The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-06-25 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

STR,—The dissolution of parliament will give birth to a
crisis decidedly more momentous than any which the records
of the two last centuries can produce. The war in which ere
are about to be engaged is a war of extermination ; it is mot
one in which a few ambitious courtiers are the sole antago-
nists, and in which the meat that perisheth is the sole object
of contention—it is one in which is jeoparded all that we hold
dear to us as men, as Christians, as patriots, as responsible
beings—it is a contest between light and darkness—between
Christ and Belial—between the God of Glory and the powers
of damnation—and the prise to be lost or won in it is the all-
glorious Gospel of the grace of God. The grand questions
then which suggest themselves to every right-minded mover
in this momentous scene, are not whether we shall have
cheap bread or dear bread, whether we shall have free labour
or slave labour. No; these are merely spectres conjured np
by insidious knaves to divert the attention of the unwary
from the fearful realities of their position. The grand points
which now imperatively demand our attention are, whether
we are to enjoy any longer the glorious liberty which, under
our unrivalled constitution, has preserved our rights inviolate,
and made our cottages to be castles, or whether we are to
crouch beneath the iron rod of a foreign power, while onr
property is subject to confiscation and our bodies to perse-
cution—whether we are any longer to enjoy the privilege of
worshipping in that pure and apostolieal church in which we
were made " members of Christ, children of God, and in-
heritors of his heavenly kingdom," or whether we are to be
put to the bitter alternative of either dying at the stake for
our profession or rendering that honour which is due to God
only to things which are by nature no Gods, to stocks and
stones and graven images—whether we are to enjoy any
longer the privilege of hearing Christ Jesus faithfully
preached in all his justifying and sanctifying righteousness,
or whether we are to crawl like beasts, beneath the most
grovelling and debasing penances, at the beck of those who
have before reduced the country to the most abject vassalage—
whether we are to watch the expiring embers of the last copy
of God's live'y oracles, or whether we are still to have the
inestimable pleasure of reading in our own tongue wherein we
were born the wonderful works of God. Permit me then, sir,
through the medium of your valuable paper, to address these
simple and straightforward questions to every individual who
is able, in any degree, to influence the issue of the eemin.-
election—and whose desire in so doing is to be gnided by
God's revealed will and commandments. Can you, consist-
ently with your feelings as a patriot, give your support and
countenance to a body of men, who though convinced by the
series of defeats which they sustained that they had lost the
confidence of the country, could yet basely cling to their
abused places in violation of the spirit of the constitution ?
Can you, conscientiously, keep men in power, who by one of
the most iniquitous acts that ever past a mortal legislature
have converted into a mere compact of convenience one cf
the most solemn and momentous ordinances of the Christian
faith, one on which depends all the happiness of our homes,
our tiresides,:and our associations—that ordinance which we
are told by an apostleis a type of the mystical union between
Christ and his church, and who have thus degraded woman
from being the partner of man's purest joys, into the slave
of his most brutal and most sensual appetites—can you ex-
pect God's blessing upon yourself as an individual while yon
uphold those whose boast is to deal heavy blows, and to give
great discouragement to the protestant faith, the mightiest
bulwark of the throne and constitution,—can you conscien-
tiously countenance a government which wrings from the
purses of British subjects £lO,OOO per annum to foster and
endow an institution which has been proved—notoriously
proved—not merely by the journals of every passing traveller,
but by the contents of her theological standards, her class
books, and her canon laws (books all open to your inspection
if you choose to examine them), to be the unblushing organ
of treason, perjury, and bloodshed ? Can you conscientiously
submit that this vast and mighty empire should be virtually
swayed—as it has been—by a remnant of Irish mendicants,
who obtain admission to the legislature, not by the fair and
disinterested suffrages of their fellow-countrymen, but by
bribery, by pettifogging, by intimidation, by mob violence,
by illicit , personification of other individuals, and by the
curses and denunciations of a tyrannical priesthood, whose
wrath is well known to be the never-failing messenger of
persecution, and, in many a bye-gone instance, of the most
barbarous murders? Can you conscientiously support a
body of ministers in office who, abiding under the sovereign's
roof, are ever found assiduous in their attendance, when the
ball-room, the theatre, or the race-course is the centre of
attraction, but who can never find either time or opportunity
to accompany her to the courts of God's house of praise?
Lastly, can you conscientiously forbear from uniting with
many more of God's faithful people, to expel from their
undeserved station those who, by shielding from merited
punishment, have patronised, and one of whom has unblush-
ingly introduced, at the court of his sovereign, that arch
apostle of atheistic sensualism, whose damnable purpose is
to overthrow every ordinance, both of God and man, and
through whose dire instrumentality many and many a
wretched soul has been already consigned to that region of
everlasting despair, where there is howling and gnashing of
teeth ?

And now, sir, I am sure you will agree with me in con-
cluding, that, if every right-minded elector, who believes in
the truth of revelation, will only answer these questions from
the sincerity of his heart, and act with regard to them ac-
cording to the dictates of his conscience, we may still have
ground for hoping that our ehurch and nation have not yet
seen their best days, but that the favour of heaven will still
be our portion, and that God, even our own God, will still
give us his blessing.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
A LIVERPOOL CLERGYMAN.

THE PRESIDENT STEAM SHIP.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVIRFOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—As all hopes of the safety of the unfortunate Presi-
dent are now at an end, she having been out, without being
positively either seen or heard of for upwards of 100 days,
permit me to suggest through your columns the holding of a
public meeting, for the purpose of originating a subscription
in behalf of the families of the crew, and of such of the offi-
cers, as may have left relatives who were dependent upon
them in a state, more or less, of destitution.

The owners of the vessel have, in a praiseworthy manner,
opened the British Queen for some time past to the admis-
sion of the public, on payment of a small sum—the proceeds
to be appropriated to the use of the distressed families of the
crew. What amount has been collected and distributed I
am not informed ; but the probability is, that it was little, or '
perhaps nothing more than would suffice for the immediate
necessities of those poor persons. Under the melancholy
circumstances of the case, I trust that an appeal to the sym-
pathies of the public would produce a sum that would be of
permanent advantage to the bereaved, by enabling them to
commence in any small way of business from which they can
derive a living. A few days ago, I happened to meet three
of the men's wives in the street, making anxious inquiries
for any possible intelligence of the vessel, and evidently in
great distress of mind. They were, I may add, all far ad-
vanced in pregnancy, and I have no doubt there are many
others, as well as children, and it may be parents, in an
equally deplorable state.
Tour insertion of this will, I hope, induce sores benevo-
lent individuals to adopt my suggestion, or some other mea-
sure, to forward an object which is entirely apart from poli-
tical considerations.

I am, Sir, yourf,
Liverpool, 21st June. W.
[We shall be glad to forward our correspondent's suggestion
in any way in our power. We recommend it to the strong-
est consideration of all who are likely to carry it out.]

" FOREWARNED FOREARMED ;"
OR, THE COUNSELS OF ENGLAND'S ENEMIES EXPOSED

Scene, England.—SATAN, musing.
I hate thee, England! through my wide domain
I've not a province costs me so much pain :
Rebellion here against my rule gains ground
Through strength and counsel in the Scriptures found.
I hate the light that baneful volume sheds ;
It mars my power, and fell sedition spreads :
Both old and young there suck the poison in
That fealty to my rightful sway is sin ;
Yea some so bold, would course my empire's bound,
And through its realms rebellion's trumpet sound.
But shall I—Satan—see my power o'erthrown—
I, who would rule in heaven, not earth alone ?
Forbid it subtlety—forbid it skill—
Forbid it pride—that spurns superior will.
Come forth, my lords, my councillors, and show
How we can best these rebels overthrow,
And here, as heretofore, in triumph reign,
Sedition humble. and the sway regain.
(Enter PLUTUS, MOLOCH, and Luetrzn.)
Welcome, my lords, say, Plutus, what is best
To set this wide-spread anarchy at rest.
PLurus.—Dread lord, I counsel that we try. the spell
That riches cast o'er souls that love thee well.
The world is thine, its good things freely give,
Thy people then contentedly will live ;
What most they love, so long as they can gain,
They'll be at peace, and bless thy bounteous reign.
SATAN.—WeII said, good Plutus. Moloch, speak thou now;
Good counsel oft has mark'd thy words, I trow.
MOLOCH.—Great sovereign, it has been thy happy lot
To reign through fear. We have not yet forgot
That golden age, when Popery was free
To work at will, and win the mastery.
Then racks and prisons, fines and tortures too,
Caus'd recreant souls their hardihood to rue.
The Inquisition then made rebels quail,
Yea, seldom found its potency to fail
In checking symptoms of rebellious strife.
If thoughts would flow, it check'd the breath of life.
My counsel is—we further on the sway
That once has ruled, and yet may gain the day.
SATAN.—We thank thee, Moloch. Lucifer, proceed
To give thy counsel in this time of need.
LuciPun..—My liege, I fain would able counsel give ;
Advice I'd suit to days in which we live.
Now reason toils in many a labouring brain; -
Exalt that reason greatly, 'tis our gain ;
Pamper it well, 'twill spurn subjection then,
And pride will reign, and we do well again.
If revelation rebel souls will seek,
We'll give it, for we know full well 'twill speak
waenfidlni
estehtdehnen
oSchtoabciiern
duoifss'ma state,ai aid
\\' 81,77 vel enbringreason'spride
t clown,
os wk
reasoninl
Then revelation will not mar our fate.
SATAN.—NIy lords, I thank you ; each has counsel given
Well fl amed to check the growing power of Heaven.
Each to his work ; each has my full consent
To carry out his mind's matured intent ;
While I will aim a sure and deadly blow,
And lay the hopes of future promise low.
With purpose fair, I'll tamper with that word
Through which alone this rebel movement's stirr'd.
With specious gloss and artful subtlety
I'll mar and alter Heaven's dread mystery;
Frame extracts fitted for the youthful mind,
blind ;
Where, truth and error mixed, their eyes shall
Exalt the Virgin 'hove her &Hone
Through whom alone the world's salvation's
übt wen ,
Infuse, in early days, the withering
That truth's a dream, and find
none can out •
That all are safe if but sincere
the'
devotee :
Thus moulding we be,
v
Mahomet's slave, or Brahmin's f
It the strength o future years,
We'll bid
adieu. to present anxious fears.
Like mariners, on trackless waters toss'd,
No pilot guiding, and their compass lost,
Each wave or wind shall waft them to and fro,
Scarce heeding, and less knowing, where they go.
Thus ample throngs shall fill Hell's wide d •
omain,
And you be great, and I supremely reign.
PLITT, MOL., and Lye.—Rail,
in might and skill, did! supreme
We own thy wisdcn, and they thy wel.

[Exeunt.