The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-08 00:00:00

a searching investiga-

Air. whole sy,tein of bankinb
code of legislation framed ;.or the rt
ock banks. We are persuaded that

lust be

see the propriety of making it

imperative on every joint-stock bank, without regard to lo-
cality, to register the names of the partners annually at the
Stamp-office.; that their deeds of settlement should be sub-
mitted to the inspection of a public officer, and that his cer-
tificate should be the %arrant for the Stamp-office authori-
ties to issue the license._ The regulation ought not, however,
to be confined to joint-stock banks. It ought to be ex-
tended to all fire arid life assurance companies. The facili-
ties of establishing the latter Kass of companies are most ob-
jectionable. • They are under no species of legislative check
or regulation whatever, and thus temptations are put in the
way of the vicious to dupe the public. We are perfectly
sensible of the importance of life-insurance companies, and
of the great benefits they confer upon the community. The
remarks we have have made, both as regardsjoint-stock banks
and insurance companies have, we trust, been explicit. We
trust that our object has been seen, namely, to protect the
genuine firms ; to separate the tares from the wheat ; to support
the real against the fictitious, and thus encourage and advan-
tage the sound institutions and the public. To accomplish this
purpose the life-invirance system specially requires to be
placed under the controul of legislative enactment, fer seve-
ral bubbles of that class have burst in the metropolis, and
there may be more to come. We have heard of one instance
)st extrao dinary kind, where the extent of the
•fectly incredible. But the plan is of easy ac-
. A flaming prospectus with a series of names
is published, all well " esquired " for effect ;

tables of the most tempting kind are circulated, promisin.;
annuities on conditions which cannot pay the company ; but
as that is never intended, the parties concerned give them-
selves no trouble about it, and the nubile greedily take the
bait by paying the price generally at once, so as to secure
the bargain. The-n, to make the picture more pleasing, they
take care. to announce that the company is estaolished under
and by virtue of a variety of acts of parliament, which are
'. These are the statutes applicable to friendly
lich. have nothing to do with insurance companies.
however, is attained, and in a short time the
'limit. Royal Union Fire and Life insu-
some other tine soundinlt6title, nothing
vent such impositions, and to secure the
king from a proper system of welt-
vanies, the subject ought to be
Allier of the legislature. He will

quweritet

0
finds the magus

du
ranee A

public r

nd no want of evidence, to satisfy

xisting evils is e,setitially re-

'aosAer to us on this point, as
the London joint-stock banks,
of require the partners to be re-
n thing is done, as the directors
generally print the names and

wnich are given with their

be the usual practice, as re-

Rnkb, which it certainly is,

.1 with rtgiri to insur:arce

o not consider it entitled to

am guarantees from

tll alwavs

the right of as-
tuck hanks and

c from itsipositioa fi'ow

ie-bixth of the
!d the deed. I

n Providing printed lists of

Id take car

:o prevent the

rtners, verified by the
should be lodged with

for examination ; and his cer-

Id be the warrant for a li-

rtisernehts in the London

Sun, evening newspaper, that

ived the balance of his

he Ziberpooi tantiatb.

FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 8, 1841

It must, we think, be now sufficiently evident tha
the time has arrived for making a permanent provisioi:
to meet the increased expenditure of the country.
Temporary expedients, calculated only to stave off the
evil day, have too long been depended upon by out
Whig financiers; and we trust that the session of par-
liament which is approaching will not be allowed to
progress many weeks, without some intelligible state-
ment of our financial position being elicited, and a
'ound principle laid down by which the revenue of the
country can be raised to the level of the increased
wants of the government.

The financial statement for the year ending sth Ja-
nuary, 1841, which has just been published, exhibits a
deficiency, as compared with last year, of £254,009,
or, in round numbers, of upwards of a quarter of a
million; and, bearing in mind the ridiculously insuf-
ficient sum demanded last session to cover the expenses
of the expedition to China, we may fairly conclude
that a large additional sum will be wanted this year to
reimburse Government for the increased expenditure
under that head alone. Independently of this, how-
ever, we have to provide for the cost of the Syrian
quarrel; and •it is evident that, to do this and, at the
same time, to place the nation in a position to engage
at once and with effect in any course of action which
its honour and interests may require, an effective and
extensive increase of taxation has become indispensa-
bly necessary. A very slight examination of the pre-
sent position of our foreign relations will show that,
although it may not be necessary for Great Britain to
possess those vast armaments which our French
neighbours consider compatible with the existence of
an " armed peace," yet that a large increase of our
naval and military forces will be required, under any
circumstances, not only as a measure of precaution
against the possibility of foreign aggression, but to en-
able us to carry on efficiently those struggles in which
we are already engaged. We must increase our force
in China, unless we expect our hostilities against that
people to be protracted over a much greater space of
time than has ever yet been calculated upon ; for we
cannot yet depend upon the telegraphic despatch which
announced its termination. We must recruit our In-
dian army considerably, to enable us to carry to deci-
sive conclusion the embroilments in Affghanistan and
elsewhere, into which the hasty policy of. Lord Auck-
land has led us; and although the settlement of affairs
in Syria would undoubtedly enable us to detach a por-

tion of the Mediterranean. fleet into the eastern seas,
yet, in the present unsettled state of western Europe,

we see little prospect of doing this to any considerable
extent, consistently with the preservation of our own
interests and safety, in case of any sudden outbreak of
hostility in that quarter.
To provide for this pressing emergency, a bold and
vigorous administration of our financial resources be-
comes absolutely necessary; and we press the subject
thus early upon the consideration of our readers be-
cause we are fully convinced that, even whilst imposing
an increased taxation upon the country—a measure
which, we fear, will be far from a popular one—it is
perfectly within the power of an honest government to
introduce, along with it, such alleviating and judicious
changes in our present system as will give a stimulus
to industry and enable the comtnunity to bear up
cheerfully under their Lel,v hurthens. It may seem a
little odd, perhaps, to call for the remission of any
particular imposts, whilst admitting and contending for
the necessity of increased taxation generally ; but the
inconsistency is not real. In medical practice it is not
unusual, we believe, for -the constitution of the patient
to be supported, to sorr►e extent, by stimulants, even
when under a general course of depletion; and, by si-
milar relief and encouragement afforded to the com-
merce of the country, we may he enabled the better to
undergo that course -of financial or fiscal depletion to
which Whig incapacity has rendered it necessary that
we should be submitt.ed.

We shall not atterript to point out the medium by
which the revenue required shall be raised. But we
must confess our an:' iety that it be something direct
and tabgible—sonnet hing that will not bring a spy into
every household or place a clog upon the ordinary
movements of commerce. It may be thought an ex-
cellent device, for a government that seeks popularity
at the expense of principle and of justice, to impose
the burden of taxati on upon objects whet e it imagines
it will not be felt—to place ten per cent, upon this, or

live per cent, upon that, article of consumption or Of
comfort. By no such huxtering system, however, can
the finances of a nation, which draws the breath of its
prosperity f om commercial and manufacturing indus-
try, be seriously benefited without those imposts be-
coming oppressive and embarrassing. It is a delusion
:o suppose that because spread over a wide space such
taxation is not felt. On the contrary it is doubly felt ;
because, being placed upon articles of consumption, it
tends alike to diminish the comforts of the consumer
and to lessen the profit and the demand to the producer
and the trader.

The very limited extent to which this injudicious
principle was carried last year by the present Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer will, we venture to say, prove
by its results. that it cannot be resorted to in our pre-
sent position without producing disappointment. We
may indeed be told that the financial statement just
published, exhibits an increase under the head of
£622,310 for the year; but of this increase we must
bear in mind that £539,095, or within £32,000 of the
whole has been paid during the last quarter. We may
therefore fairly attribute this increase to the revival
which the trade of the country has sustained during
the last month or two, rather than to the additional
per centage imposed by Mr. Baring. In many im-
portant articles there has been an actual falling off.
The duty upon colonial spirits for instance, in the
port of London alone, is stz'ted to be deficient to the
extent of nearly £150,000; and, although a portion of
this result may be attributed to other concurrent
causes—the increase of temperance in particular—yet
the fact that such a falling off is apparent in other ar-
ticles affected by Mr. Baring's measure, sufficiently
shows that increase of revenue to any material extent
is not to be derived from such a source.

Direct taxation, however, it will be urged, we cannot
have in any other shape than in that of a property
tax. To some extent we admit that this is true. To a

modified measure of this description we must come at

last, if circumstances—a continental war for instance
—render a large increase of revenue necessary. To
this we must come, or to an increase of the debt of the
country; and of the two alternatives, we must confess
that we prefer the former. If as a nation we have al-
lowed a set of imbeciles and tricksters to plunge us
into an extensive war ; if, in the frantic pursuit of
phantoms—under the delusive names of " Reform"
and "Liberalism"—we have outrun prudence and
despised the dearly-bought experience of past ages—
we should pay the penalty, and not allow it to be
entailed upon our children. We are well aware of the
unpopularity of such a doctrine ; but is it unreason-
able, we ask, or is it unwise ? On the contrary, were
it acknowledged and acted upon, there are few na-
tions, we think, who would allow incapable or dis-
honest statesmen to plunge them wantonly or madly
into war and its consequent expenditure; and Great
Britain would be amongst the last to show this self-
sacrificing spirit.
Let us not, however, be mistaken as advocating a
property tax at the present crisis. We trust that the
necessity for •such a measure is far distant. To some-
thing, however, of a similar nature we would gladly
revert even now, in the hope of getting rid, in return,
of a number of petty and harrassing imposts, which
we believe to be of serious injury to the commerce of
the country; and the abolition of which we as firmly
believe would very slightly—if at all—diminish the
amount of our national revenue. Within the last
fifteen or twenty years a reduction of taxation upon
various articles has taken place, to the amount of
eight to ten millions per annum ; and yet, except in
the recent instance of the reduction in postage, no
corresponding reduction in the amount of revenue has
followed. In the case of a great portion of the im-
posts fixed upon for reduction or abolition, the selec-
tion has been, we think, of very doubtful propriety—
founded more upon the principle of pandering to the
popular will than upon considerations either of justice
or expediency; and we are confident that such a modi-
fication of duties—and in some cases an abolition of
duty—might he made upon various other articles as
would, without materially lessening the present re-
venue, give an impetus to manufacturing and commer-
cial industry, which would be attended with the best
results.

On an early occasion we shall return to this subject,
which we regard as one of pressing importance, and
endeavour to point out a few imposts, the removal or
:nodification of which would, in our opinion, benefit
the tradiug portion of the community; and we are in-
duced to do this, because we feel a perfect conviction
hat any alleviation of the burthens of taxation to be
derived from such a source, is systematically kept in
he background by our ministerial contemporaries, in
the hope of turning the full tide of popular complaint
to swell the anti-corn law agitation. At present, how-
ever, we cannot afford the space for so important an
inquiry,

If the spirit which once animated the mortal re-
mains, now resting beneath the dome of the Hotel
d'lnvalides, could look just now upon the movements
of his Parisian idolators, what a contemptible opinion
he must form of that most absurd and fickle people !
But three short weeks ago the very air was burdened
with the cry of " Liberty !" The car which bore the
ashes of Napoleon—of him whose armed heel had
trampled into the dust the living form of Liberty—fed
although it had been by blood shed like water, on the
scaffold and in the eld—was welcomed with all the
enthusiasm and theatrical pomp which a nation of me-
lodramatists could pay to a concentration of the heroics.
War, war ! was the universally expressed sentiment of
the French mobocracy; a war of propagandism, of
encroachment, and, en fin, a war of glory. And yet
what do we now see as the conclusion of all this min-
gled Bobadilism and absurdity ? The fierce soldier
has laid down his pike and his musket, and the still
fiercer journalist his pen, dipt in mingled gall and
fury, to witness—the forging of the very chains which
are to hind down their democratic spirits in an endless
subserviency to a dynasty and a regime which is the
very antipodes of that in whose laudation they have so
lately manifested symptoms little short of lunacy !

The fortifications of Paris are to be carried on in

" hot naste," and la jeune France, " pleased with a fea-
ther—tickled with a straw," is watching the progress
of the circumvallation and the detached forts. To
promote what end are these works to be carried on, at
an expense of something like forty millions sterling ?
l'o protect " la jeune France from being walked over
some fine day, we should imagine. To prevent those
ruthless islanders, in whose honour was raised a few
days ago the cry of " a bas Anglais," making a kind
of European Bow-street of the Tuilleries. Not at all.
France—la jeune France"—is able to maintain her own
against a world in arms. But she is anxious—de-
votedly anxious—to enable the King of the Barricades
to repress at the cannon's mouth any little escapades to
which, in her exuberant spirits, she may be tempted !
The revolution of July is to be secured ; and the dan-
cing and fiddling people of Paris, distrustful of their
own discretion, are busy in providing Louis Philip
with the means of perpetuating the only result of that
revolution—the substitution of the absolutism of
stockjobbing and the telegraph in the person of the
head of the House of Orleans, for that of legitimacy
and settled institutions in that of the elder House of
Bourbon.

We care not how long our French neighbours—or
our Parisian neighbours, for they are the French
nation—may remain in their present Elysium. At
any rate we trust that it may last until " the trap" is
completed. The government of France, so long at
least as it is swayed by Louis Philippe, will do no
violence to the peace of Europe ; and when this
precious scheme of detached forts is perfected, the

" pressure from without" will be in his hands, and will
be too formidable for any mob of journeymen tailors
or even medical students to resist.

The Emperor, it is true, tickled the Parisians after
another fashion ; but his shade, if allowed to contem-
plate the present temper of his worshippers, must per-
ceive that any straw is sufficient. To dictate dis-
patches from " head-quarters at Moscow" or London,
would be, no doubt, very glorious, but very expensive;
and the King of the Barricades can secure his
ascendancy—and Napoleon could have done the same
equally well, had it suited " his genius"—by simply
enclosing Paris in a suit of ornamental artillery, the
muzzles of which could on occasion be turned to
sweep the Boulevards and threaten with bombardment
its purveyors of fashion and cuisine. " Vive la
bagatelle" we say, so long as we are allowed to sleep

without th© danger of being eaten up by these terrible

M unchau s ens !

The news from China by the overland mail has pro-
duced an unusual degree of excitement in the political
and commercial world. The expedition, under the
command of Admiral Elliot, we are informed, had
penetrated as far as Pekin, and after a few days' nego-
ciation with the Emperor of China in person, accord-
ing to some accounts, and with a mandarin of high
rank, according to others, the demands of the British
government have been conceded in full. Two millions
sterling are to be paid as a compensation to the opium,
dealers for the value of the cargoes delivered up to the
Chinese authorities, and one million sterling for the
expenses of the expedition. The privilege of trading
is to be conceded to us upon a broad and satisfactory
basis; and commissioners are to be appointed to ar-
range all minor matters of dispute. In addition to
these concessions, his Excellency Commissioner Lin is
to be delivered up to the British admiral, the Em-
peror, with true diplomatic tact, disowning the late
measures of that functionary, which he assures us
have been undertaken not only without his sanction,
,but altogether without his knowledge. In the mean
time the British force is to be withdrawn from the
waters of Pekin and to proceed to Canton, there to
await the progress of the proposed arrangements.
• All this, no doubt, may be very satisfactory—so far
as it goes. It may be very just that the smugglers of
opium should be paid the value of their deleterious
and contraband commodity by a peaceful nation,
whose laws they were outraging by its introduction,
and that Great Britain should be remunerated for the
cost of her expedition, undertaken in defence of that
contraband- trade. But •have we arrived at the re-
quired consummation ? Are we one whit more assured
of the enjoyment of an intercourse with the Chinese
people than we were before this vaunted expedition
was undertaken ? We humbly imagine not. We

have penetrated, it is true, to the capital of China, and
menaced with destruction the seat of government ;
yet without even the shadow of security for the pro-
mises held out to us, we are told very civilly—and it is
matter of great congratulation, that we are for the
first time spared the indignity of being addressed as
barbarians—that we are to yield up the advantage of
our position, and to kick our heels at Canton or else-
where, until it suits the convenience of the Celestial
Empire to cogitate upon our case, and administer
what it may deem a satisfactory remedy. " Procal, oh,
procul este profani" is the request of the sublime.
brother to the sun and moon. "'fake yourselves
away from my august presence. Hang, draw, and
quarter my Commissioner Lin, by way of recreation,
whilst famine and pestilence takes off your fine
soldiers' and your sea-dogs,' and the elemente
swallow up and scatter, one by one, your floating
palaces."

It does really seem to us that this is a most "lame
and impotent conclusion" to what we fear can only be
considered as the first act of this great international
drama. We have either done too much, or we have
achieved too little. if we are engaged in a just quar-
rel, the reparation which we seek should have been a
prompt, an efficacious, and a definite one ; and we
ought neat to have retrograded one step until that re-
paration Was fully secured. If we are to make war
upon the principles of the buccaneers, we should at
least hold our captives until the ransom is duly paid
down; but if, on the contrary, we seek to vindicate the
national honour and to advance our national and com-
mercial interests, we should have something definite—
something intelligible—something more than a mere
promise, the fulfilment of which is dependent for time
and extent upon that uncertain thing, negociation, be-
fore we consent to lay down the advantages which a
large expenditure of the public money has given us.
A communication once entered into with the Emperor
of China or with his high functionaries, ought surely
to have been improved and pressed to some practical
and immediate result ; and not broken off in a vague
reliance upon the issue of negotiations with that
very class whose interests or prejudices we have
always heretofore found to present insuperable bar-
riers to a proper understanding with the government
of that singular and incomprehensible people.
It may be—tor we admit that the intelligence which
has reached us so far, is of a very interesting character
—that Government is in possession of information
which fully warrants the course which the Admiral in
command of the expedition has taken. We trust that
such is the case; and yet we cannot but doubt the
prudence of that course. The forces engaged in the
expedition, we are assured,'are seriously afflicted with ill
health, and a great portion of them are daily yielding
to the diseases of the climate. The expenditure at-
tending a protracted negociation, when the expedition;
whose presence alone ensures a successful result, is
imperatively required to remain on the spot, must be
enormous ; and we know sufficient of the character
of the Chinese nation, and especially of its Govern-
ment; to warrant us in the belief that every hour of
delay will serve only to lessen the chances of permanent
advantage.

We cannot then, upon serious consideration, enter
into the sanguine views which we have heard enter-
tained as to our present position in this quarrel. There
has been displayed so far, by the leaders of the expe-
dition to China, a want of combined action, and of
well directed energy, which cannot materially have
raised us in the opinion of the Chinese people; and
we have seen as yet no result of our arms sufficiently
imposing, to induce that people to abate so much of
their inveterate prejudices as would warrant them in
entering, with good faith and sincerity, into the en-
gagements which are so confidently spoken of. What-
ever• may be our desire to witness the restoration of
amicable relations between our own country and China,
we are afraid that we have not yet arrived at such a
restoration; and we would therefore earnestly warn
our readers against giving to the current anticipations
their implicit confidence, until they are confirmed by
some intelligence of a more satisfactory character than
any which we at present possess.

TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM.—The Rev. Peter Browne, assistant
curate to the Rev. Fielding Ould, was presented on the 2d
instant, with a beautiful pocket communion service, by the
congregation of Immanuel Church, Oswaldtwistle, near
Blackburn, the flock amongst which he recently laboured, as
a testimony of their high sense of his ministerial efficiency.
A VESSEL FIRED INTO AT SEA.—A letter from Cape
Town dated October 13, says :---" The Vixen, Tinley, from
Liverpool, which arrived here on the 10th instant, was fired
into by a brig on the morning of the 31st of August. The
Vixen saw the brig ahead at noon of the 30th of August,
with top-gallant sails just above the horizon, both vessels on
the starboard tack ; at one a. m. 31st of August, the Vixen
came up with the brig, and it being very dark and squally,
determined to run to leeward some distance and then haul
her wind again ; this was done to avoid giving any uneasi-
ness on board the brig from the near neighbourhood of such
a clipper looking schooner. The brig, however, much to the
astonishment of Captain Tinley, bore up, ran down towards
him, and when within hail fired a small gun from his taffrail
at the Vixen, and on passing under her stern endeavoured
to rake her by firing a very heavy-shotted gun, which very
nearly dismasted her, the shot passing right through the
Vixen's spars. Mem. The Vixen will no doubt be the
schooner which was fired at by H. M. packet Magnet, on
the supposition of her being a pirate."

BRANDY AND SALT.—in reference to an advertisement
which appears in another column, we have been requested to
insert the following wonderful cure by the use of this com-
pound :—John Beecher, son of Captain Beecher, Catherine-
square, Mason-street, Hull, was afflicted with scrofula for
seven years : he had gone on crutches for the last two years,
bad wounds all over his body, and had been given up as in-
curable by several medical men. He did not begin to use
the brandy and salt till the 28th of April last (1810). He
took one tablespoonfull of the remedy in the morning, and
another in the afternoon ; and rubbed himself also with it.
His wounds were so bad that he had recourse to a little
spermaceti ointment to soften the hardened skin, which he
washed off before applying the brandy and salt. He was
cured in three months, and he is now in good health.
ROYAL A MPH vrtips.TßE.—The past week's performances
at this favourite resort have been exceedingly well attended,
and the pieces most enthusiastically received. Mr. Gomer-
sal's personation of Napoleon is excellent. His close resem-
blance, in personal appearance, to that great captain, give
great additional effect to the character. Mr. Sloan, as Molly
Malony, is also deserving of the highest commendation. The
genuine Irish humour he introduces in this character has
never failed to elicit the warmest plaudits. The horsemanship
has been well received. Mr. James Cook's representation of
" The Fisherman of Naples" is one of the most daring acts
we ever beheld. On Monday, a new piece, founded on the
late war in Syria, will be produced for the first time. It is
from the pen of Mr. H.' Beverley, jun., and, judging from
the talent displayed in his former pieces, we anticipate that
it will be well received.
AN UNTOWARD RESULT OF DRUNKENNESS.—The mu-
seum of the Royal College of Surgeons, in Dublin, contains
the picture of a man whose face was eaten ;.way by a pig,
while he, was lying in a state of intoxication. The entire
nose, both cheeks, and parts of both ears, in fact, all the
most eatable parts of his face, were chewed off by the ani-
mal; nevertheless, the wounds all healed, and he recovered ;
but, of course, with all the disabilities of enunciation, chew-
ing, and swallowing, attendant on such extensive destruction
of soft parts. He, notwithstanding, under generous regimen,
contrived, while in hospital, to keep up a good condition of
body. His principal regret lay in the unavoidable disuse of
his tobacco-pipe. The picture exhibits him, after the wounds
had all healed, without nose or ears, but with two beautifully
white and perfect rows of naked teeth.—Provincial Medical
and Surgical Jounsal.,

OPERATIVE PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION

TEA. PARTY

On Wednesday, the members and friends of this associa-
tion assembled in th'e Music-ball, Bold-street, for the pur-
pose of celebrating the advent of the new year by taking tea
together. Between seven and eight hundred persons were
present, and a most pleasing evening was spent. The Rev.
Hugh M`Neile presided, and around him sat a considerable
number of the principal friends of the Protestant cause.
Tea having been served--

Mr. WN;;ILE addressed the meeting nearly as follows :
To those who have put, and to any who may be desirous to
repeat, the question why I approve of such a meeting as this,
I wish to say I approve of it because I, desire to promote
unity and concord and harmonious co-operation among Pro-
testants of all ranks in the community. I approve of it
because as a Christian clergyman I desire to communicate
religious instruction in season and out of season, not only in,
the pulpit but in the street, in the private family, in the-
public meeting at the tea party. (Applause.) I approve of
it because as a Christian friend I desire to hear the senti-
ments of my brethren, and to give and receive pleasure by
any lawful and innocent means in my Vower. (Hear.) Ido
not know whether it is at all expedient to argue the question
with any of our friends who may be here against their better
judgment ; but there is one point I think it right to touch
upon, because it will lead us to a statement of our Protes,
tant principles. Some of our poorer brethren were hurt at
the idea of a Protestant meeting connected with a charge for
admission tickets, which charge was beyond their means of
payment, so that they must feel themselves excluded from
our meeting. They will, lam sure, do us the justice to feel
quite satisfied that there was no intention of excluding any
one ; but, if their necessities exclude them, it is a part of
our Protestant principles to know that poverty is no crime;
that 4e. who is hindered from attending a meeting of this
kind, and the man in .moderate circumstances who, is hin-
dered from attending a meeting where the tickets would cost
a guinea, are hut -specimens of that subordination of rank
in the state which it is one of our principles to maintain.
(Hear, hear.) lam confident if our Protestant operative
friends will but think a little of this matter, they will not feel
in the least degree unkind or uncomfortable towards their
brethren in better circumstances, who can afford to give a
shilling for their ticket, and can have their enjoyment for the
same. (Hear.) And I should say they should remember
the meetings we have often had, and anticipate the meetings
we will have again, when the Amphitheatre will be full of
them, without any charge. (Cheers.)

,
I said that I wished to communicate religious instruction
in season and out of season. My friends, it we would main-
tain Protestant principles, we must know what they are. In
order to know, and to have clearly before us, what those
principles are, we must frequently revert to our original do-
cuments. I propose, therefore, to occupy a little of your
time by reverting to a few of our fundamental Protestant
principles. _

. .
The first of our Protestant principles toWhich I would call
your attention, is the completeness and the exclusiveness of
the Holy Scriptures as a rule of faith. When I say com-
pleteness, I refer to the exclusiou of the apocryphal books ;
and when I say exclusiveness, I refer to their sufficiency
without the traditions of men. Here, then, is one of our
great principles, that
" Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salva-
tion : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may Le
proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it.
should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thougLt
requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy

Scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old
and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt
in the church."

You are aware that the Romish Church reckons amongst the
books of Scripture what we call the apocryphal books. It
becomes me to inform you concerning those books, that they
were never in the Hebrew language at all ; that they are ex-
tant only in the Gieek, with the exception of one, which was
never in the Greek originally, butis found only in the Latin.
It becomes me also to tell you that they were never recog-
nized by the Jewish Church as belonging to the Scriptures.
There is a remarkable passage in the Jewish historian Jose-
phus, which instructs us as to these books.
Josephus says—Contra Appian, lib. 1. s. 8—". We have not
an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing
from, and contradicting, one another, but only 22 books, con-
taining the records of all past times, which are justly believed
to be divine. Five of these belong to Moses, which contain
his laws. As to the time from the death of Moses, till the
time of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, the prophets who were
after Moses wrote down what was done in their times, in 13
books. The remaining 4 books contain hymns to God, and
precepts for the conduct of human life. And how firmly we
have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident
from what we do ; for during so many ages as have already
passed, no one has been so bold as either to add any thing to
them, to take any thing from them, or to make any change in
them ; but it has become natural to all Jews, immediately
and from their birth, to esteem these books to contain divine
doctrines, and to persist in them, and if it be necessary wil-
lingly to die for them."
That is
.the testimony of the Jewish historian Josephus to
the integrity of the canon of the Old Testament, and to the
exclusion of the apocryphal books. Now these apocryphal
books contain some very curious things. They contain fa-
bles, such as the casting out of demons by fumigation ; that
is, they cast the devil out by smokily, him. (Laughter.) It
is no wonder, therefore, that such hooks should be adopted
by Romish doctors, in order to give an appearance of scrip-
tural authority to their fables and lying wonders. Here
is one of our Protestant principles then—to maintain the in-
tegrity of the canon of Scripture, as we have it in the autho-
rised version, to the. exclusion of the apocryphal books.; and
I am glad of this opportunity to inform so many of my ope-
rative friends of.these simple facts concerning those books :
that they were never in the Hebrew language—that they
were never recognised in the canons of the Jewish phurch—
that they were never acknowledged by our Saviour, or by
any of the Apostles—and that no reference is made to any of
them, and no quotations from any of them,' in. any part of
the New .Testament. I may also inform you that' they were
never recognised, as belonging to the Scriptures for 400
years in the Christian church—that the first commencement
of the introduction of them, as.'supplying authority for doc-
trine, was in the sth century. when the errors of Romanism,
which had been already infecting the church, began to spread.
Upon the subject of the Scriptures we further maintain
their sufficiency to the exclusion of human traditions. The
theory of the Romish church, against which we have to
contend, is this—that' Almighty God. has not only given us
the Bible, but that he.has left an authority in the living clergy
in the church, from age to age, to legislate with divine
authority for the members of the church ; and that that di-
vine authority abides from age to age in living ministers ; and
that, if an assembly of ministers be lawfully convened, and
their enactments be properly made, such decisions of the
church have the authority of a divine commandment.
(Hear, hear.) That is their theory. Witli that they have a
lever ready to upturn the foundations of Christian society, at
the option of the hierarchy, in any age whatever. I have
read you our Protestant principle, and that is, that it has
not pleased God to giye such power to fallible men, but Unit
he has given us a complete canon of divine instruction, to
which no man should dare to add, from which no man should
dare to take away, and in which no man should dare to make
a change. (Hear, hear.)
. • .

With regard to the traditions of men, ordered to be reve-.
renced with equal piety of mind as the word of God, it is a
fruitful source of error. We have to contend against it on
every side ; and it will be useful to you to perceive the right
position which our Christian church occupies in this matter,
in her references to the authority of men. The Christian
ministers who lived near about the time of the Apostles, and
who succeeded the Apostles in the management of the primi-
tive church, were men like ourselves, so far as inspiration is
concerned. They had advantages, as witnesses, with re-
gard to what was going on in their own times ; they knew
the facts as they occurred; and, as witnesses of those facts,
they are valuable historians. All that men require in order
to be faithful witnesses of facts, is that they should know
those facts at the time they occurred, and that they should
be honest men to report them. They needed no special in-
spiration of God, above their fellow-men, to be faithful wit-
nesses of facts ; but there is a great difference between wit-
nessing facts and interpreting the Scriptures. In order that a
man should interpret the Scriptures, so that his opinion
should have more weight than that of his fellow-men, he
must have more inspiration of the Holy Spirit than his
fellow-men ; and in order to interpret the Scriptures,
so that his statements shall have equal authority with
the Scriptures, he must be inspired equally with the
writers of the Scriptures. (Hear.) If the opinions of
those men are to he taken as more than men's opinions, they
are of God's inspiration, and then we have a Bible extended
through folios, and we do not know when to stop. But if
when inspiration ceased, Divine authority ceased, then we
have nothing to go by but the written, inspired, and sacred
Word of God. (Cheers.) Observe, then. When they deny,
as you find Romish writers deny, and some Protestant writ-
ers, too, I am sorry to say, the sufficiency of the Scriptures,
and challenge us to account for certain of our own practices,
in the observance, for example, of the first day of the week,
instead of the seventh ; be prepared with this distinction.
The testimony of antiquity is valid as historical attestation of
facts, it is useful also as the testimony of all Christian men
is useful in its place, for the elucidation of doctrine, but it is
not to be depended upon, as anything more than the private
judgment of the individuals cited. We keep Good Friday,
we celebrate Easter Sunday and Christmas Day; these are
the old practices of men who lived in olden times, and have
borne witness to the fact that those days were kept ; and it
required no more than an honest man to tell us of the fact.
As fas as these facts throw light upon the Scriptures, we re-
joice in them, and we plead their testimony, but there is a
great difference between this and an authoritative interpre-
tation of the Scriptures; so be upon your guard, my Pro-
testant friends, and remember this distinction between the
witnesses of facts and the interpretation of doctrine.
There is another of our Protestant principles I should like
to say a few words upon. Again Igo to our original docu-
ments. This is the grand Protestant principle lam going to
announce now—the foundation of our peace with God here,
and of our glory with God hereafter. I will read it to you
from the language of our Protestant church ;

" We are accounted righteous before God, only for the
merit of our. Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and
not for our own works and deservings : wherefore, that we
are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine and
very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the
homily of justification."

The Romish Church maintains that we are justified by a
righteousness put into us and made our own by infusion—
that we are justified by being made personally holy—that we
are justified by being sanctified. That is her doctrine. Now
as no man is perfectly sanctified, so according to them, no
man is ever perfectly justified. They hold that the justifica-
tion of a sinner is an imperfect and a progressive thing, going
on from less to more in this world, unfinished in most cases
even at the point of death, and to be finished after death,
partly by purgatory, partly by prayers and masses in the
church, which masses are to be paid for by their living friends.
(Hear.) The Protestant doctrine, that is to say, the Scrip-
tural doctrine, protesting against Popish errors, is, that a
sinner receiving God's, testimony concerning His Son, is jus-
tified at once by the merits ofJesus Christimputed to him , and
accepted as if he had done all the righteousness that Christ
did. Thus our Scriptural justification is perfect. From this
results a nearness to God upon the part of the justified person,
in which nearness communion is enjoyed, by which commu-
nion holiness is cultivated ; so sanctification is gradually
advancing though hindered by the flesh, and when the
spirit separates from the flesh, ipso facto sanctification in
the spirit is perfected, and the spirits of just men are made
perfect. So that the very arrival of death is the perfection
of Christian sanctification, Christian justification having been
perfected in the act of faith. In the moment of real faith
justification is perfect, and then sanctification begifis : in
the moment of death sanctification is perfect, and the wait-
ing for the resurrection begins ; in the moment of the
second advent resurrection is perfect and glory begins for
ever. This is the Christian doctrine opposed to Rome root
and branch. (Hear.)
Bear this in mind then and be upon your guard against all
Romish mixtures, that you may find among Protestants—
nominal Protestants; and instruct not yourselves only but
your friends,• your families, and your children in this doc-
trine. Let me inform you, my friends, that this Christian
doctrine of justification is not understood by the hulk of the
members of our Christian church. The Romish doctrine is
entirely adapted to the humim heart. It leaves something
of proud self dependence for men to be doing; it leaves
something to be accomplished by self, and something for
the church to accomplish after the man is dead, for which
they are to revive pay. Selfishness is •natural, and cove-
teousness is natural, the Romish doCtrine ofjustification,
therefore, is natural, and it cleaves in some measure even to
nominal Protestants. I am sorry to say it has appeared
with a very awful aspect at one of our Protestant universi-
ties. lam not one of those who can consent to smooth or
gloss over fundamental error, because it happens to be
among my party. In our own church we grieve to see these