The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-03 00:00:00

FIRST ANNIVERSARY MEETING
OF TIII;
CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY.

On -Wednesday last, at one o'clock, a numerous meeting
of members of this excellenesociety toOk place in the Board
Room of AlAi4lne.coat' lickspitaly*hool-lane, for the pur,:
pose of receiving the report of the committee of the progress
of the 'society-1M to 'the present time. There were about
forty,five,wltipipen present, eincluding most of the clergy:
and many of the most influential inhabitants of the town

.
attached to the cause of Protestantism and the spread of

relifiptistruptipp,innotig,§t the people. • - • •
• '1 he nes,. lteetor nROOKS was unanimously called to the
kritUoptieerttie business of th 6 meeting in a brief and
appropri4e #101•95*. Hottiitid, that according to the rules of
. .. •

the sOCiety. they had asseinbled on
.thejr first anniversary
meiting°,''and The pleasing dUty 'of the committee
to suhnito%thenv„the.report of the proceedings hitherto,
which, he doubted not, they would find to be highly satis-
factory. 'As•yet the'society had done but little With-respect
to the object they bad in view—.-the erection of churches were
they were most wanted ; yet such had been the amount of
the subscriptions, extending in all to £20;000, that they bad'
taken preliminary steps for the building of three new places
of worship. Two of these—one at the north, and one at the
south end of the town—might be said to be already goin,!• on ;
and a third was determined upon, which they would not have
considered themselves justified in undertaking as yet, but for
the very liberal offer of support which they had received from
individuals favourable to the objects of the society. They
were no doubt aware that the subscriptions of. the members
were payable only annually, and, though a considerable
amount of the sum subscribed had already been collected,
the greater part would be. required for the erection of the
two churches alluded - to- .; and the circumstance noticed,
and which he should explain, had alone induced them to
accede to the application made to the . committee for the
erection of u third. They were all aware that in the neigh-
bouring hamlet of Windsor there was , a dense population,
chiefly consisting of the poorer classes, and who were desti,
tute of religious instruction. It - was represented to the
committee that a church in that quarter was essential to
their . well-being, and that the cost ,of
.the edifice would be
from £6OO to .000. The parties wholpropoSed its erection

•
to the committee, stated that they would subscribe an amount
of £l5OO towards. it ; that they would. leave the nomination
of the clergyman to the society ; and, further, that if they
required it (in case of contingent, eiperiseo;• they would'
grant them a loan of .£1,000: for. two •,years withoutinterest,
provided they would undertake the building of the church.
The committee, taking'this 'liberal. offer into full considera-
tion, did not think they would. be exceeding their authority in
complying with the request, and the contracts had accordingly
been made. With regard to the church at the south end of the
town, the foundation-stone, as they knew, had been laid last
week; the committee had agreed upon plans for the build-
ing, and the architect was occupied in making out the plans
and working specifications. This church might, therefore,
be said to be fairly commenced. He might remark of
it that the site was'exCeedinglrefigible. It would he open
on all. sides, and have one froat. to ,Parliament-street, and
another to Greenland-street. As it would therefore form a
conspieuois object, it was requisite tliat-ihe building should
be more ornamental than the intended' church at -the. north
end of the town. It was, of course, the object of the com-
mittee to give to these edifices a resne.etable and ecelesiastieal
character. That at the north; in Naylor-street,. would cost
about 43,200, from whiCh there would be from .f 4/ to X5O
of drawback ; th'ai at the south would, from the
stated, cost about £l,OOO more. Both would-tavo spires ;
and he trusted that they would not only be ornamental to
the town, but (which was of greater importance,) that they
would becoMe highly beneficial in their respective neighbour-
hoods, by promoting the religious welfare . and happiness of
the' inhabitants. (Hear, hear.) • He should now Ball upon
the Rev. Mr. North, the secretary, to read the report.
The Rev. Mr. NORTH then read the following interesting
REPORT :

"The Committee of the Liverpool Church Building So-
ciety beg leave, in presenting their first annual report to refer
briefly to the train of events, which led to the formation of
the society.
" For ninny years the ' Incorporated Society for pro-
moting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches
and Chapels,' was the only public body which laboured to
adapt the number of churches to the increasing wants of our
population. As the sphere of its operations extended equally
to every part of the kingdom,- the 'immense increase of, po-
pulation in this and the adjoining counties naturally drew a
large portion of 'the Society's funds into our own Diocese.
" To relieve the Parent Society in some degree from this
pressure, and at the same time to call upon a county, the
wealth of which is at least commensurate with its destitution,
to contribute more equally to bear its own burden, the
' Chester Diocesan Church Building. Society' was esta-
blished, about five years ago, at the suggestion and under
the immediate direction of the Bishop.
" The expectation it held out of awakening a new spirit to
the work of building churches, by bringing home to the
rich the lamentable state of their own immediate neighbour-
hoods in this particular, has been amply redeemed by the
erection of more than thirty churches,_ during the short pe-
riod. of that society's existence. If we regret that the
measures of assistance afforded to it, has not enabled it to
accomplish still more than this, we are at all events spared
the reflection that any part of such an imputation attaches
bathe town. of. Liverpool., She contributed to relieve the
wants of the poorer parts of the Diocese in a way that
hermarked.i4ell- gratitude, for the abundant blessings with
which God had favoured her.
" But the view of spiritual destitution which had thus been
taken throUghout our neighbourhood, led to the further dis-
covery of it to a startling amount, even at our very doors.
An. immense population was seen in our town, living indeed
iiptin'the -confines of Revelation, whom yet no Heavenly
Light haticver illumined, whom no voice of Divine.Truth.had
vier reached,,,rtor any messenger of God .evericheered with
the tiVAiel Message- of 'salvation.
Initethia,distressing,condition of- a large 'portionof:•onr.. own
immci,liito fAiOly,!intl;,honself old, .suggested tp
_certain chari-
tinoleiniffiViediths, Village hearts the 'Lord 'head 'touehed, the
solicuntllit; forming the' 'yLiverpoolChurelii3uildint Stwiety,!
the 44:strmsarypf ,which w,e, are. celebrating, to day.
)).04'
le lifse-eare Was to-SatiSfy themselves fully of the extent
of theisvao which they •Tirpposed'tof, remedy, before, they pro -
et: 1:1N to,aopeAl,4o,the syinpathies eff their fellow-townsmen.
And-sallit?dall Vi'as the siglit'WhiCh- ucli. an 'inspection ex -
hibited:s: Puy saw an ininiensepopulation, whose industry
was eputributieg.daily to,incrense the • wealth and or
of that' town, following_in theinOral course of U16'011416*
the ditftates, of !their , cornypti•atid :fleshly; nature; teltillitesits
rean.earedflorir,&otils. ,Theysnlfirge distriettAarthiMi
thou ands 'Of iiiliidoliar and a&ounfable - . beitis's Wet elm-
. ~._.
cutotilateti4 wittnitsti•ariti place' qi(l Divine WorsittpQwhoti•
Anever,: to, _attest thetll9owledg,e and .the
,presence., ~90
amongst it ‘1 '
" They saw a people too poor to provide Christiaiilngtrif6.''
tion for•theinselyes,oudtoo ignorant even to desireit,mwliom
the so called ." VolitntarY Principle" had not reached, and
wild:Oil-fey' were 'persitilded;',Vothing else than 'the :*chttith
principle ever could reaeh.cifeetutilly. Knowing, too„at,,the
the same time the, wretched fallacy of the argument which
they.foresaw might- probably be 'addressed with' effect to the
avarice Of --soine,—that .new churches could not; be required
. in one part of the town so long as a single bench remained,
midden/nett in' any church in another 'quarter ; and Un-
deterred by the amount which ; had already been sub-.
scribed for the same purpose, they appealed confidently,
to' their Christian brethren for the forMatuni of the Liver-
pool Church 'Building Society ; and under the good providence
of God, they were not dikappointed.
"'flee stun of £20,J00 was very 'soon contributed, a large
:portion of which, as "will appear from the statement of the.
,treasurer's accounts, has already been paid into the bank,
and therenittinUr is 'in rapid progress of collection:- ' •
n, :" Grateful .for. liberal means which have thus enabled
them, tO,Fnabark. to, a considerable extent in their undertaking,
the- oorninittee beg to express a hope that they shall shortly
be permitted:3o carry ; some- of -their further projects into
effect. , jig ,such .a...new impulse. to their labours they
venture to' look especially to those friends of the church, and
of their lellow-creatures, who have not yet:had theirattention
fully, drya,w,;),to.,the„ohject. of this society. And they beg to
O sngg-KI tUdgei'who are already subscribers to its funds,
the priffipriOly of impressingupon others, the force of .those
.claims whielk ;have...l-et:on:mended themselves so warmly to
their Oivii'cOriScieneeS. With the blessings of God upon the
itittiteilliberelityol• all their Christian brethren, they- hope
.A.0--be perixt*.ea to celebrate each of several years to come,
Wiflaile: autiOinicentent' of a degree of progress similar' to
'tlititiwhiell'JthOy have now the pleasure to report respecting
il,hehphMiye,reeparations for building three new churches.
, ." Shouldit appear to anYone that some of these ought to
4,'llitve,beelilitlVniore advanced state than they really are, the
ippottoittqcEille,g, in :explanation, to refer to circumstances
which have hindered them from carrying their objects into
effed,'So- speedily,as they could have desired. In the first
• place, there. was considerable difficulty in finding sites for the
chniches. Plenty of land was to be had in the new parts of
the town,-butAlind was wanted where spiritual destitution
exists. • It wits necessary to go to the densely populated parts,
and there the difficulty of obtaining land is well known. The
committee have, however, succeeded in obtaining two sites :
the one in Greenland-street, at the south end of the town;
the other in Naylor-street, at the north end. Upon the former,
the first stone of a new church was laid about a fortnight ago,
and the committee are happy to state, that the working plans
of the intended church in Naylor-street are ready, and, in the
course of another fortnight, the contracts for the erection of
that church will be completed.
"The committee have also in operation another church,
which will be upon the verge of the borough, in the hamlet
of Windsor. It may be necessary perhaps to make some ex-
planations with regard to the choice of that site. If they had
been left to themselves, without the liberal offer which had
been made to them, they would hardly, at the present mo-
ment, have chosen that situation for one of their churches,
although there is a rising population there of upwards of
3,000 persons who have no church accommodation. The in-
habitants and friends of religious improvement in that neigh-
bourhood, anxious to establish a church in it, have raised, or
intend-to raise, the-sum-of £1,500 towards the completion of
it. .They told your committee—' If you will establish one of
your churches at Windsor, where we will prove that the des-
titution of the place really requires it, we will give you £1,500 ;
we will subscribe to all the rules of the society ; we will give
up the appointment to the church, to be vested in your trus-
tees, and -we will further lend you Xl,OOO without interest, for
the period of two years, to assist you in completing the work.'
They-also undertook to establish schools in connection with
the church,' width indeed are much wanted in that neigh-
bourhood..' . Such an offer as this the committee did not think
themselves at liberty to refuse, because by it they have ob-
tained the building of a church at a very small cost.
These, then, are the peculiar circumstances which have
attended the operations of the committee since they began
their labours ' • and with this brief recital of them, they beg
,StitOonelude their report, committing their work to the good
4providence of Him for whose glory it is designed, and calling
' uptni all their Christian brethren to unite with them in au
earnest prayer to the throne of grace, 'That in this and all
.our other.
,works begun, continued, and ended
and
finifiHailtliyi:
by
we
may be permitted to glorify his holy name,
;,his mercy, to obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our
Lord."'
The CH AI nm AN said the meeting had heard the report, and
he should be glad to hear any remarks, or to reply to any
questions, respecting it.
The Rev.':ffifoit M'Ni:ILE suggested the omission of a
J,9lAPse in a passage of the report, from which it might possi-
-1,14-be inferred, that the committee imputed to the members
iii)f,,the'voltintary principle, that they had " forsaken" certain
parts of the town, in want of religious instruction. This (if
-iso construed) conveyed, he thought, a reproach not merited ;
imittinight: prOvoke hostility • towards the report, which he
,tho9ht unnecessary. He did not think that the voluntaries
hail forsaken their posts, but he did not care how strongly the
.
:report expressed the inadequacy of the voluntary principle,
forithe religious instruction of the people. (Hear.) He did
not fliink the illusion necessary.
,:t the ' CH AIRM A N explained that the language employed
~Was pot intended to convey such reproach, but merely pur-
ported that some of the districts of the town had not been
4iSited-bY Mt -parties alluded to. He, however, concurred
• witlegr.,AP-Neile that the clause might be misapprehended,
.. , . .. . 9 '
, and it was accordingly struck out.
' -,M r. 'Jos it HA' ED WAR DS' moved that the report be adopted,
, end ,also. (on. the suggestion of the Chairman) that it be
printed for distribution amongst the members of the society.
The motion was - duly seconded, and it was unanimously
passed. • - •::, . .; . - -
The Clia i RN, AN said that it might not be improper to in-,
'form theineetitig that great difficulty had been experienced
in the procuring of suitable sites for the intended new
churches. They (the members of the committee) had tra-
velled day after dayin search of proper situations, in localities
.win -• ,the; §piyitual wants of the inhabitants were greatest, at
loi -gtds of the, town. They had seen various sites in the
(f
alorct that ' Were eligible • but the price demanded was so ex-
cessive, that
.if. precluded them from coming to any arrange-
I • . , .