The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-05 00:00:00

Factor and lawsm-in the name of our peon, who hold t the
sceptre of a reformed government---In the name of your
children and your children's phildrett—in the name of your
church and your God, let there be no trimming or compro-
mise with Popery, whether in or out of power • never rest
till the reformed faith of our fathers fills all England and
Ireland, and the pope of Rome has not one vassal left within
the dominions of our queen. (Much applause.)
The resolution, having been put and carried,
The Rev. W. W. EWBANK rose and said—l rejoice with
all my heart and soul at the resolution I have to propose,
declaring our complete attachment to the objects of this in-
stitution. This is the first opportunity I have had of appear-
ing before you to declare my unfeigned adherence to the
principles of Protestantism. (Hear.) I will first of -all read
the resolution which it is my duty to propose—" That the pre-
sent condition of our poor Roman Catholic countrymen is such
as should engage the best symphathies, and lead to the most
strenuous efforts, of this great Christian community for their
spiritual instruction and deliverance from the bondage of
their fellow-men into the glorious liberty of the gospel of the
grace of God." We have hitherto been speaking chiefly with
regard to our own situation. You are here called upon to
sympathise first of all with others in a very different situa-
tion from that in which by God's good providence and the
exertions of your Protestant ancestors you have yourselves
been placed. It is necessary that we should duly and rightly
appreciate what Christian sympathy is. The best exhibition
of Christian sympathy we can possibly have is the sympathy
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We hold that it is not
necessary for us to have been placed at any time exactly in
the situation of those for whom we are to feel. But it is ne-
cessary that we should have a distinct and perfect under-
standing with regard to the actual condition in which our un-
fortunate brethren are placed, and be able tightly to appre-
ciate the blessing we enjoy in having the holy scriptures, and
the right to exercise our private and individual judgment
upon them. God has given his word as the right of all men,
to lead them to eyerlasting salvation. (Hear, hear.) Let
me then in the first place attempt to set clearly before
you those great principles of holy Scripture by which we are
actuated, and which it is our glory and our constant enjoy-
meta to hold fast even unto the end. We hold, then, most
unreservedly, that the right of every man to read the holy
Scriptures for himself is a right which no man has ever given
him, and which no man, therefore, can ever take away.
(Hear.) It is as free to every man as the breath of heaven
and as the sun's light ; and youmay with just as lunch reason
incarcerate a man, put him actually in prison, as take away.
from him that glorious Gospel which God in his mercy has
granted for ons salvation. (Cheers.) This is the condition
in which, in this Protestant church, we are now placed. We .
have the full power of reading for ourselves the unsearchable
riches of Christ Jesus. Now the question comes, if this be
the right, ought it not to be secured to every man in these do-
minions as his right? Is it not incumbent on our Protestant
Government, acting as God's vicegerent on earth, to see that

this right is never: taken away from any man within the
limit of these realms ? It may be" said in- answer to this,
that many willingly deprive themselves or this right.
But just take a case like the following. Suppose some de-
signing man were to administer some drug, some narcotic
medicine, to some other of his fellow-creatures, on whom he
wished for his interested purposes to practise. And suppos-
ing the man, after being thus drugged, to have a pen put
into his hand, and to be induced to sign away some temporal
inheritance. Would it be right in the government to stand
by and see this man so grossly abused and not to punish the
ungodly swindler, and protect the man from his machinations?
We are bold to say that the very same argument applies to
the holy scriptures. (Hear.) If it be a right which God
has given to every man, it is the bounden duty of every go-
vernment to sec that that right is kept to. those to whom God
has given it. Therefore we are called upon by this resolution
not only to sympathise with our Roman Catholic fellow-
countrymen who have the scriptures taken from them, but
to use our utmost exertions, our most strenuous efforts, to
enlighten them. This ought to be our first step. The go-
vernment ought to be petitioned to pass a law, which should
prevent any man ever having it in his power to take away
this great right which God has given to evey man, and
which ought to be constantly and feelingly exercised by him as
he may breathe and live. It is simply by taking away that
right that the Popish priests in every part of the world
are to exercise that unjust authority and dominion which
they do exercise over the consciences of our unhappy bre-
thren. Just let me read one or two quotations to show you
the power the Romish priests thus acting have over the con-
sciences of others. The passages I shall quote are from an
examination taken on oath before a committee of parliament,
which is not mere ex parte statements, not mere vague
reports, but sworn testimony. and we may therefore very
fairly believe them. This is the evidence of a person who
was asked with regard to the cursing of a woman :

"Q. Were you in the chapel on the day of the cursing ? A. I
was.—Q. Did you hear it? A. I did.—Q.—What did the priest
say ? A. I'll he bound he cursed her well. " I asked," says the
writer, " some more questions, but the man seemed disinclined to
answer, and I did not press hint." The next witness came, pro-
mising to tell all about it, to oblige Mr. ; but evincing the
greatest dislike to be known to have done so. 'Q. Were you
in .
Q. Did you hear it? A. I did.—Q. At what mass? A. At second
mass.—Q. Did the priest give a reason for cursing the woman ?
A. tie said it was for going here and there.—Q. What did he mean
by that ? A. ecause she was to and fro, going sometimes to mass
and sometimes to church.—Q. What did he say to her ? A. He said
enough, I'll be bound. Q. What did he say ? A. He cursed every
inch of her carcass. Q. Did he bid the people not to speak to her ?
A. He desired them not to speak to her, or deal with her, or have
anything to do with her.—Q. Did he curse her child? [the poor
creature was pregnant at the time.] He cursed everything that
would spring from her.—Q. Did he say anything about the child
she was carrying—did he curse the fruit of her womb ? A. I did
not hear him say that : he cursed every thing that would spring
from her.—Q. How was he dressed ? A. He threw off the clothes
he had on, and put on a black dress.

Here we 'may remark, that the idea of these deluded men is,
that the priest, out of his vestments, has not this extraordi-
nary power; but that as-soon as he puts on these clothes,
the curses will be registered in heaven.
Q. Did he do any thing with candles ? A. ' 7'is the way : the
clerk quenched all the candles but one, and himself put out that,
and said, " So the light of heaven was quenched upon her soul ;"
and he shut a book, and said, the gates of heaven were shut upon
her that day.—Q. What do you mean by saying "he cursed every
inch of her carcass? A. He cursed her eyes, and her ears, and her
legs, and so on every bit of her.—Q. What did you think of such
things? A. I wished myself at Carminole— [a proverbial ex-
pression]. Q. What do you mean by that? A. I wished myself a
thousand miles off trout such a thing.—Q. Did the rest of the people
in the chapel seem to like it? A. How could they like it? They
all disliked it,: some were crying, some women fainted.—Q. Did
:Inv one speak to the priest about it? A. I'll be bound they did
i•us ; they left bins to himself—they would be in dread of their
lives to stir."

The priest to all intents and purposes is their god, their medi-
um : they dare not look up to heaven for themselves. They
cannot behold the face of Jesus Christ, except through
the medium of their priests. And it is to deliver your fel-
low-men from such dismal bondage as this, that you are called
upon to unite all your exertions,—to unite in such institu-
tions as this, and especially to cultivate the holy scriptures,
without which it will be impossible to do anything to remove
the darkness from these unhappy men. (Applause.) With
regard to the difference between protestantism and popery, I
should wish to draw another distinction, in order to set the
matter clearly before us. You may call protestantism reli-
gion, and popery superstition. I will explain what I mean.
It may appear pedantic to be always going to the derivation
of words, but it is sometimes the only way to get clear ideas
of things. Religion means that by which a man is bound.
What can a man be bound except the commandment of a
God. Nothing else can bind a man in the first instance ; for
every temporal commandment can only bind him as it is
founded on the commandment of God. Therefore I say this
is protestantism—the being bound simply by the command-
ment of God, as He has been pleased to reveal it to us
in holy scripture. It is the religion of the bible, the whole
bible, and nothing but the bible. (Cheers.) Look again at
Popery. We call it superstition. What is the meaning of
superstition ? Simply a standing above the foundation ; not
coming down sufficiently deep. One foundation has been
laid for us—the bible, and Christ in the bible; and on this
the church must stand. The church that cannot find itself
in the I)ible is no church at ail. We say of Popery that it is
essentially superstition. It requires a man to take his stand
above the foundation. It never allows a man to go deep and
far enough. All the doctrines of Popery may be resolved
into this word " superstition." The not being
satisfied with the revelation of God—not giving at once
to God through Jesus Christ, but stopping short in the
creature. From this simple fact we deduce all the doctrines
of transubstantiation, the worshipping of saints and angels,
the deifying of the priests, the trembling before a fellow-man.
(Hear.) Believing this most firmly and fully, and believing
that now is the time, if ever, for us to exert ourselves—see-
ing the dangers without us, and seeing so clearly the danger
already alluded to, which is within our own church ; I have
the greatest pleasure and satisfaction in joining myself, and
giving my humble testimony to the worth of, such institu-
tions as this ; and I can only say, God speed them, and may
we all go forward, not in our own strength, but in the strength
of the living God, as religious men holding forth the Word
of life, exhorting men to read and study the Bible for them-
selves, acting as ministers of the gospel, not as having do-
minion over men's faith, but as being helpers of their joy,
always reminding them that it is by faith they stand, that the
work.of faith must be that which passes between the soul of
man and God himself, and that no priest, no minister of the
gospel, can ever perform any opus operatum for them, but
that they must look up to God alone through Jesus Christ.
(Loud applause.)
The Rev. W. Kim, of Norwich, seconded the resolution.
It is not said the rev. gentleman, in the language of any
common-place that I say I rise to second the resolution
which has just been read, in a spirit of very great timidity
and apprehension—not that my heart is not warm in this
cause, but because I am deeply sensible how deficient I am
as an advocate of that cause. Many a time since I came into
this room, and saw around me the array of talent here col-
lected, and saw this splendid assembly, the most splendid,
the most magnificent that my eyes ever beheld, have I at-
tempted to ask myself " Why, my good friend, has any body
brought you here so many hundred miles away from your 'own
home ? what business have you in such an assembly as this,
otherwise than as a pleased and delighted and gratified. and
a profited hearer." And as many times have I been tempted
to ask " What can possibly have induced the Committee of
the Liverpool Protestant Association to ask onelike me to
come from such a distance to address them, who has little
else than a warm heart, and ordinary zeal to bring to the aid
of such a cause ?" The little energy and the little power
that I might possess, by the energetic and powerful eloquence
of my brother and friend Mr. Stowell, has been thrilled and
drawn out of my poor brains. But, sir, I should be guilty
of affectation did I pretend to be ignorant of the motives
which actuated the committee of this association in asking.
me to come here. 1 can appreciate, and with gratitude, the
motive which actuated the committee. It was simply this :
Being thrown by the force of circumstances into rather a
difficult and painful position in maintaining my testimony in
my own place, the committee of this association kindly and
generously resolved, by asking me here this day, to mark
their approbation—not of the individual—but of the cause in
which he has been engaged, and of those truths and prin-
ciples which it has been his privilege, though imperfectly and
unworthily to maintain and to defend. (Hear.) I can then
quite understand the motives which actuated the committee
of this society in asking me here, and also the kindness of your
reception—a reception for which I beg to assure you I feel
most deeply grateful. Putting private feelings altogether out
of the question, 1 do assure you, Christian friends, that I
feel it to be a very high and a very distinguished honour to
have been invited to this meeting ; I wish from my heart
that I was better worthy of the invitation, and more deserv-
ing of your reception. Christian friends, I could almost
find of my heart to wish that I possessed some portion of
that power which distinguishes your own much loved and
much respected Protestant advocate, Mr. M`Neile. I speak
not, God forbid I should, as envying his gifts. No ; in com-
mon with the church of Christ in these realms, I rejoice in
them ; and I rejoice in them a hundred-fold more than if
they were possessed by myself. I speak not in the language
of flattery, albeit I speak in his presence. for flattering lips,
like lying lips, are an abomination to the Lord; but I speak
in the spirit of sincere and devoted thankfulness to my
God who has bestowed him as a rich and precious gift upon
his church in these realms. (Hear, hear, hear.) Sir. I
look upon him arid those other advocates whom God has so
richly and rarely endowed, to stand in the breach in these
dark and dangerous times, as'
so many tokens of his faithfulness
and long suffering, and loving-kindness towards his church—
(hear, hear);—and if I desire a small portion of their talents,
eloquence, and zeal, it is not because- I wish to gain your
favour or to win your applause, but in order that I might
be more worthy of using them in defending those truths, and
those privileges, and those principles, and those institutions
which are so near and sio dear to all our hearts. (Hear.)
But, sir, you know the old Latin proverb :
Non cuivis hornini cOntingit ad ire Corinthurn.
—lt does not happen to every man to go to Corinth ; and as
I am quite sure I never went, to Corinth, I can only address
to you a few • plain, , perhaps unpalatable,•truths, in a very
plain and a very humble manner. I said, sir, I esteemed it a
very distinguished honour indeed to have been desired to at-
tend this meeting_; and perhaps you will say that the reason