The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-06 00:00:00

NO POPERY ON VOLUNTARY CHURCH PRIN-

CIPLES.
Our readers will recollect that, in a late number of•the
Standard, we expressed some curiosity to know how what
is vulgarly called the " No-Popery cry" could be raised on
the principles of those wise theologians who are for propa-
gating religion solely by voluntary efforts. In order to be
informed on this point, we attended, on Tuesday night, a
lecture delivered in Crescent Chapel, Everton, by the Rev.
Andrew Marshall, a preacher in the Scotch Secession
who has travelled from Kirkintilloch for the purpose of aid-
ing in the crusade which is so assiduously directed against
the existence of the Church of England. The chapel was
tolerably well filled. Amongst the congregation we ecog-
nised several members of the council, " too obscure, as the
reverend preacher said of certain divines supposed to have
great regard fot the Oxford tracts, "to be named. There
were also some of the servants of the corporation present;
so that it might not be very wide of the fact to assert, that
Mr. Marshall's irruption into Liverpool was made under the
especial patronage of the majority of that august body. .Be
that as it may, it must be admitted that the roluntarzous
gentlemen stumbled upon a fluent advocate on this occasion,
—one who, with apparently about an equal amount of cha-
rity, has quite as much art and tact in the management of
the controversy as all the rest of his associates. Mr. Mar-
shall, in this respect not imitating Mr. Kelly, selected as his
text the Ist verse of the 3rd chapter of 2nd Timothy. In
an exordium of considerable length, h!, asserted the horrors
of Popery, and the rapidity with which it was at this moment
spreading in England and Scotland, at the same time making
and taking every opportunity to thrust in a blow at the Na-
tional Establishment. This done, he announced the ques-
tion for considerat'on as given above, and said there were
only two modes of dealing with Popery, and that it was for
Protestants to determine which to adopt. One method was
by reason, and the other by force ; one the application of the
voluntary, and the other of the compulsory principle. It
was his business to shew which of the two was entitled to
preference. As to the compulsory system it was impracti-
cable ; if practicable, 'it would not be right ; and it would
have a direct and inevitable tendency to disturb the peace of
society, and, under the present circumstances of the British
empire, would quickly involve it in civil strife. If the con-
trary plan were adopted, Popery would be stripped of its
terrors, and it would be a matter of justice due to Catholics
and all other sects ; but then the Established Church must
be abolished, for, strange to say, Popery derived all its power
from that institution. The whole of this part of the dis-
course was occupied with reasons of the most flimsy and
unsatisfactory character why there should be no Established
Church, the fact being studiously kept out of view that it
presents the only sure barrier against the intolerance of any
sect. In the last part of his lecture Mr. Marshall addressed
churchmen and dissenters, exhorting the former to abandon
the principles of their faith, and the latter to maintain them,
all for the sake of brotherly love and universal concord.
Now, whilst we have not the slightest objection to allow the
Church of England to stand or fall by the test of the Holy
Scriptures, we must express our conviction that it has not
been reserved for Mr. iVlarshall to be infallible in all things.
His talent for a specious and well-sounding argument we
readily admit; but it is impossible for the same compliment
to be paid to his judgment. We perceive that on Wednes-
day evening he preached on a similar topic in Dr. Jack's
Chapel, in Manchester, when most probably he treated the
visitors in that conventicle to a second edition of the Crescent
polemics.

The motion for closing the Birmingham and Derby
Junction Railway has been negatived by 1147 votes.

A VISIT TO MESSRS. FAWCETT, PRESTON, AND
CO.'S MANUFACTORY OF STEAM ENGINES,
MILL WORKS, CANNON, &c.

It has frequently and truly been remarked that many per-
sons, who take an interest in what is great, novel, beautiful;
or ingenious in arts or manufactures, travel to distant parts
of their own country, and even to foreign lands, to gratify
their taste or curiosity,--ignorant or regardless of the proba-
ble fact that their own town presents objects and establish-
ments equally or more worthy of their inspection and ad-
miration in the several branches of human skill and industry.
Many, indeed, have lived all their lives in towns containing
splendid specimens of architecture, numerous productions of
science- and art, mechanical and other large establishments
evidencing the advancement of the age, which, from mere
inertion, they have never seen. How many thousands of
our own inhabitants have never visited the unequalled and
easily accessible suite of rooms in the Town-hall! Thousands
residing in Chester have never entered the walls of its Castle,
or inspected its Armoury. Thousands, too, in our manu-
facturing towns have never witnessed what may truly be
called the wonders of a cotton mill. In the metropolis, thou-
sands, though with ample opportunities through life, knew
little or nothing beyond the immediate locality in which they
were born, and cannot even boast that they have heard the
sound of their footsteps in the magnificent interior of St.
Paul's Cathedral; and the Tower and the National Museums
are known but to comparatively few.
This indifference to what is noble, remarkable, or instruc-
tive, is to be lamented on more than one account. It retards
the cultivation of the public taste, 'and deprives Genius and
Ingenuity of those stimulants to useful exertion which would
otherwise be operative, as well as of those wholesome re-
straints, when they are roused to action, which would lead
them to abandon fanciful theories and unprofitable pursuits.
We may adduce as corroborative of this view of the' question,
that many clever mechanics and tyros in science have—in
lack of what they would have learned by a spirit of extended
observation and inquiry—busied and perplexed themselves
fruitlessly for years, in endeavouring to perfect some inven-
ticn or improvement in arts or mechanics, which, was either
impracticable, or had 'probably already been attained by
means or contrivances far more simple and effective than
those contemplated, even had these new speculators realized
the summit of their hopes. In works of art, on the other
hand, how much time might not be saved by aspirants who
rely solely on their own originality, did they view and study
the productions of the celebrated masters who had preceded
them ! We would not be understood as wishing to discourage
the efforts of men of inventive powers. All we contend is,
that by a knowledge of what leas already been accomplished,
they might take their stand oii the vantage ground which
genius has already attained, and direct their energies, in all
their freshness, to new and ennobling achievements.
These remarks are suggested by a visit to the extensive
establishment of Messrs. Fawcett, Preston, & Co., which,
though comparatively little known to the mass of our towns-
men, we have no hesitation in pronouncing—in its magni-
tude, in the science and ingenuity displayed in its several
departments, and in the productions which it sendsforth to
every part of the world—one of the most interesting to the
mechanical inquirer, and one of the most important as affect-
ing the progressive commercial interests of mankind. We
take blame to ourselves ,that we have not visited it before,
but shall endeavour to make the amends, by supplying some
account of the works, which, though inadequate to convey
a perfect idea of the whole, will, we trust, be perused with
some interest by -that part of the mechanical community who
have not seen them, and by those in particular who appre-
ciate our advancement in steam navigation.
The object of the establishment is principally the con-
struction of marine and other steam engines, mill machinery,
pieces of ordnance, and other heavy articles of the foundry
and the forge, which here pass front their rudest state,
through the various requisite processes, until they are turned
out bright and perfect from the hands of the finishers. The
magnitude of the works may be estimated from the facts,
that the premises stand upon an area of many hundred yards ;
that that space, nearly covered by lofty buildings, is found
incommodiously small; and that the number of workmen
employed in the various departments considerably exceeds
seven hundred. The writer of this was a few days ago po-
litely permitted to view the works, and was furnished with
such information as the shortness of his visit would allow,
by one of the partners, as well as by an attendant. We shall
now notice the several departments under their respective
heads, and shall conclude with some particulars of the fine
marine engines now in a state of forwardness.
FOUNDING AND BORING OF CANNON.

On entering the yard the attention of visitor is arrested
by the great number of cannons of various sizes and calibres,
from swivels and half-pounders to thirty-two pounders,
ranged on the ground, or peeping, in carriages, with iior-
tentous aspect, from door-ways, entrances, and corner •.
The larger guns are of various fashions, some being cast fro
the plain models used in the French navy, others from those
of the Dutch, and others (the handsomest to our thinking)
of the more decorative form approved in England. In cast-
ing these guns (all solid), what is called " a head" is cast
along with them, at the muzzle end, having the appearance
of a plug or long tompion. This, which is cut off before the
boring is commenced, is for the purpose of resting the piece
at that end, while it is exteriorly cleaned off and polished.
At the breach, too, an additional square piece of the metal
is cast oh, by which the gun is turned by machinery while it
is being bored, the borer being stationary in the operation.
When outwardly cleaned and finished (with the exception of
drilling the touch-hole and fixing the lock), the gun is placed
horizontally, and secured so as to turn without vibratory mo-
tion. The machinery is then applied, and the gun turns
rather slowly, advancing with an even pressure upon the
large steel boring instrument, and continually discharging
the metal which it cuts out. The gun has to be bored two
or three times, according to its calibre, and when the opera-
tion is completed the bore is as bright and true as that of a
fowling piece. The touch-hole is afterwards drilled out with
great nicety, as are the boles, in raised portions of the breach
for the fixing of the flint lock, which has now in gunnery
almost superceded the use of the match. Several guns are
bored daily and simultaneously, to meet the demand at home
and abroad, and a large " assortment" is kept constantly ou
hand to supply those governments and individuals who are
bent on" mischief" oron self-defence. Amongst the pieces of
ordnance now in preparation or finished at the works are :-
26 thirty-two pounders, for a French house.
20 twenty-four pounders—another French order.
4 twelve pounders, for the same.

THE FOUNDRY.
This part of, the works differs from most other foundries
only in the immense weight of the castings, which, from the
size of the building and the number of blast furnaces, cranes,
&c. may be turned out. Single pieces of twenty tons each
might be accomplished, if required. The operation is in-
teresting-, but is too generally known to require detail. The
article to be cast is moulded.(in sand) from wood, and en-
closed within iron frame-work, a hole being left for the
entrance of the metal. The metal (cast iron) is thrown, in
broken pieces, mixed with coals, into a large cylindrical
furnace, the blast thrown into which, by machinery, with
great force, makes a roaring noise, and soon brings the whole
to a white heat. The metal, as it melts, sinks to the bottom.
When all is ready, a perforation is made with the point of an
iron rod, through a sort of doorway at the bottom, which at
that point is stopped up by fire clay. The boiling metal im-
mediately rushes out in liquid white fire, and is received in
pots with three long horizontal iron handles, two at one side,
like those of a handbarrow, and one at the other. By these
it is carried by three or four men, according to its weight ;
and if the casting or castings be comparatively small, the
metal is poured at once from this into the moulds, the pot
being turned by the men holding the two handles. If, how-
ever, the casting be large, the smaller pots full of liquid
metal are discharged into a cauldron of sufficient size, and
this, fro n its great weight, is hoisted by a crane and placed
over the casting, where it is discharged, in a careful manner,
of its contents. The air, forced out of the sand by the
metal, frequently makes a loud explosion, (as we witnessed
on Monday ;) and when the intense heat of the hissing iron
perforates the outer portions of the same, blue and sulpureous
looking flame issues from the sides in all directions. When
the metal is sufficiently cooled the frame-work is removed,
and the castings taken out. Here may be cast any article,
from a lath nail to a steam-engine cylinder, weighing from
ten to fifteen tons.

THE WORKING-ENGINE ON THE WORKS.
On the east of the yard, on each side of which are the
extensive buildings, is the larger engine, of thirty-six horse
power, which works the greater part of the machinery used
in the different rooms, in the several operations of turning,
planing, drilling, and otherwise "torturing" the obdurate
but conquerable metal that falls under the cruel hands of the
workmen. This engine is of the old-fashioned principle,
with an immense wooden beam, secured with iron, and a
large fly-wheel. It is however, most effective, communicated
by cog-wheels and shafts with the several rooms, in which
the power is applied to the lathes, &c. by drums and shafts.
There are also other engines, but of considerably less power.