The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-03-10 00:00:00

MANCHESTER PROTESTANT OPERATIVE
ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of this Association was held in the
Corn Exchange, Manchester, on Tuesday, when the im-
mense building was densly crowded by a highly respect-
able audience. Fifty clergymen were present. The speak-
ers were the Rev. Hugh Stowell (chairman), the Revds.
Hugh M'Neile, J. H. Maguire, W. Huntingdon, W.
Charlton, H. W. M`Grath, T. Lowe, and W. Read. All
the resolutions were passed in the most enthusiastic man-
ner. The speech of the evening was that of the Rev. H.
M,Neile, who was very warmly received. The following
is a mere outline of his able speech. He said—" The
Jesuits were the master workers of a master system. That
system he called a master system, because it was arranged
exactly to suit the ay stem of human nature. The Jesuits
were taught metaphysics—they were taught the workings
of the human mind, and suited their system to these work-
ings, The Romish system was constructed upon a very
deep view of human nature ; and the great object it had in
view was to keep man satisfied with himself upon the whole
without any real change—acting upon his fears and indul-
ging his love of sin, as his fears and his self indulgence alter-
nately prevail. It was, he repeated, constructed for the
purpose of keeping man as he is, content with himself all
his life long, without any real change of heart towards God.
Romanism had no intention to save men—its intention
was to play on men, and make money of them. But why
tell these facts—why expose the falsehoods connected with
their simplest statements ? It was to warn Protestants.
The chairman had alluded to a letter which'he saw in the
last Record newspaper, where a priest wrote concerning a
young lady, who was taken to a convent at Hammersmith
—and the priest said the young lady had not seen a priest
at all. It was very extraordinary that they could not even
in a small matter like that write truth. He (Mr. M`Neile)
happened to know the young lady referred to, and her fa-
ther—and he happened to know the young lady did see a
priest by stealth, and that he (the priest) did write to her
long ago, and planned her leaving her father's house. And
now they wrote she had gone there as an encouragement
to others ; and that she had not seen a priest at all. Tht
Rev. Gentleman then read theletter, which was as follows:
" Chapel House, Chelsea, Feb. 10, 1846.
" The Rev. Mr. Sisk presents his compliments to Miss—, and
requtsts to be permitted to her the enclosed, which is from a
true and fervent friend. He is not unacquainted with her his-
tory, which is, and has been, that of many others. He has now
on the point of reception, et Hammersmith, a .ady who perse-
vered thirteen months in opposition to the efforts of a violent
father. She never saw a priest or a chapel, till where she now is.
She is the daughter of Major-General Sir W. D—. Whatever
the writer of this can do, he will be most happy to perform
Persevere—persevere,—what does it profit a man to gain the
world, and lose his soul."
Mr. Sisk wrote that the young lady " never saw a priest
till where she now is." Now he (Mr. M,Neile) said she
did, and the young lady was his authority. (cheers.) And
be hereby challenged Mr. Sisk to come forward and deny it
The rev. gentleman then called the attention of the meet-
ing to the instrumentalities by which true religion could
be maintained in this country—the one was by the consti-
tuted authorities of the country, and the other was by the
people being so instructed in true religion, and so deter-
mined to maintain it, that even if the authorities turned
against it, the people would not have it thrust from them.
The authorities had long maintained true religion. Chris-
tianity was part and parcel of the law of the land. But
that instrumentality was no longer to be looked to. Our
constituted authorities bad given it up—they had not been