The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-13 00:00:00

THURSDAY.

- -
The Queen held a court yesterday afternoon, at half-past
two o'clock, at Buckingham Palace.
Sir Claudius Hnnter, Sit George Carroll, Mr. Frederick
Huth, jun., and Mr. Josiah Wilson, a deputation of the
Court of Lieutenancy of the City of London, had an audience
of her Majesty to know her pleasure when her Majesty
would receive the Lieutenancy of London with a dutiful and
loyal address.
The Queen was pleased to name Friday at two o'clock, as
the day for her Majesty's receiving the address from that
body.
The court was attended by Lord Lilford, Lord in Waiting ;
Colonel Armstrong, Groom in Waiting; and Colonel We-
myss, Equerry in Waiting.
The Marquis of Normanby and Viscount Melbourne had
audierices yesterday of the Queen.
Her Majesty axcl Prince Albert honoured the Concert of
Ancient Music with their presence last evening, at the Han-
over-square Rooms. The Royal party arrived in four state
carriages. His Serene Highness the Hereditary Prince of
Saxe Coburg Gotha, attended by Baron de Gruben, accom-
panied the Queen and Prince Albert.
RoyalHoou nt oe
Missr
ncLoginsdsteei snrt:e
tdch
Colonel
focnaLer all dowyf Bet
imaxrybhsrasi md,
g,a
and
,fdLI ooncr.od
Colonel
s
Lil-
ford, rTudri,reaVyis'
Wylde.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was attended
during the reception of several addresseshy Lady Fanny Ho-
ward, Lady in Waiting, and Colonel Cowper, C.B , First
Equerry, and Controller of her Royal Highness's .Household.
Sir Moses Montefiore was prevented by indisposition from
attending the presentation of the addresses to their Royal
Highnesses Prince Albert and the Duchess of Kent yester-
day, from the several congregations of the Jews in London
(as one of the deputies appointed by the congregations), and
also from the Court of LieutheandanacydLfnthere
peaitrytyoflaLstonedvoenning
The Duke of Cambridge
at io,rese,oTrdheß.uormopearnsyb,wtehree the
Dean
o f
c Archbishoparl
Carlisle,
of
ofYork, Earl
Cambridge
arn
Sir William Curtis, Sir Astley Cooper, Sir
HSiarm Arthurmoreer
sOi
euys.
Upton,e
MS
and ir
r.
Berkeley Andrew Barnard, General
°tnhsebridge afterwards went to the
G. Smart. The DuGkeeSneaol
Alliabneottv,ehr-issqßouaryealßHoiogmh
ns
to
hreei cue: vteh
ethe rQe
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oe er nf
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Prince George and the
ing. The Duchess of Cambridge,
ert of Ancient Music. H
Princess Augusta of Cambridge, andalelr mtheagjeusetsytsthae Queen
owueeennt
to the Conc
Dowager, attended by Lady Charles Somerset, the Countess
of Denbigh, Hon. Miss Mitchell, the Earl of Denbigh, and
d the
several other gentlemen of her household, also honoured
Concert of Ancient 'Music at the Hanover-square Rooms
with their presence last evening.
Her Majesty the Queen Dowager visited the Duchess of
Glocester at Glocester-house, and the Duchess of Cambridge
at Cambridge-house, yesterday.
Prince George of 'Cambridge visited the Princess Augusta
yesterday.

possible and probable augmeßntarri
INCREASE Or LETTER W
augmentation
the extent of the
idea may be conveyed by thetf 7 of correspondence, some
average number of letters before° following
etter to represent one
ng facts. The daily
reduction might be
estimated at 205,000. Assuming eacthel
lettersm often proceeded
was about one for
proportions letter writer (though, in fact, i a
twenty-sixn y
Hill)nth , when
° of souls daily
from one person), above
made no use of the post. In Englandand Scotland, the
proportion of daily general post letters
every 500 individuals. In Ireland the did not
exceed one in 500. It is computed by Mr.
the: e shall
wy ceagasratatnt on
nesatcehr
individual in the United Kingdom, the post will ln. fur-
nish its million and a half of
Review. '

. -

LECTURES ON THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

The Rev. Hugh M`Neile delivered, on Tuesday afternoon,
at the Hanover-square Rooms, his second lecture on the
Church of England. The room was, as at the first lecture,
crowded in every part. Among those • present we observed
the Marquis of Cholmondely, Lord Bexley, Lord Kenyon,
Viscount Strathallan, Lord Calthorpe, the Bishop of Salis-
bury, the Bishop of Chester, Lord Radstock, Lord Teign-
mouth, M.P., the Right Hon. Sir James Graham, the Right
Hon. F. Shaw, M.P., Sir R. Inglis, M.P., W. E. Glad-
stone, Esq., M.P., Sir Charles Lemon, M.P., Pringle,
Esq., M.P., C. Shirley, Esq., M.P., J. Hardy, Esq., &c.
The reverend lecturer was, as on the previous occasion,
warmly cheered on presenting himself to the crowded audi-
ence. He said that on occasions like the present there was
a strong temptation to feel impatient under any protracted
examination of the Holy Scriptures. The source of that im-
patience was a secret longing after something more practically
—perhaps politically—exciting. To yield to this were to hal.
zard a superstructure without having duly and carefully made
good the foundation, which was the characteristic description
of a foolish builder. Similar to such folly would be an at-
tempt to point out the duty of subjects or rulers towards the
Christian church without having first carefully examined the
nature and claims of the church herself. (Cheers.) We
were all deeply interested in the duties of professedly
Christian rulers towards the church, but a preliminary ques-
tion met us in the way. If there were no visible society now
in England, whose constitution, fundamentally as a Christian
church, was in accordance with the will of God, as revealed in
the Bible, then the Christian ruler seemed to have no duty in
the matter. But if there were such a church, then the ruler, re-
ceiving the Bible as the word of God, had no choice. (Cheers.)
Before, therefore, we could satisfactorily discuss our con-
nection with the state, we must carefully examine whether
our church was in accordance with the Bible. To overleap
this part of the subject would be to open the door for the
pretensions of every society, however constituted, which
chose to call itself a Christian church,, and put in its claim.
(Cheers.) If the legitimacy of all such claims were admit-
ted, then the civil ruler must either receive all equally, or
reject all equally ; or, by receiving some and rejecting others,
expose himself, and justly too to an outcry of partiality and
injustice. The rival claims could not be adjusted at the bar
of the state • they must be adjusted at the bar of Scripture.
(Cheers.) We said, " Let the ruler prefer and establish, by
all means, that which is scriptural because it is scriptural;
and let those who doubt it rigidly examine our system with
the light of Scripture." (Cheers.) Our opponents say
" No : let the civil rulers prefer nothing, and establish no-
thing. Have done wo all invidious distinctions." This
was, as we interpreted it, " Let them (the civil rulers) make
no difference between scriptural and unscriptural, true and
false." (Cheers.) It might be consistent in persons who
held such sentiments to feel impatient under a scriptural
investigation, and to rush at once into general discussion,
and in an indignant tone appeal to equal rights and unjust
preferences. We could not do so, because we felt that if
there were any church constitution, concerning which God
had said " It is right," then it was not equally right with
others, but pre-eminently right above all others. To prefer
it was not injustice; not to prefer it was infidelity. (Loud
cheers.) Under this conviction he had already entered into
an examination of our ecclesiastical system, and pointed out,
in some particulars, our happy accordance with the Word of
God. Our object was to recommend for cordial adoption,
and for prompt and vigorous extension, what we conceived
to be correct, rather than expose or condemn what we be-
lieved to be erroneous ; and therefore, if he referred to the
opinions and practices of dissenters, whether of Roman or
British growth, it was not with any feelings of factious par.
tisanship, but simply by way of contrast, to exhibit more
clearly what he conceived to be our own central and .scrip-
tural position. (Cheers.) He now resumed the considera-
tion of the church visible or baptised society, chiefly in
reference to its appointed executive or Christian ministry.
This divided itself into four branches—first, the mode of
appointment of the Christian ministers; secondly, the suc-
cession of persons appointed; thirdly, the nature of the com-
mission originally given to the apostles ; and fourthly, the
nature of the commission derived to their successors in the
ministry of the church. With respect to the mode of ap-
pointment, there was a difference between the apostles and
their immediate successors. " Our Lord Jesus Christ went
on to the mount, and called unto him whom he would, and
they came to him, and of them he chose twelve that they
might be with him, that he might send them forth to preach
and to cure diseases, and to cast out devils." To them he
said, " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain." And, again, " Peace be
unto you. As my Father has sent me even so I send you :
and he breathed on them, saying receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and
whosoever sins ye retain they are retained. Whatsoever ye
shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Go ye
therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, teaching them
to observe whatsoever I have commanded you. And, lo ! I
am with you always, even unto the end of the world." These
were the portions of Scripture in which the commission was
given. The only outward act on record accompanying this
original appointment, was that " He breathed on them," in-
timating thereby that the government and the spirit of the
church proceeded from his Human nature, risen from the
dead, the conqueror of the works of satan, the restorer of
man to fellowship with his God. We had no' other direction
given by our Lord as to the mode of the apostles appointing
their successors. But they (the apostles) did not leave their
successors as theilLord hadleft them, without any written or
recorded directions on this point, intimating thereby that their-
successors would not possess the same inspiration that they
possessed, and would therefore require more specific direc-
tions than they (the apostles) had required. The outward
and visible mode adopted by them and enjoined on their suc-
cessors was not breathing on the candidates for holy orders,
but the mode confessed their dependance while it assumed
their commission—it was prayer, with thelaying on of hands.
By the prayer they acknowledged that the spiritual blessing
was not theirs to give, but their Lord's—by the laying on of
hands they proclaim that the outward office was theirs to
designate and perpetuate among men. The first instance of
the practice on record was the ease of the deacons in the 6th
chapter of the Acts of the Apoitles. It belonged to the lay
'members of the church to select, but not to appoint. The
Apostles said to the people, " Look ye out men whom we
may appoint." They did so ; the men were thus selected,
but they were not thereby made ministers of the church.
The next step was to set them before the Apostles, and when
they had prayed they laid their hands on them. It was of
consequence to remark here that the selection by the people
was made in reference to the character of the individuals
suitable for the ministry generally, and not in reference to
themselves personally, or locally, as to a particular flock
over whom a particular individual was to be placed. If
judged fit for the ministry at all he was thereby pronounced
fit for any locality where it might please God to place him.
(Cheers.) He was not appropriated to any particular flock,
as being acceptable to them, but given into the hands and
placed at the disposal of the church to be an instrument and
witness of the Lord. (Cheers.) And, accordingly, we found
Philip, who was recommended to ordination by the lay
members of the church of Jerusalem, immediately proceed-
ing to preach the Gospel, not to them, but to the people of
Samaria. The rev. lecturer cited other proofs, and proceeded
to observe that we have no distinct information as to the
mode of selecting individuals, but in every case the appoint-
ment to office was the laying on of hands. We had no
authority for saying that such a mode was in any case
dispensed with ; there was no Scripture authority for be-
lieving that any person not so appointed was acknowledged
by the church as a qualified teacher. With respect to the
practice of dissenters on this point, some insisted that the
ordination of their ministers was in accordance with the
Scriptures, and others acquiesced for the sake of uniformity.
To disprove the importance of ordination, considered as an
outward ceremony designating to an office, dissenters said
that the persons spoken of by the apostles were men of per-
sonal piety and preachers of sound doctrine, and that they
were chosen in virtue of their character, and not in virtue of
their office. We said it was highly probable that the first
pastors of the church were men of piety and preachers of
sound doctrine, but it did not follow that their character was
the qualification for office. If all were made members of the
church, or if character without ordination qualified for the
ministry, then all were made ministers, and the distinction
disappeared. He had now reached the second branch of the
subject—the succession of the persons appointed by the
apostles. Here the rev. lecturer touched upon the admission
by all historians—Milner, Mosheim, Gibbon, and Hallam—
of the fact, that in every successive generation since the
apostles there have been officiating ministers of the visible
church. Where was the evidence, then, he asked, of those
bishops being appointed at any time in a way different from
that practised in the first stage of Christianity—viz., by the
laying on of hands. There might have been irregularities
and failures, but these did not interfere with the general suc-
cession. That any essential change took place we denied,
and the onus probandi was thrown upon them who asserted
such a change. But while we denied this, we did not deny
that a very grievous change took'place in their manner of
living, and in their manner of preaching. He then glanced
at the corruptions and heresies in the church, and proceeded
to observe that the commission given to the apostles included
the working of miracles, healing the sick, casting out devils,
raising the dead. The transmission of these was not pretend-
ed. But though these were not claimed, the power of the
keys, as it was called, was claimed. He would proceed,
therefore, to ascertain the nature of this part of the commis-
sion. Previous, however, to entering upon this part of the
subject, the rev. lecturer spoke at some length upon the mode
in which the ministers of our church are ordained—that the
highest testimonials as to character, and their literary and
theological qualifications, are required, and that the congre-
gation is thrice publicly appealed to as to whether any cause
exists why the candidates should not be admitted to the sacred
office. He now came to inquire into the nature of the com-
mission given to the apostles themselves—" Whatsoever sins
ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; whatsoever
sins ye remit they are remitted." After glancing at the in-
fallible power claimed by the Church of Rome, he referred to
the power of the keys, 20th chap. 22d and 23d verses of St.
John—" Receive ye the HOLY GHOST; whosoever sins ye
remit they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye
retain they are retained." This was, they were to have the
power of doing or forbearing to do some acts in virtue of
which sin would be forgiven or remain unforgiven. Our
LORD'S language is, " Whosoever sins ye remit," without
any reference to an intervening act ; but if the minister had
power to do, or to forbear to do—baptism for instance—then,
however obnoxious pretensions might be glossed over, it did
amount, in fact, to placing forgiveness and non-forgiveness
at the disposal of a man, who had the power to do or not to
do that act, and therefore of making all around him who be-
lieved it his slaves, abject in proportion to their sincerity.—
The other view of the commission was, that Jesus Christ
gave to the apostles power and authority to speak his truth
so infallibly that their statements would be found in accord-
ance with the God of Heaven ; as if He had said " Go forth
among men, preach my truth to men of God. When you
declare on earth what description of men are penitent, God
declares the same in heaven ; when you declare what descrip-
tion of persons are condemned, God declares the same. It
e atehteed a.
When is, in truth, not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost that
speaketh in ye." These were the two views of this commis-
sion.totrace the
most legitimate mode of trying this question was
p os cna Is
St Peter
i story,
and
dd
St John
in w i
ec
rho
view th e
apostlesbrought
before the Jewish Council,
e !)
witnesses
by
yri
the
ai commotionHini
occasioned in Jerusalem
hath God exaltedwhom
hot i
n or
Goi g
oht
dot hand as
these
sit
eo a
things,
ed forgivenessPrincea
d
oi a
Saviour, for to give with
is
sins. And we are his
I also the Holy Ghost, w
obey him." Here forgiveness was
the Saviour, not from the apostles,o, Bath
described
eogri
ivwbeeendr to
a a
describedthemgift f trhn
ama
st
e
,
wthietnekseseyss,ofootdhe
to gift.
me
them to the Gentiles, and the
refer to the centurion,
Cornelius. St. Peter was sent t
o to make use of
po`..N` Him God raised up
the third day, and showed him openly.
bautsutlnetothuwsitncoensscelsudcehdoshei
ns sermonbefor :
e of
f Go
dt to all the people,
God, evenh to us, who
fheGod to be the judge of
prophets witness,
did eat and drink with him after he rospeeforopT taneddead ; and
to testify
ieveth in him shall
count of what the Lord commanded him to do, to preach
wh
og
ov give v aller b theel
that
commandedit
isHewbuisehtowpasreaoerhdauinnetod
ot
ghdeaHdis HimTnaome,
receive remission of sins." Here was an apostle's own ac-
him kthanrodu
and testify, and not to forgive sins—no, but to declare that
whosoever believeth shall receive remission of sins. When
St. Paul was allowed an opportunity of preaching in the Jew-
ish synagogue at Antioch he thus wound up his noble dis-
course :—" Be it known unto you, therefore, men and bre-
thren, that through this man is preached unto, you the for-
giveness of sins. And by him, all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be justified by
.. the law of Moses." When St. Paul was applied to by the
gaoler at PhiliPPi, saying, "What must I do to be saved?"

St. Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved." If the apostle had possessed the
power to remit sins, here. was a golden opportunity to
exercise it. St. John declared, " That which we have seen
and heard declare we 'unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us." He now asked, was the commission in
its fulness denied to their (the apostles') successors? In re-
ply to this he desired to invite attention to the difference
between the language of St. Paul and Timothy and the lan-
guage of our Lord to the apostles. St. Paul said to Timothy,
" Till I come,-give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to
doctrine. Medidate upon these things, give thyself wholly
to them, - that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed
unto thyself-and' unto the doctrine ; continue in them ' • for
in doing this•thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear
thee." What said our Lord to the apostles? " Take no
thought how and what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given
you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye
that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in
ybu." The reverend' lecturer here procbeded at great
length to show that our church exercises the power of the
keys in the true scriptural sense in her forms of absolution.
'He distinguished with great minuteness between the word
" absolve" and the word " forgive," as used in those forms;
and after expressing his belief of the sense in which the term
" absolve" was used in our church, he proceeded to observe,
that notwithstanding the defence which he had read of the
opinion adopted by him, still as the meaning of the word was
equivocal, being synonymous with a declaration of absolute re-
mission, he could, not withhold his honest conviction that the
expression " I absolve thee," should never have been retained
in our service (loud cheers) • that it was an unwise oversight,
and prejudicial to our church (cheers). If such a statement
should occasion pain in any mind, he would respectfully inquire,
" Have any of our best and most devoted sons ever claimed
absolute infallibility of arrangement for the church?"—
(Cheers.) After contrasting this spirit of our church with
the infallibility claimed by the church of Rome, he proceeded
to treat of the departure from apostolic doctrine, and ob-
served that while such a departure took place, the canon of
Scripture containing a sufficient standard was completed. He
compared the Bible as a dial by which watches of the godly
were regulated. But in the course of time the sun-dial, he
observed, was shut up within the walls of a convent, the
watches went wrong, till the watches pointed to pictures in-
stead of realities, and to the other abominations of the Romish
church. The achievement of the Reformation was to break
down the cement walls, and bring out the sun-dial to the
gaze of the people. (Immense cheers.) There was nothing
in all this but what had been distinctly predicted in the Holy
Scriptures. The reverend gentleman cited the predictions,
observing that our law had declared, however, " that the
gates of hell should not prevail against her;" and, after
dwelling at some length upon the harmony of the predicted
apostacy of the Church, and the promised preservation of
the Church in truth and holiness, he concluded the lecture
by showing that the grace of God was magnified in the ar-
rangement.
The rev. gentleman was loudly cheered on the conclusion
of the lecture.
[lt was considered that scarcely anything could exceed in
interest the lectures of Dr.' Chalmers in 1837 ; but in the
present instance the room is more closely packed, and the
attention of the auditory is retained during a longer period,
than could be reached even by that justly celebrated man.]