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

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 many 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.Seciety's funds into our own. Diocese.
To relieve the Parent Society in some degree froth 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
to the town of Liverpool. She contributed to relieve the
wants of the poorer parts of the Diocese in a way that
marked well her 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
upon the confines of ,Revelation, whom yet no Heavenly
Light had ever illumined, whom no voice'of Divine Truth had'
ever reached, nor any messenger.of God ever cheered with
the Gospel message of salvation.
" This distressing condition of a large portion of our own
immediate family and household, suggested to certain chari-•
table individuals, whose hearts the Lord had touched, the
chenie of forming the ' Liverpool Church Building Society;'
the first anniversary of which we are celebrating to day.
" Theiafirst care was to satisfy themselves fully of the extent
of the evil, which they proposed to remedy, before they pro-
ceeded to appeal to the sympathies of their fellow-townsmen.
And sad indeed svas.the sight-which such an inspection ex-
hibited. Th 6, saw an immense population, whose industry
was contrlbuting daily to increase the wealth and ornament
of that- town, felleyving in the moral course of their jives only.
the dictates of their corrupt and fleshly nature, whilst no
man cared for their souls. They saw large districts in Which
thousands ,of immortal and accountable beings were ac-
cumulated, without any place of Divine Worship what
isoevers% attest the knowledge and the presence of God"
amongst them.
" They saw a people too poor to provide Christian Instruc"
tion for themielveri; and too ignorant even to desire it,—whom'
the so called " Voluntary Principle" 'had not reached,and
whom, they were persuaded, nothing else than the charch
principle ever could reach effectually. 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 some,—that new churChes could not be required
in one part of the town so long as a single bench remained
unoccupied 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 formation of the Liver-
pool Church Building Society; and under the gOod'providence
of God, they were not disappointed.
" The sum of £20,000 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 the remainder is in rapid progress of collection.
" Grateful for the liberal means which havethus enabled
them to embark to a considerable extent in their undertaking,
the committee beg. to. express a hope that they shall shortly
be permitted to carry some of their further projects into
effect. "-For such a new impulse. to their labours they
Venture to look especially to those friends of the church, and
of their fellow-creatures, who have net yet had their attention
fully drawn to the Object of this society. And they beg to
suggest to those- who are already subscribers to its funds,
the propriety of impressing upon others, the force of those
'claims • which have recommended themselves so warmly to
their own consciences. With the blessings of God upon the
united liberality of all their Christian brethren, they hope
.to , be pen-witted' to celebrate each of several years to come,
with the announcement of a degree of progress similar to
-that which they have now the pleasure to report respecting
the psst year,:—Preparatimis for building three new churches.
"-Should it appear to any one that some of these ought to
have been in a more advanced state than they really are, the
`committee 'beg., in explanation, to refer to circumstances
whichhave hindered them from carrying their objects into
effect so speedily as they could have desired. In the first
plaCes there was considerable difficulty in finding sites for the
churches. Plenty of land was to be had in the new parts of
the town, but land was wanted where spiritual destitution
exists. It was' 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 he 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 £l,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, which indeed are much wanted in' that neigh-
bourfibOd. -Suchen offer as this the coffinsittee did not think
themselves at liberty to refase, 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
to conclude their report,' committing their work to the good
providence of Him for whose glory it is designed, and calling
upon all their Christian brethren to unite with' them in an
earnest prayer to the throne of grace;_' That in this and all
our other works begun, continued, and 'ended in Him, we
may be permitted to glorify his holy name, and finally, by
his mercy, to obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
The CumnmAN said the meeting had heard tie report; and
he should be glad to hear any remarks, or to reply to' ally
questions, respecting it.-- • •
The Rev. HUGH M`Nortr suggested the omission of a
clause in a passage of the report, from which it might possi-
bly be. inferred, that the committee imputed to the members
of the voluntary principle, that they had " forsaken" certain
parts of the town, in want of religious instruction. This (if
so construed) conveyed, he thought, a reproach not merited ;
and might provoke hostility towards the report, which he
thought unnecessary. He did not think that the voluntaries
had•forsaken their posts, but he did not care how strongly the
report expressed the inadequacy of the voluntary principle,
for the religious instruction of the people. (Hear.) He did
not think the allusion necessary.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the language employed
was not intended to convey such reproach, but merely pur-
ported that some of the districts of the town had not been
visited by the parties alluded to. lie, however. concurred
with Mr: M'Neile, that the clause might be misapprehended,
and it was accordingly struck out.
Mr. JOSHUA EDWARDS moved that the report be adopted,
and 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 Crimesr AN said that -it might not be improper to in-
form the meeting 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 day in search of proper situations, in localities
where the spiritual wants of the inhabitants were greatest, at
both ends of the town. They had seen various sites in the
north that. were ; but the price demanded was so ~ .
ex-
cessive tut It precluded them from coming to any. arrange-

meat; and if they had riot fortunately learned that Mr. John
Wright had some suitable ground in Naylor-street, they
would yet have been at a stand still. They called upon Mr.
Wright, and explained to .him their object. That gentle-
man immediately entered into their views ; allowed them to
have the land at. the comparatively low price of 255. a yard ;
and in the most liberal manner, subscribed the sum of £lOO.
towards the erection of the church, Nothing, indeed, could
be more kind than his conduct towards them ; and he seemed
most anxious to forward the wishes of the society by any
means in his power. They had been equally fortunate at the
south end of the town. After the land (part of a plot) was laid
out for the Southern Hospital, there. was just as much left
as they wanted for their church, so. that its acquisition was
accidental. There had, also been ?Feat difficulty in finding a
Site for thebhurch to be erectedby'mr. Blackstone,. and, a
piece (Aland further out of. the town„ and near the Harring-
ton docks, had been taken for, it at, he heard, 30s. a yard.
That gentleinem, who had privately fOrkarded the same ob-
ject as that of the Society, hadAis contracts now in a state of
forwardness, and the building, he was glad to announce,
'would be commenced 'MAT-6h; ut as early as the weather
would permit. The cost of the church and its endowment
(£2000) would be in all £7OOO. Nor was that the only work
of piety and humanity in which •that benevolent individual
was at present engaged. He was building a Scotch national
church in his native town of Leith, to which schools would
be attached, and also an hospital for females afflicted with
incurable diseases. This latter work -he had undertaken on
the suggestion of his own daughter, who had been so afflict-
ed. She had commiserated the situation of those who, when
found incurable, were ejected from our ordinary hospitals;
and her father had complied with her humane request. The
erection and endowment of these buildings in Scotland would
be £30;000; and, with a rare disinterestedness, the excellent
founder purposed to give the Thole up into the hands of
others, fur the public good. lk hatever revenue might arise
from the seats in the new church here, was to be appropriated
part to the necessary repairs.of the church, and the residue
to the augmentation of the clergyman's salary. (Hear, heat%)
In reply to a question, the Treasurer, Mr. E. MOLYNEUX,
stated that the total amount hitherto subscribed towards the
funds of the society was £20,021 19S. Of this the sum of
£7862 9s. Gd. had already been collected, and £2655 remained
due upon the instalmentof the past year. Another instalment
was now due. Some of the subscribers had not yet paid any
thing. In this item there was an amount of £430t45., most
of which, however, he thought would be obtabufd on appli-
cation. He had also received the sum of £l3 Ss. of annual
subscriptions, and had yet paid away very little—only about
£46 95., including £24 of auction duty.
The society had in the Royal Bank ..
11 Liverpobl Bank 3,087 1 5

£10,77115 7
He concluded by expressing his deep regret at the demiSe of
several of the subscribers—including the Rev. Mr. Caldwell
and Mr. Eden. The motion was passed.
The CHAIRMAN said the next' part of the biiiinesi OPltte
meeting was to complete the fgrntation of thpeouninitteefor
the n> •lng year, as the rules reouired- that one-third shonld
retire annually—namely, four clergymen (out of :the twelfe,)
and eight laymen, out of the twenty four who constituted the
lay portion of the committee.- The names of those retiring had
been drawn agreeably to the rules. They were all, however,
re-eligible, if the meeting thought fit to return them or any
of them. The rev. gintleman here read the names of the
twelve, including that of Mr. Eden, deceased.
The names of the five clergy were first proceeded with,
and the following were unanimously chosen—these marked *
being re-elected:
The Rev. Mr. North* (to remain as secretary .) the Rev.
Dr. Tattershall,* the Rev. Mr. Carpenter, and the Rev.
Mr. Gladwin. _ _

The meeting then proceeded to elect the eight laymen as
follows :—Mr. John Eden (in the room of his deceased
faiher,) Mr. Edward Cropper,* Mr. Parker,* Mr. Robert-
son Glad3tone,* Mr. Edwards,* Mr. Alston, Mr. _Hugh
Hornby,* and Mr. Birch.*
In reply to a question, the CHAIRMAN said the total
amount subscribed was £20,021 19s. He stated that it was
yet impossible to say how far the funds, if all collected would
extend in the building of churches, until the two undertaken
were completed ; but he thought it desirable That the Com-
mittee should be on the look-out for another site ; and that
if a very desirable one should be found, that they should be
empowered to purchase it.
In reply to Mr. WNEILE, the CHAIRMAN said he con-
curred-in the suggestion, that the names of the subscribers
should be appended to the printed,report ; and that, as this
was customary, it should be understood that the motion for
printing the report should embrace that undeistanding. He
added, that it would be well that the subscribers should be
apprized that the second instalment Was due,that day (the
first of the year), there being an impression amongst some of
them that the first instalinent was only then doe.
This concluded the business of the meeting, and the Chair-
man having vacated the chair, thanks were voted to him by
acclamation, and the assemblage dispersed.