The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-02 00:00:00

Evidences of the deep-rooted and inalienable attachment
of the people of England to our venerable and truly apostoli-
cal Church are multiplying around us in every direction.
We can scarcely open either a metropolitan or provincial
newspaper without recognising some fresh token of this feel-
ing. In all quarters of the kingdom we hear of churches
being erected, enlarged, embellished, or endowed. Our own
town, within the last few years, has been signally conspi-
cuous for these gratifying manifestations of deep-felt and
abiding love of our glorious Protestant Church—manifesta-
tions which fully justify us in predicting that the " church of
our forefathers" will yet survive in noble triumph the ma-
lignant assaults of her enemies.
The zeal of the Protestant population of Great Britain, as
evinced in the erection and endowment of so many noble
temples for the worship of the ALMIGHTY, seems to have
gone on increasing in the same ratio as the zeal of the go-
vernment in providing for the religious destitution of the
country has declined. The culpable apathy, indiflerence,
neglect, or hostility of our present Popish-ridden adminis-
tration, has served to stimulate into vigorous activity the
dormant energies of all classes of Churchmen, and caused
them, with an alacrity unexampled in the history of the na-
tion, to rally round the church and its ministry, and to con-
secrate, more and more, to the hallowed cause of Church Ex-
tension, their talents, their influence, and their wealth.
This day we have been gratified with an additional proof of
the hold which our scriptural church possesses on the affec-
tions of the people of Liverpool. This gratification we have
derived from witnessing the laying of the foundation stone of
the church of St. Silas, in Pembroke Place. The circum-
stances connected with the origin of this church are of a pe-
culiarly interesting character. They exhibit a pregnant in-
stance of the mutual confidence and reciprocal affection which
ought ever to subsist between a pastor and his flock ; while
they afford a striking illustration of the value and efficacy of
combined and persevering exertion, in surmounting the
greatest difficulties, and rendering practicable apparent im-
possibilities.

It is well known that the Church of St. Jude has been
long found much too small to accommodate the numbers
who habitually frequented it, not to say any thing of the
many thousands living in the neighbourhood, who rarely, if
ever, attended any place of worship whatever. Conscious of
the inadequacy of church room in St. Jude's, and wishing to
make some additional provision for the spiritual destitution
of the eastern districts of the town, the talented and beloved
minister of the above church, the Rev. Hugh 111`Neile,
ventured to suggest that the congregation should voluntarily
supply the funds requisite for the erection of another church,
in the vicinity of that in which he officiates. The plan pro-
posed for accomplishing this truly noble and christian pur-
pose will be more fully understood by perusing the following
copy of a letter which the Rev. Hugh M'Neile addressed to
the congregation of St. Jude's. We sincerely hope that
the pulalicity which we feel it to be our duty to give to this
most interesting document will be productive of similarly
beneficial results in many other parts of the country. We
subjoin the address :

"TO THE CONGREGATION OF ST. JUDE'S CHURCH,
LIVERPOOL.

" MY DEAR FRIENDS AI,:I;iIRWIIREN,—We are entrusted
with the Gospel, the glorious Gospel of the grace of God : to
embrace it, to enjoy it, to adorn it, to propagate it. Many
thousands of our fellow-townsmen never hear it. They are
beyond our reach—beyond the reach of all the Christian
ministers and congregations in the town. They have no
opportunity—no church room—even if they ware willing to
seek it ; and they are naturally unwilling. They must be
sought ; and there is no one to seek them.
" I have brought this subject before you. I have ex-
plained its causes, and urged its claims. On a late occasion,
encouraged by your affectionate confidence, I proposed that,
as a congregation, (but not, of course, to the exclusion of
any of our friends,) we should build a church, and by so
much diminish the evil.

" The object' of this paper is to bring this proposal prac-
tically before you. That we should build a church some-
what similar to our own St. Jude's—not quite so large, not
nearly-so expensive—but under the management in detail of
the same trustees. Also—That our contributions should be
all free donations, looking for nothing in return but the
happiness of seeing another thousand or fourteen hundred of
our fellow-townsmen enjoying what we enjoy in time and
for eternity—the happiness of ministering of our substance
in furtherance of the cause for which Christ died

" There are difficulties in the way of every good work in
this fallen world. But he not deterred. External difficul-
ties vanish like summer clouds before the rising sun of a
resolute mind. It is a lingering reluctance within that avails
itself of the cry, • There is a lion in the street.' Be resolved
—supply the funds—and the deterring mountain connected
with site, patronage, &c. &c. &c., will become a plain.
" To the poor among you I would say. • Do thy diligence
gladly to give of thy little.' To the rich I would say, • Leave
our poorer friends but little to give.'.
" I am always, my dear brethren,
" Your faithful servant for Christ's sake,
" HUGH M•NEILE.
" St. Jude's, October, 1838."

This letter was accompanied with a promise of a donation
of £lOO from Mrs. Wlsleile. The appeal was laid before a
meeting, held in the school-room of St. Jude's Church, and
convened by the churchwardens, and most nobly was it re-
sponded to. A large amount of the funds was immediately
raised. Subsequent difficulties were, however, as anticipated
by Mr. M'Neile, encountered in maturing the arrangements
for commencing the erection -of the church. These difficul-
ties were metlin the spirit recommended by the reverend
gentleman. They have literally " vanished like a sum-
mer cloud," and we have now the grateful task to re-
cord the happy fruition of a design at once pious in its
origin, and noble in its achievement. We trust that the
success which has attended this experiment upon the chris-
tian sympathies of St. Jude's congregation, will operate as a
salutary example to both pastors and people in many other
parts of the kingdom. Would that we; had hundreds, nay
thousands of such men as Mr. M'Neile in the church ! We
should then have little cause to fear anything from the exer-
tions of Papists, or any other class of schismatics ; and just
as little cause should we have to complain of the want of
scriptural schools or church accommodation. Thank God.
such characters, animated with a like burning zeal and chris-
tian courage in their ministerial vocation, are multiplying
within the walls of our Zion. May their numbers be daily
increased! must be the prayer of every true friend to the
church.

We now proceed to describe the interesting and affecting

eeremony of

LAVING THE FOUNDATION STONE.

At a quarter before eleven o'clock a number of clergymen,
and all those members of St. Jude's congregation whose at-
tendance was not prevented by their occupations, assembled
within that edifice for the purpose of proceeding to Pembroke-
place. A procession was formed of the congregation, headed
by the Rev. Rector Campbell, the Rev. Mr. M'Neile, and
the
.clergy, which proceeded through tiles of the children of
St. Jude's Sunday and (lay schools. Each party having taken
the place allotted to him, the proceedings commenced by the
children of the schools singing a hymn.
The Rev. Heprt M'NEILE, in presenting a silver trowel
to the Rev. Augustus Campbell, junior rector of Liverpool,
for the purpose of laying the stone, spoke as follows :—Mr.
Rector,—ln the name of the congregation of St. Jude's, who
have supplied the funds necessary for the erection of a new
church; in the name of the building committee, who were
appointed for the maiiagement in detail of the necessary
preliminary arrangements ; in my own name as the privi-
leged
minister of that congregation, and chairman of that
committee; and in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, whose saving truth it is our earnest desire to propa-
gate to the glory of God the Father,—l have now the
high gratification to present you with this trowel. and to
request you, as one of the rectors of this great and populous
parish, to lay the foundation stone of a church to be called
St. Silas,
in memory of that holy man of God, the com-
panion and fellow-labourer of the Apostle Paul, in imprison-
ments, in tumults, in distresses, for the furtherance of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Rev. RECTOIL, having taken the trowel, spoke as fol-
lows .—Mr. M'Neile, I cannot proceed to the part which
has been assigned to me in the ceremony of this day, without
first returning my humble thanks to Almighty God that, tie
hag permitted me in His mercy, by the partial restoration
of my health, again to appear among you, to evidence my
anxiety, and, as far as my feeble powers will permit me, to
co-operate with you, my brethren in the ministry, and
with my friends and fellow-rnembers, the. lay members of
the christian church who are assembled .this day, in the fur-
therance of this blessed and peaceful work, the foundation of
a house of prayer for the promotion of his honor and glory,
and to do his will upon earth in the salvation of souls. I
call it a merciful and a peaceful work, because, although in
the present day we are unhappily too often reminded of those
troublous times, in which the chosen people under the con-
duct of Nehemiah, after their return from the Piabylonish
captivity, were forced to labour at the bedding of the temple
with a worktool in one baud and a sword in the other ;
still 1 am sure we shall all of us affirm that a state of war-
fare is. not our choice ; that though it is our inclination as
well as our duty, iii compliance with St. Paul's precept, if it
be possible to do as much as lies in us to live peadeably with
all men—with this proviso, however, that it is not law-
ful to sacrifice Christian truth even for the sake of
Christian peace—at whatever cost, the sanctuary of truth
must be defended, and its foundations securely laid.
Let us, however, pray to Goj, the author of peace,
and the lover of concord, that he will be pleased to
bless this work with the abundance of peace, and incline
the hearts of all who profess and call themselves Christians,
to hold the faith in unity.of spirit and in the bonds of peace,
provoking each other only to love good works, and remem-
bering, "'How good and joyful a thing it is for brethren to
uone t dwell together in unity," teaching us that, as we own g
shepherd, we should all dwell, if it were possible, in one fold
—that as we 'are all subject to one civil government, e h
all,-if possible, to he members of one church, glorifying God
not only with one mind, but with one mouth—and that \se
need seek no other fold than that pure and reformed part of
Christ's Holy Catholic Church which has been established
in England from the earliest ages, as a witness and keeper
of the holy Writings. which, though enslaved and corrupted
for a time. by a foreign superstition, was emancipated and
purified from that slavery and corruption at the time I f
the reformation, and which contains and preserves the primi-
tive catholic doctrines and the ordinances of primitive ca-
tholic government—holding the faith first delivered to the
saints, and having a Ministry duly ordained and commis-
sioned- to preach authoritatively the written word, and ad-
minister from their true source the sacramental grace of the
Christian government—which, therefore, has a sacred
and hereditary claim to our attachment, and which surely
has not forfeited them by any spots and blemishes which may
have sullied either her faith or her government by her contact
with the civil power. Animated by these sentiments of devoted
attachment to our own pure church, which we consider the
purest form of the purest religion, but bearing no ill will
whatever towards any other Community, I rejoice unfeign-
edly that I have been permitted by God to bear my part in
the foundation of a sanctuary where the pure word of God
will be preached, and the sacraments duly administered, ac-
cording to the ordinances of that part of Christ's Holy Ca.
tholic Church which is established in these realms.

Mr. CAMPBELL then performed the ceremony of laying
the stone; and it having been pronounced to be well and
truly laid,