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

TO THE CHRISTIAN PUBLIC.

There never was a period in the history of our land which
called more loudly for the active exertions of all who desire
a continuance of its prosperity, than that in which we now
exist. The Protestant institutions, upon which alone that
prosperity can be durably based, are menaced on every hand,
by the enemies of scriptural truth and rational freedom. Po-
pery on the one side, and Infidelity on the other, having im-
bibed fresh vigour from a plausible liberalism, have united in
their efforts to undermine the nation's strength, by tearing
up, root and branch, its Protestant institutions. Against
none of these are their efforts directed with greater virulence
than against that which stands confessedly the bulwark of all
the rest, our National Church. A few years ago, they dared
not insult the nation so far as to demand its overthrow ; they
then contented themselves with urging a removal of its
abuses ; but, encouraged by the complacency with which
their exertions are regarded, through the influence of a false
feeling of charity, their demands have assumed a bolder tone,
and their cry now is, " down with her, down with her ; even
to the ground."
In this unholy warfare, they are actively assisted by a third
party, who style themselves " voluntaries," and who lay
claim to a more than ordinary degree of piety and worth.
They tell us that they have entered the lists, and sounded
the tocsin of war against our venerable church, on the ground
of its unscriptural character, and injurious tendency. It is
not our purpose to expose the falsehood and absurdity of
these charges in this address ; suffice it to say, that the
voluntaries of cur day, have discovered that which escaped
the zeal of our glorious reformers, and the penetration of the
brightest ornaments amongst the dissenters down to the pre-
sent period. They, while they contend earnestly against the
defects in the government of the church, avowed themselves
faithful defenders of its doctrines and principles, and sought,
by a removal of its imperfections, to add to its beauty, and
increase its efficiency,
To withstand this unnatural combination, and expose the
sophistries and plausibilities advanced against our church,
the " Liverpool Young Men's Established Church Society"
has been formed.

The grand object of this society is, to disseminate amongst
our young men, information upon the principle of National
Establishments for religion, and thus make them intelligent
defenders of, as well as devoted believers in, the faith they
profess to hold.
This we hope to accomplish by the following means :
lst,—The delivery of lectures on national establishments
for religion.
2nd,—The printing, for general distribution, of the lec-
tures, or other useful articles bearing upon the objects
of the society.
3rd,—The formation of a library, to consist exclusively
of works connected with the principles of the associa-
tion.
By these means we trust, with the blessing of God, to stir
up the enthusiasm, and call into active exercise the energies
of our young men, in favour of the church of their fathers.
But in order to carry out successfully these important plans,
we shall require the assistance of our opulent brethren. We,
therefore, call upon all who value the prosperity of those
venerable institutions, through the instrumentality of which
our country has been raised to a height of greatness unpa-
ralleled in history, to come forward and assist us in accom-
plishing that by which alone they can prosper, viz., securing
a place for them in the affections of the people.

DECLARATION.
We, the undersigned members of the established church of
England and Ireland, feel ourselves constrained to protest in
the most decided manner, (both in word and deed,) against
the opinions now advocated by the enemies of our national
establishment—to wit—that the state, as such, has no con-
cern with religion, but should leave it wholly to what is called
the voluntary principle.
We feel surprised and grieved that any of the children of
those who originally left the bosom of the church, through
matters ofform, should so far forget the faith of their fathers
as to coalesce with infidels and Romanists—in their opposi-
tion to our national establishment,—thus declaring, that,
having to choose between the union of church and state on
"e one side, and absolute irreligion and gross superstition on
the other, they decide in favour of infidelity and Popery, and
against all national religion.
We consider the established church (under God's guidance)
as the grand breakwater against Popery, the impregnable bar-
rier to infidelity, and essentially the poor man's best inheri-
tance. We believe a Protestant state should not only re-
cognise the Protestant religion, but should also support it and
extend its influence : and as large numbers of our fellow-
countrymen are left without the means of grace, (the insuffi-
ciency of the voluntary principle being thus proved,) we deem
it the duty of government to afford the required aid.
We feel ourselves called upon to protest, in the most
solemn manner, against the attempts now making to com-
promise the Protestant principles of our national schools, by
departing from the exclusive use of the authorised version of
the Holy Scriptures, and the exclusive controul of the mi-
nisters of the Established Church—deeming the word of
God to be the only true standard of faith and duties, we re-
solve to contend earnestly against such glaring and dangerous
innovations.
For the above purposes we hereby form ourselves into a
society, to be designated the " Liverpool Young Men's
Established Church Society."

At about a quarter to seven o'clock, Lord Sandon,
the Rev. Hugh M`Neile, J. C. Colquhoun, Esq., the
Rev. Dr. Byrth, accompanied by Jas. Aspinall, Esq.,
T, B. Horsfall, Esq., G. H. Lawrence, Esq., Richard
Dawson, Esq., &c., &c., entered the theatre, and were
greeted with tremendous cheering.
The confusion arising from the crowded state of the
building was excessive, and continued for some time,
so that the earlier part of the proceedings could scarcely
be heard at the distance of a yard from the seat ap-
pointed for the chairman. It was not until the Rev.
Hugh M‘Neile interfered that silence was procured.

Mr. T. B. HORSFALL then came forward and said—l have
much pleasure in moving that our noble and distinguished
representative, the Right Hon. Lord Sandon, the patron of
this institution, be requested to take the chair. (Loud
cheers.)
Mr. GEORGE HALL LAWRENCE.—I beg leave to second
the proposal of my friend Mr. Horsfall : for I am sure you
could not make a selection more congenial to your feelings.
(Renewed cheers.)
The noble lord then took the chair, and proceeded to say—lf
you please, ladies and gentlemen, will you allow me to ask a
moment's silence, until I call upon the Rev. Mr. Marshall
to open the proceedings of this evening with prayer.
The noise still continuing, owing to the crowded state of
the place and the inconvenience caused thereby, the Rev.
Hugh M'Neile stepped forward and told the meeting that if
they wanted to hear, it was quite impossible for them whilst
they continued in that state.—lt being obvious that the con-
fusion arose from the want of room, those immediately in
front of the stage were invited upon it, and the uproar ceased.
The rev. gentleman, whose appeal had thus produced the de-
sired effect, concluded by a few appropriate observations on
the offering of prayer, in which they were about to engage.
The Rev. R. B. MARSHALL having supplicated the Divine
blessing on the proceedings,
The Noble CHAIRMAN rose amidst loud cheering, which
continued for some minutes, and addressed the meeting as
follows :—Ladies and gentlemen, after the solemn words
which have been just passing through our ears, and which, I
hope, while they have issued from our lips, have issued at
the same time from our hearts, I think I need not say much
for the purpose of asking of you your serious and solemn at-
tention to the proceedings of the evening. This, gentlemen,
is a question of no light importance. It is not a question of
party politics ; it is not a question of transitory importance ;
it is a question concerning the eternal interests of the souls
of the British empire, as well as of the temporal interests of
the subjects of this great kingdom. Gentlemen, it is delight-
ful to see that the only difficulty that we have to encounter
within these walls on this subject, is that of too much en-
thusiasm in the cause in which we are engaged, and that those
who defend our institutions, in church as well as state, can
show as much enthusiasm at least as those who come forward
to attack them, and that we may appeal in England, with
equal security and equal confidence of the result, to the high
and to the low, to the humble villager in the remotest dis-
tricts in the country, and to the artisan in the crowded and
populous communities of the empire. (Cheers.) Gentle-
men, we are indeed the defending party. We are not assem-
bled here for the purpose of encroaching upon the liberties
of our fellow-subjects—for the purpose of taking from them
any privileges which they have acquired—but for the pur-
pose of defending our own privileges, and for the purpose of
defending the existing institutions of the country. (Hear.)
Gentlemen, the history of the whole of the present century
is one of successive concessions on the part of the church
of England, and of successive encroachments on the part of
those who differ from her creed. We are called bigots, we
are called intolerant. Let me ask who it was who repealed
the test and corporation act, and the penal laws against the
Roman Catholics ? In each case itlwas the members of the
Church of England. (Hear, hear.) If we have erred, we
have erred from too much confidence in the good-will of our
fellow-subjects who differ with us in religions opinions ; at
least, if we have erred, it has not been through too much
intolerance and bigotry of attachment to our own persuasion.
(Hear.) Gentlemen, until within the last ten years the dif-
ferences between the church and the various classes of dis-
senters had been gradually lost sight of, almost entirely, by
both parties. We had been accustomed to meet together on
the same platform in the promotion of the common objects
of Christian interest ; we had been too .
anxious, perhaps, to
merge all differences of religious opinion advancing those
great truths which we hold in common with every denomi-
nation of our fellow-Christians. We had fought toge-
ther on the same side on the platform of Bible societies,
and of school societies, and of missionary societies ; upon
every occasion we were seen fighting. together the com-
mon warfare against the enemies of the common faith
of Christianity ; and so long as political disabilities
pressed upon those who differed from the creed of the esta-
blished church those differences were called minor differences,
and every effort of soothing and persuasion was made to in-
duce us to believe how little they differed from us in order
that we might act together. But as soon as the prospect of
political power was held out to the dissenters, how changed
was their language ! From that moment their cry has been
of the Church of England, " Down with her—down with her
even to the ground ! Let us merge now all our minor dif-
ferences, and unite with the infidel, with the Socialist, with
the Roman Catholic, and with the Unitarian, for the purpose
of unitirts in that one common principle of hatred to thy g§.