The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-02-05 00:00:00

CLIP Etberpool &taubarb.

FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 5, 1841

There is sad division in the dissenting camp as to
the best mode of .effecting the abolition of Church
Rates. This distraction in their councils was exhibit-
ed with peculiar emphasis at the "great" meeting of
the Voluntary Church Society, held in Leiccster on the
23d ultimo. On this occasion a reverend man, belong-
ing to the body, was of opinion that they were taking
matters much too quietly. If there were any truth in
the report that Lord John Russell meditates carrying
into effect the recommendation of the ecclesiastical
commissioners to give to churchwardens the power of
levying rates, and magistrates at quarter sessions au-
thority to enforce them, there was, he said, no know-
ing to what desperate deeds such provocation might
rouse them up. Then would be the time to beat

-" the pulpit drum ecclesiastic
With fist instead of a stick ;"

then would the " sleeping lion of dissent" be properly
awake; then would Lord John Russell learn that "the
men on whose shoulders he was borne into power still
hold in their hands the fate of the Whig Cabinet."
"We have forborne too long," said he; "neverthe-
less we have some blood left, though in a sluggish
state; and if the Colonial Secretary is desirous of
quickening its circulation, and raising it to the boiling
point, he has only to propose this confirmation of our
bondage." Whatever else was uttered by this meek
and reverend sufferer for conscience-sake—who re-
joices in the name of Miall—was given exactly in the
same blunderbuss strain. However, though his sen-
tence was decidedly for " open war," he confined him-
self strictly to the church-rate point, and gave no in-
timation of what he intended to do, or advise, in case
of obtaining the desired success.

Mr. Hume followed ; and, though he complimented
the last speaker in glowing terms upon his " pluck,"
he protested altogether against the moderation of his
views. The Dissenters of England, said he, along
with the Dissenters of Ireland—including, of course,
the Papists—are more than half the population of the
kingdom ; wherefore, instead of being satisfied with
the abolition of church-rates, their demand should be
for half the property of the church—not that they
might,t9propriate it to their own use, for that would
be against their consciences, (tender souls!) but that
they might make it a present to the nation at large !
And at this saying of " Joseph the munificent," it
does not appear that there was a burst of laughter, or
loud laughter, or any other cachinnatory expression
whatever; which shows, either that these Dissenters
possess a most amazing power of face, or that the re-
porter, or printer of the Leicester Journal, whence we
quote, has been guilty of a very great and unpardon-
able omission.

Another orator, a NE:lVlurselr, was of opinion that
whatever they sought for, or whatever they did, they
should no longer keep any terms with a ministry who
have latterly shown such very great disinclination to do
anything for the people. "We are told," said he,
" that the ministry will be embarrassed by this mode
of procedure; but there is an old saying—" what is
sauce for the goose is sauce also for the gander ;" they
have lang enough embarrassed us."
But there was "another Dissenter" at this gathering
who differed in toto from the foregoing anti-ministe-
rial gentleman, and put in a decided negative on his
proposition. " No, no !" exclaimed this burly mini-
sterialis.t. " You must not quarrel with the ministry
by any means ; I, and. my tail, and my seven millions,
will never agree to it. Do you know what the poor
people in my country do, when a pane happens to be
broken in their cabin window ? Why, they stuff a
hat into it; and though it does not look well, and
might be advantageously supplanted by a pane of glass,
yet it keeps the cold out. So it is with the ministry :
they keep the north wind out—a wind, by the by, that
sadly disagrees with my constitution ; they keep the
Tories out—which is good for us all; and therefore, I
say, till we are likely to get a better, let us leave the
old hat' administration where it is." We need not
mention the name of this "Dissenter," as every read-
er, we make no doubt, will easily recognise him.

So much fur the unity that reigns among the chiefs
of the dissenting interest. We might give further
specimens Of this beautiful harmony; but with all this
discord, there is a degree of concord, a sort of con-
cordia discors, the origin of which is an unextinguish-
able hatred to the church. This is the common bass
note that blends all their differences, so that their va-
riety of sentiment, though perfectly ridiculousin,it-
self, and one that shows how intrinsically worthless the
opinions of such parties are, should not, where there