The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-09-15 00:00:00

of them have been transported and they would still find
some of them at Rome, for most of them were removed in
the time of Augustin ; but it was peculiarly interesting to
stand on ground consecrated by so many scriptural recollec-
tions ; where Memphis once stood there was some corn
growing on the luxuriant mountains there, and that was all
he could see of that ancient spot that once filled the world
with the celebrity of its name, with the exception that there
Were some remains of the temple of Vulcan ; the statue of
Sesostris was broken on the ground. and this was the only
memorial Of departed grandeur. On his return from Upper
Egypt he thought of another plan ; he thought that a con-
versation passing with the Pacha was extremely easy to- be
enisinte!lireted, and that what had been said should be em-
bodied in the form Of a proclamation ; that then it would be-
come a kind of law, and that it would be something the Jews
Might appeal to, and be an encouragement for them to mi-
grate to their country. But before he took the second step,
to request that the purport of their conversation should be
embodieden a proclamation, he thought it would be right to
consult the secretary of the new Consul General, Colonel
!lodges, who recommended him not to engage in any such
interference ; his reason was, that by doing so he had to
solicit the Pacha to embody the substance of what he pro-
mised in the form of a document, exercising an act of
supreme authority at the very moment the powers of Europe
we re considering whether he was empowered to exercise an
act of supreme authority ; as far as his :(Mr, G.'s) influence
went, he would be exercising them as a man who had a right
to sway osa'ay over the destinies of that land. In the end of April
thata matter would be brought toe conclusion, and he could
and
regulate his conduct accordingly. The matter remained till
The eastern question was not settled in April,
dt•
no man was bravado enough to say when it would be
i;ichtied ; but it was a matter of deep importance that the
a
a was favourable to the return of the Jews. He (Mr.
G.) would now proceed without further delay to another
of
interesting neighbourhood, which recalled recollections
our earliest years, and which could never become extinct.
t;ne passed along the shores of the Mediterranean, from
Beyrout to Sidon, Tyre, and Cesarea ; and when they were
at
at Barnoauste,ntsh.ey heard much of the persecution of the Jews
Were The prevailing impression was, that they
guilty, and the storm of public opinion ran very high
against them. But, on the other hand, when men had time
to reflect, and the Jews gave information on the subject, and
showed the impossibility of such a charge being just—when
tto heynse' showedt that, by the law of Moses, they were forbidden
be guiltyhblooof dthoef
theyany animal and, therefore, how could
greater crime of shedding •
man for admixture
in their sacred part of the Passover—it
' the blood of a
was said, " Here a
thought that ' are the very bones ! " but he (Mr. S.)
point was cleared up by the medical roan called
on the examination of these bones, for his was a most excel-
lent argument : he said, " These the bones of a
man, but the bones an animal."
are not
as they proceeded towards It was remarkable that,
Jerusalem, there was an immense
influx of pilgrims from all parts •, and it was astonishing how
the poor Jews were insulted, plucked by-the bearrlrthrown
down by violent hands, and exposed to the severest
persecutions, on the supposition that that grievous charge
was founded on fact. (Hear, hear.) It was a fact re-
markable with respect to their Jewish mission, that, though
Nicolaison,
of the Rabbis had issued anathemas against Mr.
'-‘icolaison, and told the. Jews to be aware of the prophets of
Christianity, yet in the hour of need, when they were anxious
tosee whether some one would not go Damascus for them con-
cerning the charge brought against them, who did they go
to but to the Jewish mission beseeching them with prayers
that they would stand forward in their behalf, and that they
would vindicate them from such a calumny. They entrusted
this mission, their character to them. The poor Jews said,
Who can we go to but the English? the English, as more
Particularly the mission to the Jews, come forward and
uphold our cause. and may the God of Abraham, of
Isaac, and of Jacob, go with you. (Applause.) The
entrusted;
consequence was that to Mr. Peritz the full question was
and Mr. Peritz was the instrument for first giving
a new force and impulse to public opinion, and standing for-
Ward as the champion of the innocence of the Jews. He
(Mr. G.) afterwards visited Jerusalem ; but, oh! how could
le express the feelings of his heart when Jerusalem first
burst upon his view? blt was an overwhelming sensation;
It was a concentration' of all that could appeal to the convic-
tions of his conscience, to the recollection of his earlier days,
to the feelings and principles of mature life, and to the strong-
est emotions of his heart. He descended from his horse, or
rather his mule, and felt unable to sustain. himself. If he
were asked what his feelings were, he had found them ex-
Pressed in Isaiah. His heart was moved like the trees of a
wood that. are shaken by the wind." That just seemed to
.Nwess the very feelings by which he was agitated. Jerusa-
lem presented a different aspect from what he expected. It
was surrounded by walls on every side; they were about two
Ta ills round. The recollection of all the mighty scenes that
been performed within these walls and without them—
the recollection of his being in the land of patriarchs, of pro-
phets, and of apostles—where David sang the songs of Zion,
Where prophets opened the visions of -futurity, and told them
of things that were to come to pass even to the grand con-
summation of all things—and .when he saw the Mount of
(.!lives, where the disciples of their Lord were accustomed to
sing their hymns—when he beheld the garden of Gethsemane,
where
the Saviour endured his cruel agony—he could not
hisid offering up a fervent prayer that that Saviour might be
. Saviour, that he might be interested in that precious
plood, that he might be sanctified by that Holy Spirit, that
he might look to him as a Saviour, and have grace to follow
him as an example.. When he saw the brook Kedron, over
which the Saviour had so often passed ; the valley of 'Jeho-
saphat ; the field of blood, associated with the thirty pieces
of silver ; the pool of Siloam ;---and when he ascended Mount
Calve/I'e and saw the place where the Saviour died, offered
himself as a sacrifice, and a full and sufficient satisfaction
and propitiation for all their sins ;—and when he stood
by the side of the place of crucifixion, which he believ-
ed to be the identical spot, and saw the reek rent, ac-
cording to the account recorded in the gospel—he be-
held the rock rent, not evidently by any strategem or de-
vice of men, but evidently by- divine agency, as by the
hand of God, and answering the idea conveyed by the term
rent, he saw from above 'the rent descending, and when he
went 20 feet below he saw the rent rising upwards—he felt
that all he wished for was that he had all the infidels of
Europe with him that he might have said, survey that spot,
and then fear, and tremble, and acknowledge—(applause)—
and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He
afterwards descended into the tomb, which he believed like-
wise to be identified, and saw the place where the body of
Jesus lay, and where he burst the bonds of death.—
It was impossible adequately to describe the feelings
by which he was agitated that moment, and how
they vibrated. -through-. every-,epare of .his body .. He.
was aware from what he- saw in Jerusalem there was
much superstition attached to those places, and that they
minister to very hard anl supine feelings and produce
delusions on the minds of many. His (Mr. G.'s) object was
to separate the evil from the good. What man ever returned
to his own country—what man ever saw the house where be
was born—without feeling a deep impression on his mind ?
And Pope said that he would not have a post taken up or
removed, if it reminded him of the days of his innocency.
With respect to what the chairman had said about Marathon,
he (Mr. G.) went to that field, -and saw the mound where
the two hundred noble Athenians were all entombed ; and
he recollected, on going to Greece, the classic feelings which
occupied his mind. But he had another feeling at Jerusalem ;
for, whilst contemplating all those wonders, he felt as if he
could have raised his hands, and said, " Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen
him
salvation." With respect -to the Jewish mission, let
'ins say that it was in a most important situation. The Rev.
Mr. Nicolaison was a man suited to his work, and he knew
nothing better in order to characterize him ; he prosecuted
his Work with zeal and perseverance. Mr. Peritz was the
one to whom he had already alluded, and he was perfectly
Calculated to enter on all the controversial points connected
With the Jewish expectations. He would only say further,
that there was a considerable degree of progress among the
Jews : be saw a husband, a wife, and daughter, all of whom
had been admitted to the church by the rite of Christian
baptism. The foundation was laid for a great work, and
they were at least bearing their testimony—they had planted
the banner of the Redeemer. Mr. Grimshaw, having stated
that they afterwards visited Bethlemen and the grave of La-
zarus, concluded by expressing a hope that God would bless
the cause in which they were engaged.
The Rev. Mr. PYm, in seconding the resolution proposed
by
the last speaker, said—l cheerfully undertake this charge.
Abe resolution is a right christian one, for it teaches us to
commence in a way we ought to commence all our under-
takings. It says that our " humble thanks are due to
Almighty God lor the increase which his attended the
society's funds, and that we sincerely hope the interest
hitherto manifested is inadequate to the necessities of the
cause." I have already remarked that it is a right christian
resolution, and my reason for saying so is simply this, that it
expresses our :tense of gratitute to God, and thet we pray his
Dressings that our labours may be mulilied and continued.
But the resolution also calls attention toothe society's funds;
and when we look at the state of those funds during the pre-
ceding year, and find that there was an increase in them, to
the extent of £5OOO, we certainly have reason to thank
God 'and take courage. I feel, however, that there has
not been a proportionate increase in the funds—l use the
word " proportionate" in reference to the extent of the
Christian church ; for I am persuaded that if every
great city were to send forth as goodly an assembly as
the present, instead of having to thank God for our
funds amounting to £22,000, we should have to thank
bins for an increase twenty fold. (Hear, and cheering.)
And, therefore, I -think it would be well if all our vast
cities would take this large assembly as an example—indeed
I would invite London itself to look to Liverpool, and to
take a lesson out of her book. (Loud cheers.) I believe
that the assembly at Exeter Hall, goodly as that is, can
scarcely vie with the assembly by which I am surrounded—
surrounded I may well say, for when I turn behind me, I be-
hold the component parts of that which, under ordinary cir-
cumstances, would form a goodly meeting of itself. And
when 1 look to the state of the Jewish nation twenty years
ago—a period not recollected by me—and when I see how
the machine has been worked up the present stage, it is im-
possible not to perceive that there is a greater call now than
ever upon us to enter into the spirit of the resolution. For
what was the exertion made in behalf of the Jews at that pe-
riod ? It was like the cloud of which we read in scripture—
small as a man's hand. Arid now what are the exertions
made ? Why, they have multiplied on every side, until they
begin to cover the whole earth from the east to the west. But
this resolution-refers to other matters. It speaks of the pro-
portionate value of the exertions of the Christian church. It
asserts that those exertions, • great as they may be,
and increasingly great as they may have been—and
truly there can be very little doubt but that this society
is advancing at a railroad pace—l say, that when I consider
these circumstances, and enter into the spirit of the resolu-
tion, it appears to me that great as our exertions have been,
they are not as yet commensurate with the object we have in
view. lam well aware that when an individual makes such
an assertion as this he should be prepared to give some causes
or reasons for making such a declaration. Why is it then
that I do not consider that our exertions have not been com-
mensurate with the object we have in view ? My answer will
be composed of several answers—my reply will consist of se-
veral replies. And, in. the first place, I would say that when
we look to the Jews I think we need not travel far in order to
find an answer to the inquiry why our exertions have not been
commensurate with the great object in view. With regard
to the former, I would say that I would certainly be the
last man in the world to forget my civil rights, but I
would ask this question, whence do we derive our civil
rights ? and whence is it that we enjoy that civil liberty which
is unknown to other lands? It is because God has signal-
ised this land by making it the depository of his truth. Our civil
Privileges all emanate from our religious ones, inasmuch as
if we were not a protestant nation I am thoroughly convinced
We should never have been blessed in the manner that we
have been. (Loud and continued cheers.) It is because
God has honoured and distinguished us—unworthy as we
have been—and it is because he has distinguished us as the
chief among the protestant churches that he has given us civil
distinctions. To the Jews we are indebted for all this. I
take the book of God in my hand—l go through the Old and
New Testament—l refer to David in the Psalms and Moses
in the law, and what do I find ? Why, I find that you are
indebted to the Jew for all you enjoy. You do not discover
a dry code of morality in the law, but a transcript of the di-
'vine Mind, bringing you, as a schoolmaster, to Christ; and
for all this you are indebted to the Jew. It is in the law I
find the operations of those glorious times which are to sue-
seed in the church, and for all these glorious signs we are
Indebted likewise to the Jew and to the seed of promise,
God's friend; and what is true as touching the old scripture,
as equally true as touching the new, for with one or two ex-
rPtimis, we are indebted to the Jew for all. Here then,
8 the foundation of our faith. Here is that test by which
we are enabled to judge of the truth or falsehood of our
church. We have, then, a constellation of privileges, for.all
°I which we are indebted to the Jew. When I look to the
exertions of the church in the past year—when I know the