The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-24 00:00:00

SCRIPTURAL EDUCATION

But, in the enforcement of the Scripture itself as their plan
of public instruction, government has no choice—it has no
right, no authority whatever to render it. It is no matter of
choice whether subjects or governors shall be responsible to
God for obedience to his divine revelation ; where that reve-
lation is known—they must, they shall be responsible—" We
must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give
an account of the deeds done in the body," and if one of
these deeds be to take down His eternal word as the standard
of a nation's instruction—if a government, to accommodate
its policy to the crime of its subjects, choose to make itself a
party—yea, to set up its authority by law against the author-
ity of God—we can only say that all sophistry by which it
would vindicate itself, sinks into contempt before the honest
faithful judgment even of the Christian man; and it were
well for men who act on such principles, even if they could
vindicate themselves before man, to consider how they shall
stand with their criminal policy in their hand, to plead for
compromising with the crimes of their fellow-men, the au-
thority of that God at whose tribunal they must themselves
appear. Do not debate, then, my lord, what you are to do
by balancing thequestion between Protestantism and Popery.
Do not say in the cabinet what are we to do? If we main-
tain the board, we have the Protestant clergy against us : if
we dissolve this board, and set up the Scriptures in the
schools, we have the Popish priests against us ; and what
are we to do? The Popish priests and the people are the
majority, and we cannot go against them.
Do not reason thus, my lord, in the cabinet. It may be
confidently asserted before the cabinet, and before the nation,
and before all the Papacy of Europe, that this is not the
question for the cabinet to debate.
Permit me, with all deference, to submit this questions to
the British cabinet—is God to be shut out from these consul-
tations ?—are the statesmen who compose it to say that they
have no responsibility to Him in the matter? Where the
question concerns His Holy Word, and His authority over
the people of this empire—not as to points, and doctrines,
and opinions deducible from that word, but as to that word
itself, in its own whole integrity and authority, whateverthat
may be. Is Jehovah himself to have no share in determining
this question ? Put God's authority into the scale, and where
does the majority predominate then, my lord ? Let every
member of the cabinet place his hand upon his heart and say
—do I believe before God that he can sanction the suppression
of His Holy Word in the national schools of Ireland' Let
each do this, and answer in his Maker's sight; and where is
the member of the cabinet—where is the man that calls him-
self a Christian who (pardon the word—l mean it not in dis-
respect to man, but in reverence to God) would dare to vote
for the Irish Board of Education ? Weigh these principles.
my lord, in the balances of the sanctuary—take them into
your closet. and lay them out in the sight of God, and if you
can lift up your eyes and heart to him, and call him to witness
that you believe they are false, then go into the cabinet and
House of Commons, and plead for the Irish Board of Educa-
tion. But if not, my lord—if you know and feel in your
conscience they are true, then do justice to your conscience
and to truth, my lord, and, with the manly courage of a
Christian, admit that your principle has been wrong—and
vote for the dissolution, or rather for the re-establishment on
Christian principles, of that anti-Christian system.—M` Gee's
Letter to Lord Stanley.

GRAND TREAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS.—Parents and guar-
dians have an opportunity of treating children under their
charge to see Anderson's celebrated group of statuary, con-
sisting of Tam &Shanter on his mare, crossing the Bridge of
Doon, with the witch Cutty Sark, cut out of an immense
block of stone, weighing at the first no less than 16 tons.
The laughable group of the De'il runnin' awa' wi' the Ex-
ciseman; and the much admired group of Watty and Meg;
or, the Henpecked Husband, large as life. We have re-
peatedly had occasion to notice these splendid efforts of
genius, and do assure those who have not yet seen them,
that a real treat awaits them at this season of the year when
all is mirth and merriment. No one can form the least idea of
the figures, and as everything is so minutely finished, and the
admission money a mere trifle, we hope many will give
a call as the exhibition will shortly close.—See ado.

CHICHESTER OLD BANK.-011 Tuesday, the adjourned
meeting of the creditors of this bank took place, when the
debts proved were about £120,000. The failure has caused
a complete stagnation to business in Chichester, and numer-
ous cases have occured where persons in comparative affluence
are reduced to the most abject distress. Amongst them may
be named two aged maiden ladies (sisters), named Elizabeth
and Nanny Fowler, one of whom is a cripple. They proved
for £1,969 Is. 4d. They are left without a shilling, have been
compelled to apply to the parish for relief, and are now in the
receipt of a miserable weekly pittance. Another case was a
farmei with a large family named Smith : he had £295 16s. 6d.
of his own money, and borrowed £l,OOO for the purpose of
taking a larger farm, the whole of which he deposited in the
bank for safety a few days before the stoppage. He has by
the occurrence been rednced to beggary. The largest creditor
was Mr. Kent, training-groom to the Duke of Richmond,
who proved for £4,595 16s. 7d., the savings of many years'
servitude, intended for a large family. Such was the confi-
dence placed in the bank, that numbers, particularly females,
deposited every pound they possessed in the concern.
STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCE.—During the severe storm of
Monday night last, the inmates of a house in High•street.
Ayr, were alarmed by a heavy substance falling down the
kitchen flue, which, instead of lying stock still, proceeded to
divest itself of the sable addition to its drapery, by. flying
around the room, and kicking up such a dust as might be
expected at a chimney sweep's wedding. nhen the con-
sternation had subsided which had been caused by the advent
of the mysterious visitor—which was not until it had fairly
tired itself out—a searcliiug enquiry was made by the inmates
to find what description of intruder they had to deal with ;
when it appeared, greatly to their surprise, that the unruly
transgrecsor was neither more nor less than a cock pliecsant
The 'poor bird had in all probability been scared from its
perch, and had winged its way towards the town, where it
had taken to roost on the top of the chimney, into which it
had been blown by one of those sudden and violent gusts of
wind that prevailed during. the night. Into the subsequent
history of the " bonnie birdie, it becomes not those uncon-
nected with tai:-office to pry. It is but charitable to think
he was allowed to wing his way home again ; but, judging
from certain indications, he must have cast his feathers with
fright before he flew.—Ayr Advertiser.
CURIOUS CASE.—A few days ago, a corporal belonging to
the corps of sappers and miners, and who had been employed
in the trigonometrical survey in the north, and had managed
to save somewhere about £36, came to Glasgow, and took up
his lodgings in the Gallowgate. Thinking he would himself
be the best banker, he resolved on securing hie moneyin his
body belt, so that It might be at all times under his control
and keeping. With this view he had a ten pound note, a five
pound note, nineteen one pound notes, and two sovereigns,
put into the hands of a young woman in the lodging house,
to sew. into his belt ; but she adopted a different mode of
dispo n
beltsigo and
fittly aliLion She ewas, of course, searched after, and, and carried it with her from the
house,
was on Friday night secured, with pearly one-half of the
female,money curiousyolu'hnegasshe
is, is a married woman, having four
part of the case is yet to be told. The
i
children, and her husband is residing in the country. Passing
herself off in town as a single woman, she had captivated the
laitetaerrttohfe privateausual
o
of
the
10th foot, and Friday night was,
proclamations, fixed for the marriage. She
had spent about £l5 in clothes for the occasion, and was
about to step into a noddy to drive off to a minister to tie the
knot, when a criminal officer stepped forward and prevented
the consummation which she devoutly wished. Most of the
property purchased by the stolen money has been recovered.
Previous to the apprehension of the woman, the sapper and
miner who bad been robbed of his money, went out to kirk-
intilloch, where he understood, her husband worked as a
sawyer. The sawyer, howeer, had no sooner sera the sol-
dier than be bolted, and it is now found that be is a Mertes'
from the ram* corps.