The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-05-15 00:00:00

C HURCH. EXTENSION IN SCOTLAND.

sin, they must have recourse to another system than that of the
dissenters, which they knew was the voluntary one, and which
had beenefoend to act pretty well in certain situations and under
On Prides, a in-ether was held in the Music-hall, Bold-street,
certain circumstances—that is, it does well where the people
in aid of the extension of church accommodi in Scotland
aton coan.. have the' means, and so far appreciate the gospel as to he willing
The meeting Wits numerously and respectably attended, and on to pay for it; but it was totally useless where there was nothing.
the PlatfOrm were some of the most distinguished clergymeuof Shut poverty and want ; atid. hence it was that they might travel
this town, besides the. deputation (rain Scotland. Amongs far and wide in the Highlands of Scotland, where the parishes
others present, we observed:—Rev, Dr. gal t were thirty or ferry miles lone, and from twenty to thirty miles
Ph, Rev. J. Palk, broad, without ever meeting with such a thing as a dissenting
Rev. W. Storey, Roseneath ; Rev. F. Ould, Rev. H. 111'Neile, place of worship, and fir that reason, that in the highways and
Rev. Mr. James, of the Welsh Church,. Rev. Mr. Glass, Duiri- hedges labourers are required where no voluntary minister can
afferd to labour, and where only endowed ministers can afford
mich, George Grant, Esq., C. S. Parker, Esq., Duncan Gibb, to go—visiting people in their houses, and, from house to house,
Esq., Hugh Matthie, Es Alex. Boggie, Esq., Harry Gordon, teaching and exhdrting them, and in the language of the Sa-
Esq., John Pollock, Esq , &c, At the time appointed, viour, "compelling them to come in." The superiority of the
The Rev. Dr. RALPH moved that Crawford Logan, Esq, do endowed over the voluntary churches did not escape the notice
take the chair', which was seconded by Hugh Matthie, of the early reformers, and they
.as members of the established
Esq' and.'• church acknowledged the principle of endowments—they ac-
carried. . .
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the business of the meeting, knowledeed tbein not only as lawful and expedient, but as
said *stfrictly Lriptural ;and that it
_yeas one of the important duties
he must. claim' their indulgence for a few minutesawhile he
a eovernment to make provision for the religious and *moral
stated what he conceived was the object that had called them "" •
education of the people. With a deep sense of that truth they
together. From a prospectus which he held in .his hand, and had goanneato goveiueneot and laid the wants of the people before
of which probably some of his reverend friends around him then, would speak, he understood that it was to show the great Want . requested them to come to their assistance in this
.hoeumr 'of spiritual need. . That government would see it was its
of church accommodation for the people of Scoe.!and, both in , duty to do so, be had fain hoped; but whether the government
the large towns and in the rural districts. ( Hear.) If he had , (lid so or t they, as churchmen, must do their duty, that
stated the object of the meeting correctly, it was obvious it was theyno ' - ' "
therebyii might bring the government to a sense of what he
a work of charity, which would not admit of political discussion.l conceiver was due from them. They had asked the govern-
nor hostility to the dissenters, and with that impression he had
.
. inept to endow, not to build, the churches; they were willing to
consented to take the chair that day. (Applause.)
do that themselves, government would do the
The Rev. JOHN PARK then offered up a prayer for the Divine in ' if the other, and
was to assist the building department that the clergy and
blessing, and it
elders of the church of Scotland solicited their aid and co-opera-
The Rev. PIELDEN OULD rose to move the first resolution. tion. That the church of Scotland had been so long before it
He said he should perhaps have better consulted his own feele Shad moved in' this matter, could be no reason for their now
ings that day by remaining a silent auditor, he confessed,, he- 'Withholding their support. If she had been remiss, it was
was anxious to hear those who were well able to give him infer- surely something that she was now determined to be so no
'nation on the subject which tanist be interesting toevery church-, longer. They could not begin to do good too soon; but the fact
man. But when he was appealed to by some gentlemen on that was, that it was not till lately, when the most searching investi-
platforne to show by his presence his sympathy with them 'in . gation had taken place, that those best informed on the subject
that great and glorious cause, he found he could not, consistently- had any idea that such want and destitution existed in the land,
with the dictates of his conscience, refuse to be there. (Hear.) and it had not been iu their power to remedy it as it now was.
And he thought there weS not an individual then present that Besides; by a partidular act, if churches were built in any pa-
would not only agree with him that by being there and taking riSh, thelnitttinage of the new church was seized, and therefore
:part with his ,GiariStisin firetOeta who had come south of the people %Kahl not coin forward ; but.that act bad been repealed
Tweed, he was in hissright plaik but that it was his duty to take by the exertions of the 'member for Dumbartonsbiree—(applause)
every legitimate means to furtheieheirgreat object. (Applause.) —and as one *effect that had resulted in the laatiteree years, 180
They would all eetiollict theesctisatiOn created by the statement new churches bad been built, or were in the course of building.
of the Bishop of .Landon that there-Were:five millions of
i English- (Applausesy'ffut what had been done iu that respect was
men who were n the habit:of absenting themselves from the nothiug compared with what was necessary to be done before
house of God, and of not attending public worship of any kind, one-half the waste ground was occupied. Before he concluded,
and when he called for the building of fifty churches in Londim he would briefly refer to a pamphlet published by Mr. Collins,
alone, they would also remember how nobly his call was re- of Glasgow, who said that, from positive and personal inquiry,
sponded to, and with what liberality subscriptions were made. • he could state, on the authority of the captain of police arid'
And what was the fact concerning Scotland ? Why, that out magistrates on the one hand, and of the governor and chaplain
of a population of two and a half millions there was only accom- of Bridewell on the other, that nearly all the criminals who were
modation for little more than one million in the fabrics of the 'tiled before the one, or immured in the other, came from those
church. 50,000 might, he said, be under the care of dissenters, very places where the pehple were so destitute of church accom-
' but then there was left behind one Million of mortal souls who, modation ; while from those quarters of the city where the peo-
as far as the statements which he bed seen showed, were left to pie possessed church accommodation, in the proportion of 50, 60,
all the awful conseqUences of irreligion, ignorance, and infi- 79, or 80 in the 100, the police-office had no criminals, and
delitv that inevitably'rellowed an" habitual- absence from the bridewell had no inmates. These facts proved, beyond all
worship of God. Uoder these circumstances, their Scottish doubt, the necessity of providing spiritual instruction, and he
brethren had raised £200,000. its he understood, and had erected could strongly recommend the case to the philanthropist and
180 churches ; but threeYstiifela that number were required, and the wordly politician; on that ground it claimed their sympathy
endowments were neceeiSa'io:' far those that were erected: for and support—And if it' was entitled to their support in thee 6 re-
the latter the church ant "Scotland had appealed to the govern- specie as he maintained it was. how much more was it entitled
ment of the country, end, he lionented to say, had appealed in to their support when he appealed to them as Christians? At
vain. It was not for theta to impugn the motives of those in present, year after year, multitudes of their fellow-countrymen,
power—it was not fur:them to question the why or the wherefore who had lived in ignorance and guilt—yea, day after day, they
that reasonable reguest had been refused, but it was impossible were making their dark plunge into eternity—year after year
they should not be exceedingly jealous and indignant when they numbers were carried away in spiritual destitution ; and might
reflected that popery • was endured both at home and abroad, it never be said. that they had refused to listen to that cry, or to
while the reasonable claim of the church of Scotland bad been give of that sub Stance with which Provideuce had blessed them,
refused. Why, they had a popish bishop" at Quebec, with his to assist the destitute in the how of their need. Their interpo-
thousands a-year : another popish bishop had been sent tO Aus- sition might be the means of—saving many souls: and though
traits.
the destitute could net recompense them, they had it on the
, ..
olibigtahiet:t.rtaeurtchy°.r'i'tY'(
The CHAIRMAN interposed, and said, when he opened the
Gthraeta`t`aßplpeslasuedsease the merciful, for they shall
proceedings at' the day he had expressed the conditions on
which he took the chair, and, he hoped that the meeting would The Rev, JOHN GLASS (of the isle of Skye) next addressed
be conducted without political allusions or opposition to other the meeting, and said, as the last Speaker had called their atteu-
religious persuasion. . . * • Lion to the destitution of-lhe Lowlands, it was his province to
Mr. Ouen continued.—=lt was always his pleasure as well as call their attention to the Highlands and Islands, and in doing
his duty to bow to the chair, but when he was invited to speak so he should confine himself to .the report which had a few days
at that meeting be supposed he should be allowed to speak as he ago been printed by the commissioners appointed by her majes-
felt or he should have declined attending. (Great and lung- ty's government to inquire into the subject. He might state,
continued applause.) On that subject it was absolutely impose that the destitution of the Highlands and Islands had been long
sible to speak without making reference to the efforts of dis- known to the government; for upwards of ten years ago forty-
senters to prevent the attainment of the object of the church of two parliamentary churches had been planted, and in 'them they
Scotland. That object appeared to him to be inconsistent with had upwards of 13,000 individuals reclaimed to church-going
what was called the voluntary principles for the object was en- habits. He found, by referring to the commissioners' report,
downaents; and the advocates of voluritaryistn conceived that that they had travelled over 74 parishes, the population of which
state endowments were injurious to religion ; but while they amounted to:180,538; and he also found, that the church-sittings
professed themselves anxious to overthrow the state church they were only sufficient to accommodate 38,226, leaving nearly
would not let them have those endowments which they cow. 150,000 ef the population altogether unprovided with the means
ceived were so injurious. (Hear, hear.) Now it did appear to of grace. And in connexion with that, there was another state-
him very evident, that as church accommodation was required ment which the commission had made—it was this, that out of
in the large towns, that without going at length into the reasons the population of 180;000 there were 6,189 families, or 30,945
why the voluntaries objected to these endowments, he might individualswho se distance train their respective parish churches
briefly say, they conceived that the craft of dissent was in dan- was from six miles to thirty-seven. ( Hear, bear.) He would
ger. (Hear, hear, and great applause.) Where the church - then go to the presbytery with which he was connected, and he
was in a state of efficiency the people delighted to attend, to the would take the report of the commission with regard to it. Ac-
profit and benefit. of their souls; and it was only where the cording to the report of the commission it contained a popula-
rho rch was in a cramped and deficient state that uts.sent throve, lion of 21,559, while there were church accommodation only for
He did not mean to say that dissent had not done good; but 4150; the number of dissenters in that population amounting
that was a question whether there should be an establishmetienr to the amazing number of forty-one baptists and seventeen
not; and, while it was sanctioned by the law of the land, it was episcopalians ! So that the whole provision of church accom-
right to expect its endowment, that its borders might he.ex- modation for a population of 24,000 was for 4150. There, then,
tended to the utmost limits of the want of the population. That they foond an ample field for the exercise of voluntaryism—
was the view he took. The church of Scotland was their sister there was a field where the evangelical dissenter might go, and
church ; she held the same doctrinal truths, and, therefore, she where he would be most welcome ; —(hear, hear,)—for he (Mr.
had a right to call for brotherly sympathy on this occasion:And Glass) as one, would bail with joy and gratitude a Christian
what brother w: there whose heart would not feelfor the wrongs labourer who would preach the glad tidings of salvation to the
of a sister—who would not stand ready to alleviate the sorrows multitudes who surrounded them, who had not the means to
of a sister's heart? 'When, therefore, they saw the crippled come and hear. But the fact was, voluntaryism could not exist
state of the sister church in Scotland-aSeOtland which, in all in that country. (Great applause.) Dissenters had frequently
past time was celebrated for precise sabbathical observance_ come atnongsi them, and as frequently gone away again. and he he had never seen the saheath so religio„gie observed else- seaters had frequently attempted the plan amongst their people,
.wheree-one of her large towns having 85,000 inhabitants with. but they had again given it up—though the field was great the
out the opportunity of attending public worship, and another labourers' were few. In one parish in the presbytery, with a with 50,000 in similar circumstances, the suburbs on the Lord's day, an who were poured out into podexposeel to the disasters to lationserl3oo who resided, on an .average, tenetnitesafrom the
pulation of 4000 individuals, there was a district with a popu-
which sablath breaker§ were ever exposed—uo wonder they church. There was another district of the same parish with a
should speak out
.quickly and loudly. The Scotch church had population of 1100 residing on an average at a distance from the
sent out her missomaries into. this southern country, and be for church of nine miles. These districts were without schools or
giveo tirehwtißufileidev,i.nromit
rihs.es
jihoA"enAciakElesiastehrdeeotsn,usileipdftotruhtp6inhmisohitivloopnicu.eweiHor:ethtaviA.t.acosrepgsluel,,utdsaenol clergymen until within the last two or three years, when a school
was planted in each of them, with schoolmasters from the gene-
the opportunity to show his sympathy with the church of Scot- 179,
rat assembly. The effects were, that in one school there were
land; and though there were some differences existing between beside each of these two schools a church, and the reason was
and in the other 200 scholars. Now the object was to plant
the two churches, he rejoiced to overlook them that day because because they found the absolute necessity of ministerial super-
he recognised in the church of Scotland the principle of a intendeuce, and the necessity of ministerial visitings, to induce
church establishment. By dissent he was reminded of the tents the people to attend religious ordinances. When the plan was
of the Arabs in the wilderness, which might seem to-day to he . first proposed, some time ago, a meeting of the people was call-
. sufficient and enduring, hut to-morrow were gone; for he had
ed, because they could not well ask others to assist them
seen chapels opened for the service of God years , and not many the people showed that they wanted the schools and churches
tinless
afterwards, opened as warehouses; while the churches of the
themselves. They were, however, a little afraid, becausethey
establishment remained to bless and nourish the surrounding, knew the poverty of the people, and that they could do little for
country. And while friendly clubs, sick clubs, and other socie-
themselves, but the meeting was called, and the result was, that
ties were defended and protected by law, he hoped the religion that £6O sterling was collected as a
pocommencement, out of
of the country would not alone be without the protection of the of
oes and pecks of
which £27 was collected in barrels
arm of government, but that the principle which they there meal. • Now, it must be clear, that unless they
get endowments
maintained might triumph. (Applause.) for the churches they wished to build, they could not live.
The CHAIRMAN put the motion to the meeting, and it was
Ministers could not live on air—they must have something sub-
carried unanimously.
stautial whereon to exist; and they had thought that the best \
thing they could do was to appeal to the government. They
The Rev. JOHN IVlunnAy rose to move the next resolution. did so—they gave a gentle rap at the door of government, and
Ile said, afte- the excellent statements already given by the were courteously received and bowed in, and they were as cour-
gentlemen who had addressed them, and considerine that th ria, te,,usly bowed out again. (Laughter.) It was not merely
were many aide gentlemen to follow him, heshould"not trespass-. civilities they wanted, but deeds. (Applause.) It was not an
long on their time, but confine himself to as narrow limits as he,
,
acknowledgment of the justice of their claims they wanted, but
could, while lie laid before them the destitution of the length acts by which they could be carried out, and by which they could
and the breadth of the Lowlands of Scotland. He said Low- send the heralds of salvation to preach the unsearchable riches
lands, because he observed that he should be followed* by Mr. of Christ to their poor countrymen. There was an application
Glass, who would second the motion he had risen to propose, last yeer of a different description, and it was nobly responded
and who, as he came from the Highlands, would be better ables to : hundreds were then destitute of food, and they nobly came
to speak of their destitution than he could, or indeed anybody to their assistance; and if they hail not' done so, hundreds of
that was not a native. In his observations it might be proper their fellowlcreatures would have perished from want; but they
to begin with the city of Glasgow, the largest
.andmost popu- applied now for a different and higher object—not to put an end
lons town of Scotland, containing, as it did, according to, the to a famine of bread, but of the word of the living God, which
last census, a population of 23:5,000; of ,whom it 'had been was not the' less alarming because it was less felt. They sought
proved, after the most searching and minute investigation, that aidetrom that meeting to enable them to erect—through the
lehgth and breadth of Scotland, as well the Lowlands as the
there were upwards of 18,000 families, amounting to a gross
population of 85,000, who never mitered a place of worship of Highlands—temples to which the people might come and wor-
any kind whatever; and there were 65,000 or 66,000 for whom ship the God of their fathers. (Applause.)
t' The resolution was then put and carried,
there was no
The amountchurch accommodation of any kind whatever pro-
vided. of that destitution,. when thus stated, ,was
startling enough; out when exhibited in another point of view, , 111 Ammer) M'Gtee, Esq., at some length, and with elo-
it was appalling beyond description. What, if they were told quence, moved the next resolution. He said they wished to
that in six whole counties in Scotlandthere was not a single 'revert to the old parochial system, by which a spiritual teacher
person of any age, sect, or condition, that ever eutered a place was appointed to every 1,000 inhabitants, and that the grant
of worship, or for whom there was Any provided; yet iu the sought from the government was for the purpose of enabling
city of Glasgow alone there were as many thus situated as in them to cheapen the pew rents, so that the poor, with whom this
the six united counties of Bute, Clackmannan, Kiuross, Lin- destitution existed, could be accommodated. Their righteous
lithgow, Selkirk, and Peebles. (Hear, hear.) These were claim had not, been successful, but it must sooner or later, or
facts which they had on the authority of two of the Most famous without it their design could not be carried into effect. What-
statists of the day,
ever might be the party in power—he wished not to introduce
Here the Revs Hugh AV/sled° entered the meeting; and was party politics—but whatever party might be in power they in-
received with a burst of enthusiastic plaudits. tended again to press their righteous claim, and adopt a course
Mr. MURRAY continued when the plaudits had subsided. of peaceful agitation, until, by moral compulsion, they gut their
Those facts were proved to them by two of the most famous patriotic and righteous demand. They were told they might
statists, Dr. Cleland and Mr. Collins, after a most minute inves-
eave the spiritual instruction of the Scottish destitute poor to
tigation, and they were laid befcre the commissioners in an open the voluntary principle; but why had that principle not done
court, which was attended as well by dissenters as churchmen, it already? ' The fact was, the voluntary principle did well so
and there of course. they were likely to have been corrected far as it went—to a certain length—with those who were able
if erroneous, but it had not been attempted. That evidence and willing to pay, but not further. But their object was to
had gonp to the world in the report of thexoyal commissioners, send the means of religious instruction—not where the people
and was uncontroverted. • Indeed the only person that replied could pay, but where they could not pay. (Hear.) Again, they
admitted that he could not deny the facts; and iCturned oat were told that their scheme would be an interference with the
then, that 73,000 or 74,000 were destitute of the means of Tell- vested rightS of dissenters who bad built chapels which were in
gious instruction, by the admission of diseenters. (Hear, hear,) debt, and that the churCh extension would draw from the cha-
There was no doubt that in Glasgow=for at the end of .1835 pets of the disienters. But they disavowed any such intention.
therewere 235,000-there was 250,000 inhabitants, and nots Their intention was to minister to the miltion outcasts.of their
withitanding the number of churches erected. since that timee `population. He also proceeded to shew that city missions
both connected with the established aura and dissenters; the :cqultrtitits he yo effective as endowed ministers; and then for.
amount of destitution .et this liniment could not be less than ,:eitillt: typealed to the audience for support. He wished he had
from ninety thousand to ninety-one, theesand—for. notwithe .a pcirittasive voice, 'he Weald use it in so excellent a cause—but
standing what had been done since theOhnreh building societe he could MAY speak from the heart to the heart. In reference
commenced operations, so rapid was the increase of population, to the object he was desirous to promote, he could almost adopt
at the close Of every year the destitutiOn were greater thau ,be- the language of the poet and
'" Yea from the table of my memory
say—
fore. In Edinburgh, where the population was less—ameunts _ .
thereg the last census to a littlemore than .140,000,
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
were proved, after a most minute inquiry, to be upwards .
of 52,000 persons who never entered a place of worship Of any All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
kind, and-of these there were 40,000 for whom no provision was That youth and observation copied there;
made within the pale of the established church. But that desti-
And this alone shall live
lotion was not confined to Glasgow and Edinburgh ; the same Within the book and volume of my brain,
existed to a greater or less extent in.eyervlarge tow Unmixed with baser matter. 'n and parish -
throughout Scotland. 'He would give themn few examples, but „Dr. ANDERSON (another of the deputation) likewise spoke
lie would be as brief as possible. Ile then proceeded to state indult:Mort of the resolution. He said they had not come there
that in the abbey parish of Paisley thereevere.l2,9oB persons, on a mission or crusade against the dissenters, nor would they
for whom there was no' church accommodation provided. In touch a single stone of any of their chapels. The dissenters
the town of Kilmarnock 64136 were. destitute of religious arcom- were certainly not the standing army, as were themselves, but
modation ; in Old Markland 3140; in Dunfermland .5689; in they were volunteers in the sante cause, and were dissenters to
Hamilton 4200; .in Greenock 8050; in Newston 3093; in Old be parallysed by the church of Scotland, they should be the less
Maker 7388; in Howick 1597; and in Dumfries, till very able to make head against the mass of sin that overflowed the
lately, 6646; and in five of the parishes in the town of Dundee, land. (Cries of " Hear, bear," and applause.) He once
according to recent' statistical returns, the appalling result .of again said that it was not their intention to aggrandise their
36,624 persons deficient of church accommodation had been church at the expense of others, but they came there on the
proved;
and of these 36,000 there were b9OB capable of attend- ground of their common Christianity,
And their sole and entire
trig divine ordinances; the case was the same in every large object was, to obtain additional means to all then existing, to
town and in every large parish throughout the Lowlands :of enable them to instruct the poor in the knowledge of those truths
Scotland; and could it be supposed that matters could be other- which both dissenters and members of the established church
wise when they took into consideration that from the period of were not able now to do. Objections had been raised to their
the reformation Scotland had increased fro:none to two millions church on account of what was called its oppressive system of
and a half, while the churches had scarcely received any sensi- patronage; but that was much modified, and its patronage could
ble addition during that period. A certainnumber had certainly not be what it bad been. They came not there to obtain means
been built, but it was a fact that would astonish many there, to promote idol worship, but to throw open the temples of the
'that churches and parishes had been suppressed, and that where living God, and to unite that they may be able to invite the des-
formerly there were two or three churches there was now only titute to repose under the tree of life, which was for the healing
one, and the parishes had been. united, Even in the present of the nations. The rev. gentleman went on to reply•tcr the
century Scotland had increased in population 150,000, and arguments of dissenters against the connection of the church
during that time only about 100 churches had been built; now with the state, which he thought had brought religion to bear
if they allowed 1000 sitters to each church and 2000 persons to on the interests.of society. lie concluded with seconding the
each parish, it would receuire 425 to meet the demand—or if resolution, which was put by the chair and carried.
they took the data of Knox and the early reformers—.looo The Rev H Lieu NPNEit.E next rose, amidst great cheering.
souls to each—then during that period 850 churches ought to He said—Mr-, Chairman, as a minister of the Established
have been built. Since the commencement of the present cen- r Chnrch of England, I rejoice in the opportunity afforded me of
titre, :the dissenters in Scotland had done much to remedy ,the ' attending this meeting I was nut aware that this meeting was,
evil complained of, and hail done much to supply the deficiencye fixed forgo-day, till a friend, who, I believe is now in this room,
of the establishment in consequence of time greatly increased harithe kindness to come on hoard the steamer, in which ,l at-
population ; but the circumstances of :etch a mass of ilestitu- rived from Ireland three hours ago, to inform me that ,the
tion being exhibited to view proved beyond all doubt that the meeting was to be held to-day, in this room. If I mistake not,
dissenters were incapable of doing more than they had done; the true,question before us is one ()Oho true Church of Scots
and unless they would allow the people to live and die in their land, seeking provision for her destittite children,' oil the one