The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-06-01 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STAND.4RD.

Sin, —I perceive that some of your respected contemporaries
are not ashatneil to reiterate the false boast of the enemies of
truth, that the Rev. Hugh M'Neile of this town refused a dis-
cussion with the Rev. M. Maguire. The contrary is the fact.
I have before me the third edition of a correspondence between
the rev. gentlemen. At page 7 Mr. M'lsleile says—
" I have, within the last few months, published a sermon on
the character of the church of Rome. Between 2,000 and 3,000
copies of it have been circulated in this town. Write and pub-
lish a refutation of its statements and arguments. I pledge my-
self to write and publish an answer to you. Do not object to
the press. The statements made in an oral discussion must,
after all, be committed to the press to be of any extended benefit.
" I challenge you, then, to a controversy in the press, and
throw down my sermon on the character of the church of Rome
as the first blow. You will there find your church proved to be
anti-scriptural, tyrannical, blasphemous, and persecuting.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
" HUGH APNEILE."

" Liverpool, 16th Sept., 1838."
Again at pages 8 and 9, he says—
" 1. First, I call your attention to my letter of the 17th ult.
accepting your chailenge.
" As the challenged party, I have an undoubted right to
choose my weapons, without assigning any cause; but I am
willing that you and the public should be in possession of my
reasons for preferring the press as a vehicle of theological con-
troversy. if my object were to display my own talents as a dis-
putant; to excite party contention; to louse angry feelings of
opposition against my Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen ;
wilfully to darken the subject in hand by quotations from human
authorities, public or private; and thus at the expense of truth,
and peace; and honesty, to gain an apparent triumph in dispu-
tation : if these, or any of these, were my actuating motive,
then I should probaby prefer the platform; but none of these
form any part of my object. My object is to shoW that the au-
thorised formularies of the church of Rome, and the superstiti-
ous practices founded thereon, will not bear the light of the

sacred word of God; that what the church of Ronne inculcates
as the gospel of Christ was never inculcated by Christ. himself,
or by his inspired apostles; and that, consequently, both priests
and people should flee out of the anti-scriptural apostacy, read
and believe the word of God, and be saved in the Lord Jesus
Christ with a free, full, present, and everlasting salvation.
Now, what is your object ? Is it to display your talents as a
disputant? Is it to excite party contention ? Is it to rouse an-
gry feelings of opposition against yourprotestant fellow-country-
men ? Is it wilfully to darken the subject in hand by quotations
from fathers, and councils, and bulls which contradict one an-
other as freely and flippantly as fretful or angry women ?
Is it thus, at the expense of truth, and peace, and honesty, to
gain an apparent triumph in disputation? f these, or any of
these, be your actuating motive, I do not wonder that you should
prefer the platform. But if none of these be ',our object—but,
if your object be to show that the authorised formularies of the
church of Rome are in accordance with the word of God; that
what the church of Rome inculcates as the gospel was inculcat-
ed by Christ and his apostles; and that, consequently, all here-
tics should see that they are guilty of the fatal sin of schism, and
thereupon return for salvation into the bosoui of the mother and
mistress of all the churches; then, assuredly, both your object
and none will be best attained by a painstaking serip of writ-
ings.
" I prefer the press, then, because, first, bravado and bluster,
and sophistry will go for nothing when on paper, and no perma-
nent impression will be made except by sound interpretation,
attested facts, and consecutive reasoning. And, because, se-
condly, such interpretations, facts and reasonings, will then be
submitted, not to the impromptu suffrages of an excited and im-
patient assembly, (small at the largest possible amount of audi-
tori,) but to the calm, deliberate inspection of the United King-
dom and the educated world."

And at page 13, in reply to Mr. Maguire's evasion, he says—
" My challenge to you also remains unanswered. Your letter
erodes it wholly. Here, then, again, I call upon you to write
what you can upon interpretation, argument, fact, or evidence,
in defence of what Popery is, and I will answer you. My reasons
for preferring the press are already before the public; and if
you, the.first aggressor in this matter, decline a controversy in
the press, the confusion to be drawn from it will also be before
the public, and w a plainness which no man capable of reflec-
tion can tail to appreciate. You say, that "in a face to face
discussion more can be settled in a day than could be performed
through the press in a month." I answer, there is no hurry.
No matter of real consequence can be settled in a hurry. A
gladiator for ephemeral victory may be in a hurry: a lover of
eternal truth need never be so. It is written in the prophets,
" he that believeth need not make haste." _

" I shall direct my publisher to send you a copy of the second
edition of my sermon, in which your church, as exhibited in her
own accredited Prmularies, is shown to be anti-scriptural, tyran-
nical, blasphemous, persecuting, and perfidious. Again I-call
upon you to answer this if you can.
" You say I have mis-stafrd the tenets of your church. I ask
4here and how? And I beg to remind y-ouNf the facility of as-
sertion, without proof

Mr.' AVNeite's sermon on the character of the Church of
Rome remains unanswered. Who theu.kas refused the discus.
suns? _

-All assertion upon 'this subject, in notorious opposition to
facts and evidence,, appears to be the only retort by which Mr.
enemies can assail him, Why -they assail him so
often is best known to themselves : though, indeed it can be no
mystery to thoSe who witness his effective labours.
Will your contemporaries, who have so frequently printed
the false cliarge,-htive candour sufficient to print this letter, and
with it, if they please, Mr. Maguire's letters on the occasion: ur
will they be prudently silent?

I am, Sir, yours,
SCRUTATUR.

Liverpool, May 30, 1838.

SHARE.BROKING.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,—You will be doing me, and, if I mistake not, the pub-
lic generally, no inconsiderable favour by allowing your juurnal
to become the public medium of my complaints against the man-
ner in which the business of share-broking is conducted in this
town.

When the great rage for speculation arose, in 1836, and
schemes of all sorts sprung up daily like mushrooms' a host of
share brokers arose with them,--1 was going to add, like mush-
rooms too,—and the number is now almost as great as that of all
the joint-stock companies whose shares they are commissioned
to sell or purchase.
Previously to this era of madness, when every one seemed,
more or less affected by the prevailing mania, stock and share-
brokers were comparatively few in number; but most, if nut all
of these, were then, as they still are, highly respectable, prompt
in their dealings, a worthy of p
ilk Alic confidence. Hence, I
believe, there was 'e
or no inconvenience, and still less any
loss experienced by ose who had to employ brokers in the pur-
chase and sale of shares • and although delays might and doubt-
less did occur occasionally, 1 never heard of complaints so loud
and general as aie now prevailing against the delays, and even
the difficulties, experienced in getting either scrip or money
from the hands of brokers-

It is with a wish to remedy this state of things, by drawing
public attention to the fact, and making certain suggestions,
that I have taken the liberty of addressing von ; and when ik is
considered how immense the amount of money is which indst
necessarily pass through the bands of brokers, in this of all
others, the ruling market of shares, I think you and your read-
ers will agree with me, that promptitude and .despatch iti the.
transfer both of shares and .value should be the leading princi-
pies—the very motto of a broker's business.
In one respect, and in one only, is promptitude shown; and
that is, when you become the purchaser of shares—in which case
there is no delay—nay, a very extraordinary degree of prompti-
tude is exhibited in demanding and obtaining payment of your
purchase. But, sell those. shares again, and you must dance
attendance at certain offices for weeks and months, and often
have. recourse to, legal proceedings: before you can obtain the
value of them. ThiS is no idle or empty assertion, as some of