The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-23 00:00:00

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1840.

valuable thing, might come in as an ally, might be useful as a
confederate. No, my lord, we believe that if there be one
truth which is more strongly implied in the book of God than
another, it is this, that it is the duty of Christian rulers to
secure Christian instruction for their people. (Applause.)
Why, my lord, challenged to produce the proof? Challenged
to find the words—asked where we find it ! We have a right
to retort, where do you find the prohibition—where the won-
derful passage, more intelligible than any Hebrew scholar
ever found, in which it is said that a king should not
teach his subjects that which the king himself should not be-
lieve ? How is it that when a man has such authority that
he should therefore be stripped of such a vast deal of respon-
sibility ? How can it be shown that his power to make his
subjects acquainted with that which will not only make them
more loyal to himself, but actually secure their best interests,
has emancipated him from that obligation which rests on every
one else? (Hear.) Awful are the responsibilities of the ru-
lers of this world; but I cannot conceive any aspect in which
it could be contemplated more tremendous than that in which
they should be left alone, and not commanded to use all the
influence they possess, in order to do that which after all is
the greatest good which one man can do with regard to another.
But yet there is more to be said with regard to the subject.
Who is he that is prepared to say, that there are not in the
New Testament injunctions to the rulers of this world to
teach their subjects the knowledge of that, without which,
it is impossible that their best happiness can be secured?
Only the individual who is prepared to say that Christian
parents are not commanded systematically io instruct their
children, and to bring them up, in the nurture and admoni-
tion of the Lord. He that will admit that there is such an
injunction as that which binds the Christian parent to provide
religious instruction for his family, must, I apprehend, at
the same time admit that the Christian ruler is bound to pro-
vide religious instruction for his subjects. It is true that the
dissenter will turn round upon us here, and say, declare what
there is in the New Testament. I will take the dissenter on
his own ground, (I don't feel it necessary to go back to the
Old Testament,) and whilst I wish to speak most respectfully
of dissenters, I contend that there is a principle contained in
the New Testament, which, if properly followed out, must
necessarily make a Christian nation, as soon as it becomes
organised as such, a nation in which there must be a national
provision for religion. I will take the average of religious
dissenters at the present moment, and believe that, after
having counted them, we shall find them in our favour. I
do not believe it possible to go through the length and breadth
of the land (setting aside those whose minds are biassed by the
violence of party, and who are influenced by ignorant popular
declaimers) and not find a great body of respectable dissenters,
who, though they may not agree with us withrespectto our own
establishment, would at least be in favour of an establishMent.
Many of these dissenters would represent us as turning the
state into a religious instructor when we contend for an es-
tablishment. My lord, you know we mean no such thing.
You know this is Popery ; and your lordship knows that we
of the Church of England hate Popery. (Great cheering.)
There is not one amongst us who would bear with the minis-
ter for a moment who would hold intercourse with Popery.
And they who feel that there is no danger in the contami-
nating touch, are they we of the Church of England ? (No.)
No, my lord, no ; we execrate, detest, and abominate Popery
in every shape, and not less, my lord, when it puts on the
shape of a wretched democracy. (Cheers.) There may be,
my lord, Popery, where there is no visible pope—there may
be the tiara on the heart where no crown is upon the head.
There may be the heart to crush everything like right opi-
nion, in the garb of complacency and courtesy and smiles.
Popery is a spirit. Oh ! that it were but a body, that we
could put it to death. It is a spirit—the spirit of evil which
puts on all manner of forms, and we find it impossible to
grasp it. We leave it alone to Him who shall educe good
out of evil, tremendous as that evil is. Dissenters ought to
know that we are not the advocates of Popery of any kind.
We would base religion on the knowledge of God's word,
and upon that only. We connect the responsibility of man
with the right of every man to exercise his own private judg-
ment. We would make the highest possible mental attain-
ments the companions of every religious principle. We
would wish to see knowledge and piety go on together ; and
we are only jealous of that which they call the " march of
intellect," when we see that that march is industriously se-
parated from the path of righteousness and peace. (Hear,
hear.) I do not believe that it is possible for one who would
approach the subject unbiassed and unprejudiced, not to
come to the conclusion of the illustrious Robert Hall, namely,
that " the dissenting writers in the present day had given a
too political cast to the nature of the discussion." He said,
" that the old objections against the Church of England
were the strong ones." He said—(he is a writer whose
pages I delight to read)—what I don't believe, notwithstand-
ing—(a laugh)—" that if that ground were occupied it was
impossible even for the strongest intellect to subvert." The
word is his own. He was too acute, too profound, too
Christian, too well acquainted with the Bible, too much
of the philosopher. His reason had been chastened by
the light of heaven, and he knew that the principle that
there ought to be no national establishment, was one
which could not be sustained for a moment. (Hear, hear.)
My lord, I feel self-degraded actually, in contending for such
things as these. It is almost like demonstrating some of the
axioms in Euclid. One is placed in a most humiliating posi-
tion to address thousands to demonstrate a truism. But yet
I do them no wrong. They come here and have heard me,
and I am obliged to them. (Hear, and a laugh.) But with
regard to the Young Men's Established Church Society, it
has other things to do than to contend with abstractions, to
fight shadows, and to go about like Don Q.l:xote and get
wounded by windmills. I trust they will master the question
themselves, and show that the church of England has none
of these fatal objections lying against it; and with the illus-
trious man, whose name 1 have quoted, they are to show that
the church of England, in her doctrines, is truly scriptural.
They have to prove, that after all that has been said, during
what is hut comparatively the brief period of her existence,
there have been proofs afforded by her upon the altars of God,
more weighty and able in the cause of theological learning
than from any other society upon earth. They tell us of our
wealth. Where is it to be found—where has it proceeded
from ? But when they say we are so rich, let us show them
what we have done. England with all her literature, with all
her science, at the present moment cannot bring so great an
amount of labour and learning as that which may be collected
from the works of English clergymen. I say nothing of their
labours and exertions in private ; I say nothing of their learn-
ing ; but I challenge the world, or any one in this vast assem-
bly, to produce within the same space of time such a multi-
tude of demonstrations of the value of an established clergy.
And, my lord, we are not all of us crowding the road to dis-
tinction ; we are not all of us restless and ambitious men ; we
are not all of us dissatisfied, unless we can make our neigh-
bours unhappy ; we are not all of us so greedy and jealous
that we cannot see good done without we do it ourselves. I
say the church of England has been the most charitable
church that has ever occupied the place of an establishment
since establishments were founded. There is more true
liberality, more genuine charity, more true forbearance exhi-
bited by the clergy of the church of England than by any
other set of ministers. (Applause.) I do not mean to con-
tend, that everything that belongs to our establishment is
perfect. But do dissenters mean to say that, because they
have found out some things in connexion with us which must
fairly be the subject of revision, that therefore we ought to
be utterly demolished, and the cry of "Down with her—down
with her to the dust !" ought to be raised ? If there are some
faults in the spiritual battlements, I am the first to say that we
are not perfect—that we belong to no infallible church. (Hear)
My lord, having said this much, and being about to resume
my seat, feeling that I have occupied too much of your atten-
tion, I turn back to that which has been the topic on which
I have been speaking—that is the necessity that the young
men of this country should make themselves masters of the
question, and especially be able to take a great argument out
of the dissenters mouth. that the church of England is the
enemy of what is now called voluntarism. (Hear.) Volun-
tarism ! No society upon earth exhibits at the present day
such a splendid specimen of true voluntarism as does the
Church of England. (Loud cheers.) We have too long
occupied a defensive state and not given battle ; I feel it
necessary we should now go out and assail the armies of the
aliens. (Cheers.) Till we can put Amalek and all his hosts
to flight I feel, gentlemen, that you have been wanting to
yourselves. (Cheers.) You have allowed the language of
intimidation to sound so often in your ears that it has actually
Earalized your limbs. (Hear.) Compare the Church of
ngland, even in the most unfavourable circumstances, with
this boasted dissent. It is true you have in this place an
opportunity of contemplating dissent under its most favour-
able auspices. Where but in Liverpool would you find it so
worthily represented? I feel it a pleasure to speak of one,
whom I have the honour to call my friend—where, I ask, is
the man in any other place like Dr. Raffles ?—(cheers)—a
man eloquent, mighty in words—a man great in learning,
a gentleman in conduct—and a man after all, I must say,
most courteous in his intercourse with churchmen. (Cheers.)
Here you have a favourable instance of dissent ; but take
dissent elsewhere and compare.it with this, what they call
voluntarism. (Cheers.) My lord, I could write a book upon
the subject. (I could speak for any length of time upon it.
My lord, I might go on—to say with regard to—how dis-
senting congregations deal with their ministers. They often
attack us with being the slaves of the church. I conceive
myself as independent a man as ever preached the Gospel of
Christ; I feel that that independence has never been at all
interfered with whilst I have been a minister in the Church
of England. (Hear.) The Church of England, so far as I
can contemplate the effect of the relations of its ministers
with their people, allows its ministers to have all the liberty
which they ought to have, whilst it imposes upon them all
the responsibility from which they would not wish to get
free. (Cheers.) Take the dissenting minister. Is he free ?
Is he independent? Is not he obliged to tax his talent—if
he have talent—to the uttermost, in ordeir to gain the mas-
tery ; and are there not persons whom he ought to instruct
endeavouring to instruct him ? (Cheers.) And so I might
go on. This, I feel, is an invidious subject, but I shall
merely open the way, if it be necessary, to an assault upon
dissent. (Hear.) I conceive dissent to be a deadly evil. It
is known to many in the multitude which I am addressing,
that my own name is associated with all that which many
choose to call latitudinarism ; but be they my last words on
this platform—where, by the way, I do not hope to stand for
the last time—l say that dissent is a tremendous evil. (Loud
cheers.)
Mr. JAMES AsPINALL seconded the resolution, which was
unanimously adopted.
Mr. J. C. COLQUROUN, M.p., came forward amidst much
applause to move the second resolution. He said :—My
lord,—The rev. gentleman who preceded me expressed a hope,
at the close of his address, that this would not be the last
time of his speaking from this platform. I trust that it will
not ; but as, at all events, this is the first time of my appear-
ing here, I must claim your indulgence for a few moments.
I freely confess that it seems to me that I owe you an apology
for being here at all, departing, as I am doing, from what I
think was a wise, and what I did think was a settled rule with
me, of abstaining from participation in public meetings in
towns where I had no calling or concern. I did entertain
some better feeling than that of mere curiosity to see a little
of the spirit for which Liverpool had become celebrated—
that spirit of manly, straightforward, and determined zeal
for the established church which had done so much for the
town, and set so bright an example to the country. Though
I would rather have come here as a spectator, to be refreshed
by the display of your exertions, than as a speaker, this I am
bound to say, that if it should be asserted hereafter in my
presence that there is a dormant and cold spirit growing over
England, a lethargy prevailing in this country with regard to
the established church, 1 can tell the person making the ob-
servation to come over here to one of her greatest cities,
where I have stood in the presence of one of the largest audi-
tories ever collected, and seen four thousand determined and
impetuous responses to the cry, that the feelings of the peo-
ple of England,
in reference to their religion, al‘c as strong
and as powerful as ever. (Cheers. Gentlemen, I know the
assaults that are made in the present day upon the Church
of England ; but I agree with your noble chairman, that after
this and the like demonstrations we ought not tolfear. (Hear.)
I was conversing last spring with an intelligent, edueated,
and inquiring Frenchman, when I put the question to him—
" You have travelled over England, and.what seems to you
the mot remarkable other jutitution,, and the beet calcula.

ted to consolidate her power and protect us from the threat-
eniyg omens of revolution, anarchy; and confusion, which
appear in other countries ?" The answer was worthy the
deepest attention. " There are three things which I have ob-
served," said he ; " one is a spirit of a love of country—that
in France we share to a certain degree ; but there are other
things which we do not share, and which are completely neu-
tral in our land—the spirit of the love of monarchy, and the
spirit of love to a national religion." (Cheers.) I confess
I was disposed to reply, or rather let me make that reply
here. Whence springs that love for our national religion,
without which no other of our institutions would last for a
single day—without which our aristocracy, that ancient orna-
ment of the old Gothic building of our constitution, could
not endure? What preserves the venerable pile, and keeps
those parts in which the light does not stream so bright from
decay ? What prevents the walls, on which the deep shadows
rest, from crumbling into ruin, but that strong cement, the
love of religion, which is firmly and deeply implanted in the
hearts of the people of all classes of society, and springs
from the warm, the ennobling, and enclosing embrace of the
national church ? (Cheers.) I remember an observation
which was once made by an American when he first landed
in England, and set foot in the great commercial city of
Liverpool. He stood on the heights, as I have done to-day,
and looked down on the same scene of enterprise and busi-
ness activity, on the docks thick with masts as the forest with
trees, on the white sails which dance on the river and fly to
alter countries with our manufactures, and bring back the
produce which you enjoy. One thing struck his eye and
mine. It was the ancient spire and the venerable tower that
would speak another story, and tell of something greater than
commerce, and without which commerce could not last—of
something more important than trade and without which trade
could not flourish ; they would speak of the principles which,
day by day, and on each succeeding sabbath, are infused
into the minds of the people, and which produce, on this
occasion, a splendid and satisfactory demonstration. (Cheers.)
I should like to take any person who wishes to know what
consolidates the power of England to the heights surrounding
those districts which are called the workshops of the world,
and show him the numerous factories, the canals, and rail-
roads, which intersect the fertile fields and carry the riches
of our produce through the land, and ask him what would
become of these if we were to allow the people of England
to grow up a discontented and immoral population, at war
with God, and therefore not at peace with man. (Cheers.)
On what does all the wealth which this country can produce
depend, but on security ? Without security it would perish
in a moment. What does security depend on but those
great principles of truth, peace, and holiness, which are im-
planted in the human heart by the exertions of the church,
and become the germinating and regenerating practice of
mankind ? (Cheers.) Whence are the principles of humble
piety, of lowly virtue, of integrity, order, and peace, which
shed over England their happy lustre and influence, but
from the ancient churches, the roof and towers of which the
spectator would hardly notice, but in which praise and
prayer are constantly heard, couched in the finest language
that pen ever wrote or that tongue ever uttered ? In what
passes in these sacred edifices is the honour and security of
England. (Cheers.) In this day movements are abroad
which portend a coming convulsion. The soil of Europe is
agitated and heaving as if with symptoms of a general earth-
qual e ; but I trust that whatever may become of other
countries, our native land will be unharmed. If, in the
groaning and upturning of the soil of Europe, peace and
plenty should still remain and be secured to us, and if Eng-
land should happily be preserved from the tread and the en-
croachment of the hostile foot, let us bear in mind that

it is not to science or skill, not to the wisdom of man
that we shall owe our preservation, but to the church
which has been endeared to us by centuries of trial—to
the church in which we have worshipped, in which our
forefathers worshipped, and in which we trust our chil-
dren will continue to enjoy the services of solemn prayer,
of the choral anthem, and of pious praise, with the exer-
tions of such a clergy:as I see around me and am happy to
meet on this platform—(cheers)—conveying instruction to
the young and consolation to the aged in times of sickness
and sorrow. To these England will owe her defence in the
day of her trial ; in the day that shall shake and convulse all
Europe these influences will preserve her secure and un-
harmed. Ido not mean you from this to draw any idle pic-
ture, to indulge in any declamation of mere fancy, but this
great practical lesson, so admirably put before us in this use-
•ful society, that each man in his sphere, whether high or low,
whatever may be his situation, place, or calling, should give
his constant, firm, undeviating, unflinching, and unimpaired
attachment to the national church ; that he should cleave to
her in seasons of sorrow and difficulty, as in those of peace
and prosperity, in all public and private connexions, rather
than desert his duty to that to which his fathers owed so
much, and which, I trust, his children in generations to come
will continue to place their confidence and derive a blessing.
The Rev. Hticit AVNEILE, on rising to second the reso-
lution proposed by Mr. Colquhoun, was received with seve-
ral loud and enthusiastic bursts of applause. When silence
was in some degree restored, he spoke nearly as follows :
My lord, I am rejoiced to be able to say that we have no oc-
casion to make any apologies for hesitating or absent, friends.
We cannot know our hesitating friends on this occasion, but
as for absentees, if there be any, as I am sure there are mul-
titudes of cordial friends absent, it is fair to say that it is not
because of hesitancy on their part, but of the impracticable
materials of which this building is composed, and that stone
and lime will not expand at the bidding of churchmen's zeal.
(Hear, and cheers.) But I have a particular reason for re-
ferring to this point. Your lordship referred to a report of
certain proceedings which took place at a certain meeting
I held in this town last week. It is called a soiree. (A laugh.)
It was held in the Music Hall, and is thus announced—
" The Young Men's Vointitary Church Association."—
There was a very celebrated man at that meeting. He came
all the way from London. He is a man of very considerable
powers both of mind and speech, and came here to preach
their controversial sermon, and to address them at their
voluntary soiree. (Continued laughter.) There is no rea-
son why you should laugh at soirees, for they arc very com-
mon things. It might be expected that on the occasion of
such a direct as well as implied attack on our principles, and
when he came such a distance from home, the chief speaker
would have addressed himself to some strong point in the
case, and that he would have shown cause why the young
men of Liverpoolshould stand against theestablished church ;
in short, that he would have taken some strong objection to
! her, and have, at least, left us something to talk of, if we
could not in an impromptu manner reply to him. (Hear,
hear.) I took up, with some interest, therefore, the news-
paper in which the report was given, and which appears to be
the orgau of the voluntary association on this occasion, but
when 1 turned to the speech of the Rev. John Burnett, of
Camberwell, I found that he, after travelling so far, moved
a resolution which it would give me the greatest pleasure to
second. (Cheers.) I shall read that resolution, and lam
satisfied he had not the slightest idea that it would be
honoured by being presented to your lordship and this pro-
digious assembly when he moved it. It is to the following
effect :

" That this meeting, recognising the great and fundamen-
tal doctrine of the reformation, that the scriptures alone are
of authority in matters of faith, deplores the rapid progress
of Puseyism, regarding it as a system which by exalting the
tradition of the fathers to an equality with revelation, and by
unduly augmenting the power of the priesthood, must, should
it succeed, subvert the principles of protestantism, retard the
progress as well as mar the purity of the gospel, and even-
tually prove fatal to the interests of civil and religious
liberty."
And, pray, what has this to say to the question of an estab-
lished church? (Hear, hear.). Is Puseyism any part of our
church? (Loud cries of " No, no.") No, it is not; but
the principles of the reformation here referred to, that the
scriptures alone are of authority in matters of faith is a part
of our established church. (Hear, and cheers.) One of our
articles is to this effect—" That the scriptures contain all
that is necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read
therein, or may be proved thereby, is not to be required of
any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or
accounted necessary to salvation." Now, I congratulate
your lordship—l congratulate this large assembly—l con-
gratulate the churchmen of Liverpool—l congratulate the
churchmen of England, that on this great occasion—this an-
nual exhibition of voluntaryism in this enlightened town, ad-
vocated not merely by the talent the town itself supplies, but
also by the additional talent of the renowned Rev. John
Burnett, from Camberwell—not a hair of our church's head
is touched ; but that, while the bulwarks of our faith are left
secure, a sort of an old excrescence—some fungus matter that
might be swept away from Oxford—is alone heaped upon it.
He cannot fasten on anything in the church herself, but lie
finds this fungus, and lie leaves us and our church without
offering one syllable of reprobation, or one single assertion
to refute. (Great cheering.) But it seems that the party
assembled on the occasion was not quite so numerous as
might be expected, and I find that a very sad lament was
uttered in consequence. After deploring the quiet state of
mind in which some of their friends were indulging, probably
thinking that the subject should not be agitated, and giving
some good advice to persons, and argument in favour of agi-
tation, wherein I am glad to find I have a coadjutor in Mr.
Burnett. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) He says, "I do think
there is a little of that which is gently called timidity, and by
some rudely designated cowardice." He is talking, mind
you, of his own friends, who did not come forward. (Hear,
hear.) He thought there were some unmanly apprehensions
in all this, for he is reported to have said—
" He did think that there was a little of that nervous
shrinking, which whispered to the individual, in his own bo-
som, that there was something like unmanly apprehension in
all this. He did think that there was a little of that self-

seeking which desired to pursue its own tranquillity when it
could be obtained, and leave others to suffer and to act, so
that it did enjoy. He did believe these things, and were they
to declare that they had no such apprehensions, he should
answer, ' The more noise you make in disclaiming, if unac-
companied by acts, the more shall I be satisfied that the bra-
..

- -.-
very is not there.' If this question was followed up, he did
expect that in a little time those quiet-minded friends would
gather courage. It did sometimes happen, that when a new
corps took the field, there was at first a little thinking ; but
by and by, after the exchange of a few volleys and a few
charges, it became accustomed to the service ; they felt that
they could screw their courage up to the sticking place, and
they would be as ready to go on as any of their companions.
This was what he expected from their friends shortly, and he
therefore excused them for the present."
I never heard of a more jnst metaphor for this system than
a new corps. You see he complained of its " nervous shrink-
ing," and it shall not be our fault if it has not plenty of op-
portunities of " exchanging its vollies and charges." (Great
cheers and laughter.) Having excused his friends for the
present, he conveys a gentle hint about having a larger meet-
ing the next time he came ; and then he came to another
point, to which I shall call your attention. He said, " What-
ever is said about or against you, be honest, and never imi-
tate the manoeuvring of those opposed to you : be always
consistent in the advocacy of your principles." Now, our
manoeuvring is an open sort of work. Our manoeuvring is
on a broad scale. We have no hollow squares here. And then
he says, " Let them meet their opponents as man ought to
meet man, as Christian ought to meet Christian ; and then,
if all the Infidels, and Papists, and Chartists, and all other
bad ists that could be possibly brought before them, should
happen to cry out the same truth, the same known, eternal
truth, let them not be ashamed or afraid to say, amen."
I read this to show the company in which papists are put—
infidels, papists, and chartists, and all the other bad ists.
(Great laughter.) You will please to recollect
.the quarter
from which this comes, my lord. Had this beenspoken by a
tory churchman, or by an orange parson—(cheers)—who ne-
ver was an orangeman in his life—had this, to borrow a fa-
vourite phrase from a very modern writer, appeared among
the " self-complacent crudities of Dr. Tattershall," or the
bigotry of that "pragmatical fellow" Thomas Horsfall, or
the " mumblings of that strange ocnvert of David Hodgson,
or the " ingenuity" of " Forgery" M`Ghee, or the " misre-
presentations" of the " convicted" Hugh Stowell, or the
" dishonesties" of turbulent M`Neile—(great cheers)—there
would have been nothing to wonder at; it would have been
in perfect keeping with the perpetual strain of bigotry and
uncharitableness m which these gentlemen deal—(hear, and
laughter)—but that it should come from the Ap2iable, the