The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-21 00:00:00

busily engaged in the movement; which have been goinJ on

of late years at Oxford?

There is nothing of which r am

more convinced than that many of those men who are moving

towards Rome have been all their lives Papists and Jesuits
too, and that they have latterly been guided by the machina-
tions of Dr. Wiseman and others of that class. And this

is no new thing

The Jesuits did the same thing in the reign

of Queen Elizabeth

They insinuated themselves at that

period among Protestants, and became clergymen and digni-
taries of the Church of England, and then came out and
professed themselves divines of the Church of Rome. (Hear.)
We know what they attempted in the reign of James I.
Perhaps the Jesuits had nothing to do with the gunpowder

plot ! (Hear, and laughter.) I believe, however, It is pretty
plain that one Garnett, a Jesuit, was executed for that plot.
Again, we know how_busily the Jesuits were engaged in

the reign of James 11. I -ask, then, have we not some
reason to be a little jealous and suspicious of these men,
particularly when we know that from every state—every Ro-
man Catholic state—the Jesuits have, in various years,been

solemnly expelled. In 1773 the reigning pope, Clement XIV,
expelled them from Italy, and that expulsion, it is to be pre-
sumed, cost him his life, for he died by poison. (Hear.)
They were expelled from France, from Spain, from England,
from Naples, from the Duchies of Parma and Placentia; and
so late as the year 1829, the British statesmen who drew up
the emancipation act looked with suspicion on those gentle-
men too, for they introduced a clause into the bill limiting
the number of jesuits in this country, and insisting on a care-
ful registry of their names. Under these circumstances, I
ask, is there anything particularly monstrous iu my having
called upon England to be on her guard against these gentle-
men, when we know that in England there are three separate
•-

jesuit establishments at full work at this moment? (Hear.)
The gentlemen who write for what is called the " liberal"

press are fully welcome to calumniate, abuse, and misrepre-
sent us as much as they please. We look upon such effusions
as perfectly natural from those gentlemen.. They are wincing

under some political defeats, which we are looked upon as in-
strumental in having inflicted upon them, and it is only
natural that they should get a vent for the passions which are
boiling within them—(hear, hear, and loud laughter)—but if
they think they will either terrify or intimidate us, or prevent

us from speaking OuCprettyplainly on all occasions, or that

.
they can silence us in our pulpits, or on our platforms in our
testimonies against popery, I can tell them they are most
eggregiously mistaken. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) We have
not the slightest intention of retreating from our colours in
this cause; and whether we be honoured by the thundering
declamations of the London Timer, or artillery fired by the
puny pop-gun of the Liverpoot Times—(ironical laughter)—

or even should both be aided by the groaning Mercury—(con-
tinued laughter)—here we take our stand. firmly determined

to be faithful to our principles until our lives terminate in
death. (Cheers.) Having settled this account, I now turn
to another subject. lam happy to say, sir, that I was one of
those who were present at your church on Wednesday last, at
the interesting ceremony which then took place, and to which
allusion has been already made; and I would join with those
who have expressed, their hope that that will not be the last
scene of such a nature which will be presented in this town.

I hope that every clergyman in the 'town will be busy, and
that every church from St. Peter's down to Christ Church
will be able to see converts from popery reclaimed by the

anxious labours of the labouring ministry. (Cheers.) There

is no word which sounds so Offensive in the ears of certain

parties as the word " proselytism." I have no doubt but
you sir, will be set down now as a proselyter, and as setting

a ,
n example to those who are rejoiced to follow your example
in proselysing from the popish quarters of the town. If to
proselytise men from a false to a true religion—from the er-
.... . .. ,

ors of man to the truth of God—if this be a crime we are

quite willing to be guilty of it. (Hear, hear.) The prophets
were proselyters, the martyrs and professors were also prose-
lyters ; and the mantle which fell from those men of God it
never can be unbecoming in us to wear. (Cheers.) The
Lord Jesus Christ_ was a proselyter. This was the whole

end, and object, and aim of fiis three years ministry on earth ;
and never shall we be truly conformed to His image until we

we find that proselytising from error to truth, from the doc-
trines and decrees of men to the true commands of God, is
the very first duty to which we have been sworn. The man
who seeks not to proselytise to his religion betrays a latent
consciousness that his religion is not worth circulating. He

resembles a man who holds counterfeit coin, and has area

sonable fear of putting it in circulation, from dread of the
wrath of the king, and the rope of the executioner; but the
man who is possessed of the current coin of the realm, the
sparkling silver and the precious gold, and who has also re-

ceived the command of his king to circulate the ore, has no
fears to embarrass nor no impediments to restrain him.
(Cheers.) The man who possesses the whole counsel of God,

who_ declares the perfections of the Deity, and sets forth the

attainments with 'which Christians shall be invested, and in
the preaching of which we would have no reserve, lie cannot be
silent on this head. He must preach and tell all me►► the truth.
Like Andrew, he must bring each Simon to the Lord. If he
could be silent the very stones would cry out against him ;
and though such a man might be esteemed by the world, be
would be unhonoured in the hitcher estimate of God. When
all the pomps and vanities of worldly men shall pass away,
the faithful ministers of Christ shall shine as the lights that
God has set up and kindled in the firmament of heaven. Yea!
when thrones and sceptres shall crumble into dust, and the
globe itself shall be burned up, those who shall have been
thus engaged will be enabled to stand on the ruins of the
world and say they have lost nothing, when they behold those
whom they have been instrumental in turning from darkness
to light shining brightly in the diadem of King Messiah.
(Great applause.) But the church of Rome is only offended

at the term " proselyte," when it is used against herself, for
she is as active a proselytiser in her own way as is to be found
on the face of the earth. It was only a few days ago that I
found a young woman in the district of my own church, that
Rome had endeavoured to proselytise. She was poor. igno-
rant, and only twenty years of age. The priest told her that
protestantism was a new, and Rotnanism an old religion ; and
he baptised her, and ranked-her with the number of his con-
verts. He left her there, 'but I did not leave her there—
(cries of " Hear, hear," and checrs)—and I have every rea-
sonable expectation that she will not pay many more visits to
the gentlemen who taught her that the one was the old and
the other the new religion. We have heard of ancient prose-
lytisers, who compassed sea and earth to make one proselyte,
and, when they had made him, lefthim ten times more a child
of hell than themselves ; and in this respect there is a striking
parallel between ancient Pharisees and modern Romanists.
In these days they are active in proselytising : they have been
so engaged in Scotland and England, and are so engaged at
this hour. The rev. gentleman having here read a letter
which had been written by a convert to protestantism to his
priest in Ireland, who had been after cursing him from the
altar, proceeded :—We have no objection at all to the diligent
and active efforts of the Church of Rome at proselytising.
All we want of them is to come out and meet us in contro-
versy ; and here I may as well ask, between you and me,
where is Dr. Butler? (Hear and laughter.) He has been
repeatedly challenged, but the return to the writ is non est
inventus. (Hear, hear.) We certainly do not like the sys-
tem they have in England of denying their doctrines. Ber-
nard Cavanagh and Lord Shrewsbury speak out. The fast-
ing man in England and the fasting woman in Naples have
given us a very important lesson with regard to popery in
the nineteenth century. But we do not like their system of
denying, and quibbling and avoiding when we endeavour to
bring them into close quarters. They fire signals of delu-
sion. Their system presents the appearance of the harlot's
dwelling, fair outside, but within is a den of impurity and
robbery, the paralysis of every affection, the grave of every
life, the laboratory of every work of hell, and the sure and
certain gangway to the dungeons beneath. (Cheers.) There-
fore there is a necessity,—a greater necessity than ever
looking at the signs of the times—for the working of our
protestant associations. The time has not yet come when
we can afford to disband our ranks. The clergy of the
Church of England never can, but with disgrace to them-
selves, retire from this controversy. From their cradle to
their latest breath they are bound to controversy with Rome.
When they receive the catechism, it pledges them to con-
trovesy, by teaching them that there are only two sacra-
ments. Our articles, moreover, describe the dogmas of the
Romish church as blasphemous. We are pledged at ordina-
tion to drive away all false doctrines, and we are also pledged
to preach four times a year against the supremacy of the
pope. The individual who is appointed to preside over the
affairs of the church at large, is constrained by his duty to
administer to the sovereign of England, on the day of her
coronation, a solemn oath abjuring the dogmas of Popery,
and to remind her that she holds her crown by the tenure of
her remaining a Protestant. The sovereign of England must,
therefore, be a Protestant, and she forfeits her crown when
she ceases to be a member of the church of England. (Hear,
hear, hear.) But we are told by men who are cautious and
moderate, that we must be wrong because we are in a minority,
and that we are only a small section of ranting, roaring fire-
brands, whose object it is to gain fame and notoriety. Truth
has always been in a minority. The prophets were in a mi-
nority. One of them thought himself so much so, that be
said, "I, alone, am left." Our Lord Jesus Christ and the
apostles were in a minority ; and those who talk about our
being in a minority would do well to consider that Chris-
tianity itself is in a minority, the vast mass of human kind
being as yet unleavened. (Hear.) But we are also told that
we are embarrassing the government by speaking out in this
manner. We tell them in reply that we have no intention to
embarrass the government, but that we consider ourselves
their most effective supporters. We are the men who contri-
buted very materially to place them in the position they oc-
cupy at present ; and that administration will find a more
cordial support from us than they ever can find amid the
hollowness of liberalism or the divided allegiance of Popery.
What care we for mere party politics? We are contending
for religious principle ; and we cannot cease so long as the
Lord gives us health and life to bear our testimony against
all that is opposed to the truth and honour of our God. No
matter what government may be opposed to us or may con-
sider themselves embarrassed by our movements, we cannot
be liars to our consciences nor traitors to the principles we
profess. (Loud cheers.) And then we are told to conciliate !
When are we to conciliate ? Is it popery ? The task is im-
practicable, even if it were expedient. (Hear, hear.) There
are men who tried that principle, and what have they gained
by it? What was gained by that concession which the so-
' vereign of England at the head of the Roman catholics in
Lower Canada ? Have we found the Lower Canadians bet-
ter affected to this country in consequence of that conces-
tion ? No ; but the contrary. What have we gained by the
concession to Maynooth ? That the priests and Roman ca-
tholic bishops are to a man advocates for the repeal o! the
union. We conceded one-fourth of the church property in
Ireland, and what have we gained? A loudly reiterated de-
mand for the remaining three-fourths. And what have we
gained by the new municipal corporations ? We have gained
O'Connell as the lord mayor of all Ireland, as he is styled.
The conciliating policy cannot, then be persevered in with
any success. We must continue our protest and you
must continue your exertions. (Hear, and loud cheers.) I re-
joice to find by the resolutions that the Irish system of educa-
tion in Liverpool is dead. I hope it will soon be buried, and
that we shall never hear of any resurrection. (Great cheers.)
If you will bear with me for a moment, there is one topic
connected with this education question which I am desirous
of mentioning. (Hear.) The resolution alludes to the ter-
mination of the Irish system of national education. You can
have very little conception of the tyrannies which some of the
faithful advocates of scripture instruction are called to endure
in Ireland. In the County of Wicklow, for instance, there
is the Rev. Henry Moore, rector of Carnew. He lives in
a parish of which an opulent English nobleman is the
proprietor. I allude to Lord Fitzwilliara, of whom I do