and aptly replied to questions upon it put by the clever
and anxious mistress, Mrs. Cotteen. They afterwards
went through chatechetical questions with equal adroitness.
Two girls then repeated a whole chapter from the Bible,
showing a great exercise of memory. The boys went
through similar biblical lessons, responding to questions
by their attentive master, Mr. Frederick Edwards. A
little boy, Joseph Daniel Thomas, repeated to admiration
the 4th chapter of Proverbs in Welsh. Another, William
Hill, pronounced a very feeling address to the directors
and subscribers in behalf of himself and his school
fellows, expressive of their unbounded gratitude to their
benefactors in imparting to them the blessings of in-
struction
which they enjoyed at the school.
The PRESIDENT then addressed the children in a most
feeling and energetic manner, dwelling on the advantages
of a religious education, complimenting the scholars and
their teachers, and urging the former to good conduct
through life, and to love one another, by which they
would arrive at respectable stations in life, and be
amongst the blessed hereafter.
The Rev. WILIAM HUGHES, incumbent of St. Ravid's,
then addressed the meetrig. He said he was sure they
had all witnessed the proceedings of the day with great
satisfaction and delight. The person who has to educate
the young was placed in a very important situation. The
impression made in a school developed itself in after
years. Time present in a school was, in reality,. the
moulder of time to come. There was a sense in which
God had committed the destinies of future years into
their hands, and in proportion as they were faithful to the
trust thus reposed in them, would succeeding ages-call
them blessed. They had ascertained that day that those
intrusted With the responsible duty of training the youth-
ful minds in those schools, discharged their duty in a
manner highly creditable to themselves : the supporters
and friends of the institution would rejoice to find that
their design was properly, truly, and effectually carried
out. He hoped the young ones instructed there duly con-
sidered that there was a debt of gratitude due to the con-
ductors and patrons of the schools; and as they were not
only trained for time, but likewise for eternity, they ought
,to reflect that their responsibility, as subjects of the moral
government of God, was greatly enhanced. Occasions
like the present, he said, served to stimulate their zeal in
extending, as far as it was in their power, the benefits of
a religious education, for they were convinced that educa-
tion based upon Scripture, and inculcating religion, was
the best—(hear, hear)—and, in fact, the only system of
instruction calculated to make the poor, good subjects,
useful members of society, yea, good Christians. Let
the religion of Jesus find its way to the cottage of the
poor; it might not raise them to honours in this world,
but it made them new creatures, it made them men of
whom the world was not worthy ; it might not bring
earthly riches there, but it communicated contentment in
poverty--and the poor man contented in his poverty was
a more noble and dignified being than the rich man rest-
less and dissatisfied in his riches.

Thanks were then voted to the Rev. Mr. Parry for his
valuable services on Sunday and yesterday.
The Rev. D. PAMRY disclaimed having merited so high
a compliment, and in a pathetic manner exhorted the
children to attend to the instruction given them by their
benefactors, and as he thought it probable that in the
course of human affairs he would not again meet them,
bade them an affectionate farewell.

Prizes of books, bibles, histories, &0., to the boys, and
books, combs, and brushes, to the girls, were then dis-
tributed by Ehis Jones, &c. The children had afterwards
given to them two buns and a penny each, and the pro-
ceedings closed by their singing " God Save the Queen."