The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-10-26 00:00:00

•"
ILLEGAL EXPULSION

has also commenced with the Wesleyan Association, in Liver-
pool. On Sunday, the 2nd instant, a member received his
quarterly society ticket, and on the Thursday following he
was expelled from the society, by a leader's meeting, without
notice, without charge, and without trial—Tithout precedent—
consequently his leader sent in his resignation on Thursday
last, and many others are most seriously demurring against
it. The whole society is in a fearful state of agitation, the
consequence of which time only can develope.
" His Reverence' John Peters in the Chair.

" I do hereby certify that above is correct, the member
alluded to being one of my own class.
(Signed) " War. SHIRLEY,
" Leader and Local Preacher."
. .

And now he calls those statements "most calumnious,"
" and a gross violation of truth itself," " positive untruth,"
and "-I did not see the statements to which he has so unwar-
rantably attached my name." Relative to this last declara-
tion of his, I not only read the above " copy" verbatim to
him, but left the statements with him, for his perusal and
consideration, for about twelve hours. I then called on him,
and he said he had no objections to sign it, and he then signed
it in my presence. Since that time there has not been one
word or one letter added to it. And seeing him some days
after, he was so far from regretting testifying to the truth of
the " statements," that he expressed his regret at not giving
his address as well as his name. Those statements were first
designed for the Christian Advocate. And in that ietter to the
Advocate, I stated that " the Editor will please consider Mr.
Shirley's testimony confidential until the truth of these state-
ments'are questioned." The editor of the Christian Advocate did
question the truth of the "statements" with Mr. Shirley's testi-
mony, and refused to insert them; therefore I considered the
r,,ndition of keeping Mr. Shirley's name private,wasat an end.
His complaint of .` breach of confidence," even if it were true,
is an acknowledgment that he did sign to the truth of the
" statements." Flow, then, can this possibly be reconciled
with what has been already stated? " I did not see the state-
ments to which be has so unwarrantably attached my name."
What need have we for farther witness : out of thy own mouth
1 condemn thee. Before the exposure of his conduct, I "told-
him of his fault," but he would not acknowledge it. I then
told him of his fault before two of our brethren, neither would
he then acknowledge it—but, alas, I can take him no farther
in a regular channel, for withi the officers in our society in
Liverpool, there is no church meeting to charge him with his
crime, be it what it may; and this appears to be the only
way left us, for the present, to bring him, and his guilty asso-
ciates to the bar of public opinion, that they may be well
lashed there—by bringing in " his guilty associates" with
him, I mean to say, they also have had a hand in this most
disgraceful affair. He told me that he did not write the
" letter" himself, but that some of his brethren did, but that
he signed it; of course he is not to be excused, but they also
are to be criminated, for they knew that my statements were
correct, viz., the " illegal expulsion," and that their last
quarterly meeting had acknowledged that "the leaders meet-
ing bad done wrong by expelling the member alluded to ;"
and Mr. Shirley, (I am sorry for him,) by following such
PILOTS, is on the rocks together with them. And, now, to
conclude with poor Mr. Shirley for the present, while I am
not indifferent to my own character, which may be injured
by his most unaccountable, and false statements, yet, I trust,
I am more concerned for the cause of truth and righteous-
ness. And if there is a particle of redeeming principle in
our society, I now call upon the persons who have assumed
the management of its affairs, to take cognizance of the
guilty party in this transaction, now before the public.
P.S.—Let it be observed, that Mr. Shirley was the person
who sent in his resignation on account of the " illegal expul-
sion by the leaders meeting."
I have written to the Christian Advocate for the original
letter with Mr. Shirley's signature affixed to it, and when it
returns, it shall he open to any of the public who may be
curious to see Mr. Shirley's handwriting, if his own state-
ment can be believed, written blindfold.

Relative to the scurrilous abuse of the letter subscribed
"A Churchman," I shall not waste my time answering it.
illy own character has nothin!, to fear from the attack of an
anonymous person, who evinces i❑ every line a profound dis-
regard of Christian charity, common civility, and honesty.
Contempt, mixed with pity, is theonly feeling I have towards
the writer, whoever he is. I court the investigation he
threatens, convinced that the truth of my statements, and
the purity of my motives, will stand the strongest test.
WM. HOSKING.

21th October, 1838.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL ST,INDARD.

Sin,—You will oblige me by inserting in Friday's Stan-
dard the following answer to a malicious and anonymous at-
tack on private character, which appeared in your last paper,
signed " A Churchman."
To the Members of the Liverpool Wesleyan Association.
DEAR BRETHREN,—When slander and falsehood are sub-
stitutes for argument and truth,—when plain and palpable

charges are met by shuffling equivocation and personal abuse,
—it invariably proves, on investigation, that the parties
guilty of these mean devices resort to them for want of better
means of defence against the piercing home-thrusts of TRUTH.
I have been led into these remarks by reading a letter in last
Tuesday's Standard, signed " A Churchman," but which
smells horribly of the " Old Church-yard." -It is evidently
the production of a person well versed in the art of mixing
up the smallest particle of truth with the greatest quantity of
the contrary commodity; infusing therein a portion of his
own vulgar -bile, gilding the pill with a little disinterestedness,
and cramming the bolus, nolens volens, down the public
throat with the long pole of holiness and Christian philan-
throphy. (?) I shall try, by administering a little truth as
an emetic, before I have done, to compel this Mr. Church-
man to eat his own nauseous words.
The David of ancient times went boldly, armed but with
his sling, to meet the Goliah of the Philistines; but the Da-
yids of modern days skulk under the hedge, and thence launch
forth the arrows of slander, or, like the ass in the fable, clothe
themselves in the lion's hide, and in safely bray forth Bil-
lingsgate and falsehood.—How are the mighty fallen ! !
Dear Brethren,—You must all recollect, when we sepa-
rated ourselves from the old connexion, it was that we might
no longer be rode over roughshod by any body of men, and
that we might in future be governed on sound, liberal, New
Testament principles. During the long continuance of agi-
tation which preceded our establishment as a Christian
church, each and every word of the eloquent leaders of the
Association breathed liberty and equality. Whilst Farrer
spread abroad " the principle of the right of interference, on
the part of the members of the church, in the regulation of
all its affairs,"—Rowland boldly bearded the monster Eccle-
siastical Tyranny, and triumphantly advocated the liberal
and scriptural doctrines of church government, which form
the basis of the origin of our Association. Time rolled on,
and the power which, during an unsettled and stormy period,
they had been allowed to assume, became sweet. They be-
gan to look upon it as a right, and were extremely loath to
part with it, that the liberal original principle of our Asso-
ciation might be fully brought into operation. Then Bro-
ther Hoskings, by every means in his power, attempted to
arouse the members to a consciousness of the fact, that in
rushing from Scylla they had fallen upon Charybdis, that
for the tyranny of a superintendent which was almost exclu-
sively felt by the officers, they have exchanged the domi-
neering power of a knot of officials knit together by the bonds
of self interest and exclusive feelings.
Brother Hoskings accordingly issued notices, requesting
the attendance of every member on the quarter day, 28th
June; but the officers took the alarm, they feared the extra-
ordinary attendance of members on that very favourable day
would swamp the designs of their clique, and, although there
are several "leaders meetings" in the circuit, and all leaders
meetings are inferior and subservient to the quarterly meet-
ing, yet ONE of the leaders meetings had the impudence to
pretend to postpone the quarterly meeting of the whole cir-
cuit; this, of course, was not to be borne, and although this
illegal attempt to postpone had the effect of keeping away
many members, yet the quarterly meeting was regularly and
punctually held, and in the absence of the Chairman of the
circuit, Mr. Hosking officiated as Chairman ; and now Mr.
"Churchman" you say "1 ascertained that his boasted quar-
terly meeting was ho meeting at all, and that he was the___
only member present, both judge and jury in his own case;
the only answer this demands is, that the whole statement is
one outrageous and impudent Lie ! and I challenge the
clique who have disgracefully smuggled an heterogeneous
apology for rules into the society, to show one iota in the
illiteral effusions of this blockhead," which is not dictated
by a sound scriptural spirit, and is infinitely superior to the
"spurious rules" which disclaim all connexion with common
sense, scripture, liberality, and which are a beautiful exem-
plification of the extended figure of speech, "Humbug."
Since the above period Brother Husking has been tried—
expelied—re-tried—t he former decision cancelled, (without
any legal trial, or even hearing) and yet, not one word, as
far as I can learn, has been said against his moral or religi-
ous character until this letter of "a Churchman" (which
looks very like an official document) applied the elegant and
courteous epithets of" coarse, illiterate buffoon" of "consum-
mate impudence," "stupid blockhead," " wicked," "dan-
gerous character, "suspicious character, if not of decidedly
immoral life," and then, by way of climax, "I .have proof that
the Rochdale correspondence so much boasted of, was, if not
a forgery, very nearly allied to it ; and that the whole scheme
is a refuge of lies to deceive the ignorant and unwary; but
let the writer beware if he provokes the majesty of truth, the
touch of Ithuriel's spear will unmask the traitor, and exhibit
him to an insulted community, and to the world, in his dis-
gusting character. Poor thing ! his zeal or terror overcomes
his discretion. He has proof, from head quarters I presume,
but he won't produce it; I can assure the members for the
best of all possible reasons—tie cant. Christian brethren, is
the above the language of a Christian like spirit? Does it
notbetray every symptom of the "galled jade wincing" under
the lasts of honest, manly truth? I have been acquainted
with Brother Hosking for many yews: and even those who
most deprecate his present faarless conduct will agree with
me in pronouncing him to be a devout, honest, and upright
man, confident in the justness of his cause, and resolutely
bent upon working out, by every righteous means, the free-
dom and liberty of his brethren.

In conclusion, though I have no doubt Brother Hosking
will fully answer the several communications in Tuesday's
Standard, I may state that the letter signed by Wm. Shirley
(if authentic) is the most extraordinary thing I ever remem-
ber, for I saw Wm. Shirley's signature to a letter which, as
far as I can recollect, was verbatim the same as that which
appeared in last Friday's Standard, and I heard Brother
Husking say at the time that he had read the letter to Wm.
Shirley betore W. S signed it. Wm. Shirley must have
been bordering on idiotcy when be affixed his name to a
statement of a dozen lines, without knowing what he thereby
testified to. If the letter signed by W. S. should turn out
to be a forgery there is an end of the matter, but if not, we
must look out for other pioof, which will be forthcoming.
But would not Brother Hosking be worse than a madman,
if he should have unwarrantably used Wm. Shirley's name,
with the positive certainty of immediate exposure ?—I now
conclude, dear brethren, yours respecttully,
One of the Members who were present at the
Quarterly Meeting, 28th June.
Liverpool, 25th October, 1838.
[This protracted controversy must positively end here.
We have only permitted it to be cat ried on so far in orderto
exemplify the beauty of the voluntary system. The dis-
putants must hereafter find some other vehicle for their com-
muaications.—E. L. S.l

HOUSEBREAKING BY DAYLIGHT.—The house of Mr.
Joseph Sparks, Upper Stanhope-street, was entered through
means of picklock keys, on Saturday morning last, about ten
o'clock, by a young man about 25 years of age, light com-
plexion, and wearing a green coat with yellow buttons. Mr.
Sparks's daughter had riot been absent from the house more
than 3/ of an hour, and had locked the door, and took the
key with her ; the thief entered the front door, went up stairs,
and took £55 in cash from a desk in the bed-room, and de-
camped with his booty through the back door.

ASSAULT BY A CAPTAIN ON HIS STEWARD.—On Wednes-
day, Captain William Robinson, master of the Cmur de Lion,
was summoned by his steward, James Clark, for an assault.
The complainant stated, that on Sunday evening, the 7th
instant, between eight and nine o'clock, whilst on their pass-
age from Montreal to this port, the captain found fault as to
the great consumption of lamp oil on board the vessel, and
on the steward explaining the cause of it in a proper and re-
spectful manner to the captain, the latter said, "give us none
of your cheek," and instantly struck him a violent blow on
his face, and then kicked hint repeatedly, and at the time he
was doing so said, " d-n you, I know I shall have to pay
for it, and I'll make your head as soft as a boiled turnip." On
Mr. Hail asking the captain what he had to say, he replied,
that the steward had used abusive language to him. Mr.
Hall then asked what was the language, but the captain replied
he could not call to mind the precise language. Mr. Hall
then told him he could put any questions that bore on the
case to the complainant, but this the captain declined, and
Mr. Hall having made some severe animadversions on the
conduct of the captain, fined him in the full penalty of five
pounds and costs, and, in default of payment, two months'im-
prisonmen t.

BINGEN, OCT. 18.—Prince Napoleon arrived last night,
and left this morning; he was .m the 15th at the fair of Man-
beim, where he passed the night. On the 15th in the morn-
ing, at the depart ire of the prince, a considerable crowd sur-
rounded his carriage, and formed a line frau his apartments
to the carriage, crying, "Vine l'Empereur."

CLEVELAND 110 USE, ST. JAMES'S.—Letters were brought
by the Earl of Durha:n's nephew and aide-de-camp, Mr.
Cavendish, directing the housekeeper to get the mansion
ready for the reception of the family by the latter end of the
year. The house steward of the noble governor-general, who
attended him to Quebec, was also a passenger by the Great
Western steam-ship, and is come over on business relative to
the return of the household to England. It was understood
that the earl would be absent two years iu Canada, and the
family mansion was dismantled of most of the furniture
previous to undergoing a thorough course of repair and em-
bellishment, which had already commenced; and Mr. Ste-
phenson, secretary to his Royal liighnesslhe Duke of Sussex,
was appointed agent to his lordship's extensive estates in the
north.—Morning Herald.

The Edinintro Chronicle very lugubriously gives the world,
to wit that Mr. Cutler Fergusson is about to retire from par-
liament altogether; end that Mr. Murray, " the late libe;..
al" candidate for Wigtonshire is to succeed him in the re-,
presentation of Kirkcudbright. What is meant by a late
liberal we cannot tell; but the Edinburgh Chronicle says it
regrets Mr. Cuear Fergusson's retirement the more because
the late liberal (Mr. Murray) isnot "a man of business."
ATTEMPT TO Munnan.—A few days ago a woman named
Austen, living at Charing, attempted to destroy her husband
in the following singular manner :—She requested him to
accompany her to a wood, near their dwelling, for the pur-
pose of obtaining some fuel, but he at first refused. He,
however, some time afterwards, on her again asking him,
complied with her wish. When they reached the place, he
was in the act of stooping to pick some wood off the ground,
when she struck him several very severe blows on the head
with a hammer which she had secreted about her person, and
then ran away. He bled profusely, but was enabled to reach
home, when medical assistance was procured, and he is now
likely to recover. The woman, we understand, is at times
subject to fits of insanity, which is the only reason that can
be assigned for her brutal conduct.—Canterbury Paper.
A MAD BULL IN ST. JAMES'S Pa CK.—Yesterday evening,
at six o'clock, great consternation was created in St. James's
Park in consequence of a bull in an infuriated state having
escaped from its owners at Buckingham-gate, and tearing its
way through the park, hutting at every person it met. When
it arrived opposite the Wellington Barracks the animal at-
tacked a lady, named Barker, and tore off her shawl, and a
female servant, who had been taking her mistress's children
for an evening walk in the enclosure, was knocked down;
both the servant and the children luckily escaped without in-
jury. The animal then continued its course, much to the an-
noyance of both horse and foot passengers, until it came
closely in contact with the sentries stationed at the Horse-
guards. Private Benton, of the 3d battalion grenadier guards,
seeing the imminent danger tit which the passengers were
exposed, confronted the animal with his bayonet; but the
concussion was so violent that, although the bayonet pene-
trated the chest, it was forced from the musket, and the stock
of the gun was shivered to pieces; at the same time the sol-
dier received a severe wound on the head, and was taken to
the hospital. After running upwards of 30 yards the animal
fell with great violence against the railings of the enclosure,
and died in a short time from the effect of the bayonet wound.
—Morning Herald.
CARICATURES. —H. B. has enlivened the dull season of the
year, (now, we hope, touching its end) in London, by the is-
sue of three new and amusing caricatures, Nos. 54, 55, and
56. The first represents O'Connell as a Trappist. in his re-
ligious retreat, with his scratch wig on a peg, and a "new
plan of agitation" on a table behind him. His crucifix on
his beads is a skull and cross-hones, and he is praying to ano-
ther of the same kind. Asa picture, the skull here is a capi-
tal balance to the scratch on the other side of the picture.
The next is a " Scene from Don Giovanni;" the Duke of
Wellington, a droll marble statue of the governor, and Lord
John Russell and O'Connell most ~rotesque as Juan and
Leperello. The last is "Maternal Solicitude and Unnatural
Offspring ;" O'Connell as a hen, cackling in distress to a
brood of ducklings she has hatched, and which are taking to
the water in various ludicrous ways. These, twelve in num-
ber, bear the likenesses of the principal members of the cabi-
net. Lord .John Russell is swimming away at a great rate
in the pool of conservatism, and all the other web-feet are
making the best of their way from their ruffled mother, except
Lord Glenelg, who has only just broken the shell.

- -
NEW DEFINITION OF THE WORD LUXURY.--A worthy
divine, the other day, asked a farming man, whom he had
noticed at church the preceding Sunday, if he liked his ser-
mon. The man answered in the affirmative; and he also
said he understood it. When asked if he knew the meaning
of the word luxury, which had been several times used in the
discourse of the sermon, John said, " Ees, I knows the
word wheel enow: it means the inside of a pig !"—ShOeki
Iris.