The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-14 00:00:00

MEMORANDUM.

I am desirous of impressing upon the inhabitants of the
frontier districts of this Province, that in the event of hos-
tilities with the United States, the most prudent course to
be pursued (on either side, for the measure to be effectual
must be reciprocal), would, in my opinion, be that of a strict
neutrality. Let the Borderers remember that as connected
with the war, if we should unhappily be compelled to engage
in one, no national object can possibly be advanced by any
display of hostile feelings towards each other—they might, it
is true, mutually subject each other to constant alarms, great
calamities, and distress—but their utmost efforts must be as a
drop of water in the determination of the national questions at
issue, which must be decided elsewhere by the naval and mi-
litary resources of the great powers engaged in the conflict.
And let the inhabitants of that Province repose with confi-
dence upon the protection of the parent State, which is alike
able and willing to throw her powerful shield over all who
have a just claim to her protection and defence.
The Toronto Colonist gives an account of the arrest
of two persons of the names of Livingston Palmer, :and
Hiram Munn--the former an American—on a charge
of conspiracy against the established Government of
the country. Other persons were also ordered to be
arrested on similar charges. It would thus appear that
the Upper PrOvince of Canada is still infested by de.

mocratic rebels, who are plotting for the destruction of
the Government.

The Toronto Mirror states that Sir George Arthur's
services had been dispensed with, and that' the Govern-
ment of Upper Canada would be administered by
Chief-Justice Stewart of Lower Canada, until a new
Lieutenant-Governor could be imported. The Clergy
Reserve Bill had passed the House of Assembly.
The Philadelphia National Gazette states that an
express had arrived at that city, in five days, from
Toronto, with despatches from the Governor-General
of Canada, for the British Minister at Washington.

The New York Times of Jan. 24 gives an account
of a great fire which had taken place at Wilmington,
on the 17th ultimo. The fire commenced near the
Court House, and spread with great fury to the sur-
rounding buildings in every direction. The whole
number of buildings destroyed was about 150. Half
a million of dollars is estimated to be the loss of pro-
perty.

The Times of the same date contains intelligence
from Tampico to the M. of January. The news of the
capture of Metamoras, by the Texians and Federalists,
was' generally believed at that place, although the Go-
vernment had not given any official announcement of
the fact. A body of 500 Government troops had left
Tampico for the North. Their destination was sup-
posed to be Metamoras.
The Daily Express of Jan. 25 informs us of an im-
portant Message which was sent down to the Houses
of Congress on the subject of the Maine boundary.
It is said to contain all the correspondence in reference
to the occupancy of a part of the disputed territory by
British troops.

We have been favoured, by a respectable firm in this
town, with extracts from private letters, dated Buenos
Ayres, Nov. 22, and Monte Video, Nov. 27. A letter,
dated Monte Video, Nov. 16, states that accounts had
reached that place indirectly from Buenos Ayres, to-
gether with copies of the Mercantile Gazette, in which
a letter from Rosas was published, announcing that he
had, on the 7th of November, defeated the insur-
gents, amounting to about 1300 men, near Cliasco-
mas, and that he had killed about 200, and taken 250
prisoners. The rest were completely dispersed. In
the same letter it is stated that Reviera's position ap-
peared very critical, and it was very uncertain whether
he would retire upon the town, and there sustain a
seige. It was very clear, however, that he cou'Al not
keep the field much longer—the desertion from his
ranks being so very great. It is stated that the La-
valleja party were very confident, and spoke of Rivie-
ra's overthrow as a certainty.
A letter, dated Buenos Ayres, Nov. 22, says—'

." On

the 29th ultimo a revolution broke out in the south of
this province, which appeared at first to be rather a se-
rious affair for this government, and doubtless would
have been so had the insurgents not been betrayed by
one of their officers, who subsequently defeated them
with great loss, there being left on the field, it is said,
250 killed and wounded. The dispersed forces fled
to their main body, which amounted to about 700, and
embarked on board the French vessels of war. It is

thought they had proceeded to Entre Rias, to join La-
velle, who is opposed by Lopez of Santa Fe, and
Oribe, the ex-President of Monte Video, but with
what force we have not heard."
A letter from Monte Video, dated November 27,
contains later intelligence than the above. It states
that about 900 or 1,000 of Those who had been con-
cerned in the late revolution had gained the coast near

the Fayee, and embarked on board the French and
other vessels lying there, and that they had subse-
quently arrived at Monte Video, where they had been
armed and equipped. On the 26th of Nov. they sailed
to join Levalle in Entre Rias. About 100 of the first
Estancieras were among those who arrived at Monte
Video ; and about 600 to 800 men, under Diaz Velez
and others, had retired on Tandil. The armies on the
Monte Video side appeared to be quite inactive, which
could not be accounted for, as Echague was so much

more powerful than Riviera, The former had issued an
order stating that no more cattle would be allowed to
enter the town after the 30th of November.

The question of Church Rates has, we trust, been
set to rest, for the present Session at least, by the vote
of the House of Commons, on Tuesday evening last.
Mr. Duncombe's motion for bring in a. bill
" to relieve from the payment of Church Rates that
portion of her Majesty's subjects who conscientiously
dissent from the rites and doctrines of the Church of
England," was negatived by a majority of fifty-one—
the numbers being 66 and 117. This majority will,
we hope, deter any other member from mooting the
question for some time to come. The agitation " got
up" upon this subject has proved as unsuccessful in
its issue as it has been hypocritical in its nature.
Mr. Duncombe's motion was founded upon the case
of John Thorogood, (Thorough-bad would have been
infinitely more appropriate to designate such a charac-
ter), about whom so much has been said, during the
last year, in all the Radical papers in the kingdom. This
foolish man has been lauded as a martyr in the cause
of religious liberty. We shall presently prove how
unworthy he is of such an appellation. Upon the
case of this stubborn cobbler, Mr. Duncombe grounded
a motion the most preposterous in its character that
was ever brought before the House of Commons, even
in its reformed condition. He wished all those who
should make a declaration of their conscientious dissent
from the communion of the Established Church to be
exempted from liability to pay Church Rates. This
amounts to neither more nor less than a direct bounty
upon Dissent—a measure very unlikely to be enter-
tained by the great majority of the people of England.
This absurd proposition had no other foundation than
the indolence and contumacy of Thorogood, who
chooses to remain in Chelmsford Gaol, rather than pay
a just debt of 5s 6d ! Both the foundation and super-
structure are well worthy of each other.
To the utter astonishment of Mr. Duncombe and
his Radical Associates, Lord John Russell rose to offer
his decided resistance to Mr. Duncombe's motion. He
completely demolished the whole case of Thorogood,
and proved that he was incarcerated, not for non-pay-
ment of Church Rates, but for refusing to appear to a
summons from the Ecclesiastical Court. He was com-
mitted for contempt. His claim, properly speaking,
was, not to be considered exempt from the payment of
Church Rates, but to be exempt from the jurisdiction
of a Court of Law—a privilege not enjoyed by any
other subject. Lord John Russell said, that he could
show no sympathy towards a man who had thus resisted
the law, and afterwards claimed to be exempted from
the consequences which his own obdurate folly and
presumption had provoked.
After exposing the knavery of those who resist the
payment of Church Rates, on alleged conscientious
scruples, Lord John Russell added to the consterna-
tion of the Radicals by announcing his willingness to
transfer the adjudication of Church Rate questions
from the Ecclesiastical Courts, and to bring them
within the cognizance of two justices of the peace,
substituting the alternative of an attachment on the
recusants' goods for imprisonment. This summary
mode of proceeding must be highly unpopular to . the
factious Dissenters, as it would deprive them of the
opportunity of figuring as "martyrs" in the pages of
the Patriot and the rest of the Radical prints. We see
no valid objection to Lord John Russell's plan, if faith-
fully carried into execution. A. more summary mode
greatly wanted in such cases.
of proceeding is
Mr. Hume was mightily offended at the declaration
of the Colonial Secretary, and launched forth into an
abusive tirade against the Established Church, inter-

larded with the usual common-places about persecu-

tion for conscience sake and religious intolerance. He
did not venture to defend Thorogood's opposition to
the legal authorities of the country.
Mr. Baines- chimed in with the member for Kil-
kenny, and heartily abused Lord John Russell for his
truckling policy. He made a most pitiful appeal to
the House of Commons on behalf of the " martyr"
Thorogood, insisting upon the cruelty of keeping him
so longi in " durance vile." His appeal was, however,
un.leded. The house was not exactly in the humour
to sympathise with his obstinate client. The abuse in
which Mr. Baines indulged towards the Established
Church and the clergy was equally ineffectual. The
allusion of this ignorant, pragmatical, and essentially
vulgar-minded personage to the Rector of Chelmsford,
was conceived and uttered in the worst imaginable
taste. " How," exclaimed this pink of Dissent, "how
can the Rector of ChelMsford, with a quiet consci-
ence, repeat six times in the course of each Sabbath,

the prayer that his trespasses may be forgiven, as he
forgives the trespasses against him, when he bears in
mind that poor John Thorogood is, at his suit, dying in
a gaol." The propriety of this allusion will be at once
recognised when it is understood that the " martyr"
Thorogood, about whom Mr. Baines thus whimpers,
is not imprisoned at the suit of the Rector of Chelms-
ford at all, hilt at the suit of the Churchwardens! It
is well known that the Clergy have nothing whatever
to do with the institution of suits against those who
refuse the payment of Church Rates.: and yet such
men as Mr. Baines and his superlatively " conscien-
tious" Dissenting friends always mix up the Clergy
with these proceedings. This . plainly shows the
animus of their opposition to Church 'Wei. They
oppose them, not because they have any scruples of
conscience in the matter, but because their hatred of
the Clergy is unbounded and incapable of miti-
gation. Mr. Baines' insolent language towards the
Rector of Chelmsford is only part and parcel
of that grand scheme, upon which the political Dis-
senters have entered, for the entire demolition of the
Established Church. It was proved by Sir R. H.
Inglis that Thorogood was prompted to adopt the
course which has brought him into so much trouble
by a knot of grievance-seeking Dissenters, who s 4 in
solemn conclave in London, and issue their mandates
to their subordinates throughout the country. Indeed
Thorogood himself complains that he had been badly
advised. He had refused to appear to the citation in
consequence of a solemn assurance from the Secretary
of the Church Rate Abolition Society that the Com-
mittee would " move heaven and earth before he should
be committed." In a letter published in the Sun he
adds" I forgive my prosecutors, as well as those who,
by giving me false counsel, have led me into greater diffi-
culty and suffering." This is very complimentary
language from the " martyr" towards his Dissenting
brethren. After leading him into the lurch they ap-
pear to have deserted him. The "moving of heaven
and earth" only amounted to a fruitless attempt to
send round the begging-box after the fashion of the
" Prince of Impostors"

But, if the consternation of the small fry of Radical
Dissenters in the House of Commons was great when
Lord John Russell got up to resist Mr. Duncombe's
motion, how much was it increased when Dr. Lush-
ington—the pet of the Dissenters—got up to vindicate
the existing law and its administration ! We 'can well
imagine the vacant stare of the member for Leeds
when that champion of religious liberty turned tail
upon his former friends. Dr. Lushington proved that
"no man could have brought John Thorogood into
the Ecclesiastical Court excepting John Thorogood
himself." Here was a shifting of the odium with a
vengeance ! It appears that the Ecclesiastical Courts
take no cognizance of claims for Church Rates amount-
ing to less than £lO. If Thorogood had appeared in
answer to a citation from the Ecclesiastical Court, the
case would have been dismissed with costs. In-
stead of this he was cited before two magistrates,
and appealed to • the Ecclesiastical Court against
the validity of the claim made upon him for
the payment of Church Rates, for which he was
assessed, He voluntarily prayed the judgment of the
Court, for his impudent contempt of which he was
subsequently committed to prison.
Dr. Lushington strongly repudiated the allegations
brought forwards by Mr. Baines, against the Rector
of Chelmsford. He very justly remarked, that the
Rector had just as much to do with the committal of
Thorogood as Mr. Baines himself.
It is to he hoped that, after this exposure, the public
will he no longer pestered with appeals on behalf of
John Thorogood. Let those who, by their mischie-
vous advice, helped him into prison, now help him out,
if they can. The anti-Church Rate humbug will be
soon exploded. Its selfish and unjustifiable nature
will bring it into universal contempt. The " consci-
entious" Dissenters have no more right to resist the
payment of Church Rates than they have to refuse to
pay rents for their tenements.

The following letter from the Bishop of Down and
Connor is peculiarly well-timed in the present days of.
latitudinarianism. Bishop Mant teaches, in conformity
with the church of which he is so bright an ornament;
that the Roman Catholic Church in this country is a
sect and separation, and that the peculiar articles and
belief of that sect are superstitious and idolatrous.
Would that all our prelates were equally diligent' in
banishing and driving away all erroneous and strange
doctrines. The principles Of the reformation will soon
make way among the population if such admonitions
are multiplied, and if the same boldness, is exhibited
by the heads of the church :

" TO TILE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND

AND IRELAND, IN THE DIOCESE ON DOWN AND CONNOR.

" Beloved Brethren,—ln the Belfast Commercial Chronicle
and the Ulster Times of February Ist, there is announced, in
very conspicuous characters, a Grand Oratorio and opening
of the new organ in St. Patrick's Chapel, Donegal-street,
Belfast, on Friday, the 7th of February, 1840.' In this an-
nouncement I perceive a temptation to you, in common with
the public at large, to contribute your countenance and pe-
cuniary aid to a sect of Christians who are in doctrine dis-
senters, and in worship separatisls from the church of which
yon profess yourselves to be members. Allow me, then, as
your spiritual overseer, to remind you that, in the judgment
of that church, as well as of the legislature of the kingdom,
the peculiar articles of the belief and practice of the sect in
question, and especially the invocation or adoration of the
Virgin Mary,' which is to be a part of the promised exhibi-
tion, are ' superstitious and idolatrous ;' and, accordingly,
allow me to put you thus on your guard against a temptation
into which you might otherwise be led through inadvertence,
and to admonish you to touch not the unclean thing,' lest
you be partakers of other men's sins.'

" You; affectionate bishop and servant for Jesus' sake

" RICHARD DOWN AND CONNOR."

A memorial to the Lords of the Treasury is now
lying for signature at the Exchange, Underwriters',
anti other public rooms in the town, praying that Li-
verpool may be selected as the port from and to which
,the steam-vessels to be employed in the conveyance of
the West India and Colonial mails shall depart and
arrive. This is a subject of the deepest interest to
every inhabitant of Liverpool, and we trust that the
signatures to the memorial will bear evidence to the
strong feelings entertained in reference to the matter
by the mercantile and other classes of our townsmtn.
A copy of the memorial will be found in our adver-
tising columns. It enters fully into the peculiar claims
of Liverpool to a preference, and enumerates the de-
cided advantages, in every point of view, which this
port possesses above all others. We earnestly hope
that the application will prove successful.