The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-12-03 00:00:00

OWN EDITION.

LIVERPOOL
PROTESTANT OPERATIVE SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the Prot,stant Operative Asso-
ciation was held et seven o'clock last evening, in the
Commercial-hall, Gloucester-street, which was filled by
a crowded' and attentive autaory. A considerable body
of clergy were ptese,it, and nuny influential laymen; but
the bulk ef the wetting consisted of operatives, their
wives and families, who manifested the greatest interest
throughout the proceedings. Mr. GhORGE JONES was
called to the choir; and the Divioe blessing was suppli-
cated by the Rev. JosEPti BArLEE.
The CHAIRMAN having addressed a few introductory
olaervatioris to the meeting, expressive of his firm at-
tachment to the principles ri 13,otestantism, the Secre-
tary read the Crmini,ttee's report of their proceedings
durine the year jest terminated. This was an elaborate
and well-written production. It commenced by explain-
ing the grounds of the Society's constitution, and the
necessity which existed for its continued operation. Fro-
testantism was in a crisis. The d, bt which had presed
upon the Associat,oo for some time was now liquidated ;
and it was comeropl-ded to revive V:e Tract Committee,
the operati,•ns of which bed been so efficient two years
ago.—The accounts were next read ; from which it ap-
peared that after dischlrgitez every claim There was a
small balance renniihine ;1, the hands of the Treasurer.

• The Rev. JOSEPH BAY LEE r s an idst much applause,
to move the firs res. ; and he commenced by ex-
pressing the pleasure he f, It. at asaqt meeting the Protestant
operreives of Liverpool. lie wouttl much rather attend
such a meeting as this, than one of the higher classes,
who had eten4ed rolities were mixed up with
religion, but who had (e-erted them now that they met for
.religion without politics. classes of individuals were
neceesa t • each-other; and he was just as well pleased,
nay better r!leased, to stand among his rrotestant opera-
live brethren, than Le should be to appear in an assembly
of more wealthy person: ; for he behoved he was standing
among men who were less tain ed by the iniquities of the
world, and more ready than many of the others to lay
dawn their live a for Christ's sake. But they must remem-
ber their strength lay not in mt.ney, but in God our Sa-
viour, and that if they wished to be saved it must be by
standing upon their religious rather than upon their poli-
tical principles. Our battle with Romanism was not !Ton
political grounds only, but it must be fought upon political
& religious principles ; and, though he was not a politician,
be could respect the politician that was a man of religious
principle. Lord Eldon said, the church was joined with
the state not for the pi.rpose of tnskitig the church politi-
csl, hut for the purpose of making the state religious; and
if the Protestant operatise s broueht r,lieion into their po-
litics, it was not to make religion viitcal, but to make
politics religious. (Loud cheers.) The resolution he had
to move was, tl.at the retort be ado; ted, printed, and cir-
culated, under the direct-on of the committee. We
beard, in these days, many people speaking of popery
being liberalized; that Reinanists now erjoyed religious
freedom. There were upon the platform some examples
of the religious freedom of popery. Here the reverend
gentleman related the outlines of the cases of Signor
Ciocci and Mr. Day, whose natr.tives of the persecutions
they have suffered from the popi-h priesthood are before
the public. He (\4e. Bayleel w s not, however, one of
those who looked with gloomy tlesi-0 nlency upon the pre-
sent aspect of thn.gs ; he regarded it rather as a motive
for energy and activity. We should never expect an
army of Coutitful, wavering, h, &rating. trembling sol•
diers, would be able to gain it vire ory. (Cheers.) Let us
then. ie the 'sloe of God's truth, do our duty. (Cheers.)
'We had statesn an, who were for ed.by die circums'ances
of toe times to tamper w't ery : but let them
do so at their peril : for it thee did God would not
honour their staternanship. It ve.s vrry t ifficult for us
to feel for the position of the Prime MinSter of the pre-
sent day ; it was easier for us to point out the main point
to remedy. If we remembered that the Prime Minister
was but the representative of the majority of the people,
in the long run, it was easy to see that the helm of afr&rs
must go with the majority of the people. Purify the
people, then. (Cheers.) M ,ke the people Protestant.
(Cheers.) Make the majority of the people what they
ought to he—men who do riot care who is the Prime Mi-
nister, but who require that he most be a Protestant
Rime Minister. heers.) We none of us felt so del ply
as we ought to feel towar!s Romsnists. We should
always draw a distiucfon between Romani.sun and Ro-
manists. (Ele-r, he: r.) we des,red to bring a Ro-
manist from his f rro', how were we to do it ? By ridi-
cule. unkindness, and needless exposure of his crrots ?
Far from it.

A Vorcg.—What do you think of the Pnseyites?
(Some coefusion, and a cry of "Turn him out.")
Mr. BAYLKE.—No: let 1 i a not be turned out; it was
very ennd question, mid he s .ould be very glad to answer
it. (Cheers ) He thong) t that a Puscyite was little
worse that, a Romanist. (Great cheers, and applause.)
When he resid d es he d'd for four years, in the west of
Ireland, there were twit ttoman Catholic archtiisliops,
both well know" ; ore cells Dr. Murray, of Dubliu, and
the other was D:. of Timm. Dr. M'Hale was
very zealous and violent; but Dr. Murray spoke soft
things—he could sit at the same table with the Protestant
archhishap to provide au united education for Rh-nimists
and Prote-t in s --and it t a oi to he said they would much
rather have Ir. Ilnle than Dr. Murray. just us we
would mu -h rath 'r have a man with a pitchfork over his
shoulder than a met, with one mid: r his cloak. (Hear.
bear.) Now he (Mr. Bavlee) would much rather have a
Roman Catholic prteet in his parish than he would a Pu-
seyite, because the puseyite brought Romanist') into the
church, hut the Roman Catholic hrotieht it only outside
the dour. (Great applause ) lie would rather have Pu-
seyism outside the door an t me. (Cheers.) In the ra-
dical papers he had himselt ben addrs- s d as a Puseyite,
and spoken of as if he was a traitor, t e ,use he desired
in his own church 'o teach i it people to love the prayer-
biok of the Chutch or England in all its integrity. He
had never wanted to ado ()le letter to. or to take one
letter from. it; but he sh old he glad, es every sound
Protestant in that room mu he, to have the service of
the church in its fulness, as laid dew(' in the prayer-book.
(Hear.) Take, for examp:,, the case of last Saturday,
November 30, mlfch ass (I sr% ed in the prayer-bock as
St. Andrew's day. Whit did the Bit:le tell us was St.
Aw'r w ? Ati sc plc of J hit the Baptist, who, as soon
as he heard Jesus Christ, immediately followed him ; and
when be rotted was the S:vilur. he went and brought
his brother Simon. Now he would put it to every man
present, was it a b..(1 thing for those who had time to
meet together in God's h-o
-e, to pray, in the week-day,
and to have brought before them what the Scriptures
taught about the holy man of God mentioned ou that
day? (War.) As a clergyman Itf the Church of Eng-
land, when be entered the church he declared his un-
feigned assent and consent to all that is contained in the
Book of Common Prayer. He wanted no candles at the
Lord's table, no surplice in the pulpit : he was glad to have
a good Protestant gown in the pulpit—the emblem and
mat k of the Reformation, for it etas then for the first time
that the academic gown was worn in the pulpit. (C eers.)
Ile wanted not the mitovations of Pueeyism ; and, above
all, he wattled n)t th- doctiines of Post yism. (Renewed
cheers.) In shoo, I s answer was that he thought a Pu-
seyite w: s a palest inside the Church, and he would much
rather have a papist not of the Church. (Cheers.) The
rev. gentleman thin to umed his consideration of the cha-
racter of Romanist.; and in the remaining part of his
speech. which was ( f ereat length, he slowed that Popery
takes the Word of God trim the people; that it sets the
priest between the sinner and his God ; that it enfetters
the mind and e 'slaves the body; and that it is dan-
gerous to the soul.
Dr. BETTELH EIM, an Austrian physician, and a con-
verted jew, who is on his way to Palestine for the purpose
of labouring among his brethern of the house of Israel,
seconded the motion in a speech of much length. The
Doctor spoke Engli-h with fluency, and in a very ani-
mated manner he stated his conviction that by defending
Protestanti-m we were best advancing the great cause of
Converting Jews to Christianity
The Rev. A. Ittwiels supported the motion in a most
able speech.
Signor Cloccr followed, with a short narrative of the
treatment he had received at Rome, the circumstances of
which have already been published.
The motion was carried.

The Rev. D. JAMBS moved "that whilst this meeting
desires to express its gratitude to Almighty God for the
national pros•Jerity which we enjoy under the present
government, it cannot, at the same time hut feel alarmed
at the concess'ons made to the Church of Rome, and the
continuance of the anti-protestant system ot education in
Ireland." During the r•ading of the report he felethe
confirmation of a conv•cti•in in bis own mind that we were
arrived at a crisis in the h'stery of Engli•li ote•tan ism.
The persons v ho drew t p tat report mast have observed
what he had ob creed, f r they had conveyed sta'ements
which had torsome time been impressing themselves upon
bis thoughts. There had been for several years past a
quiet movement, which might be called an under current,
setting in within the bosom of the Church of England,
within the domain of the Protestawi•m • of our country.
For a time it was unobserved ; but it had acquired strength
in its progress, until it had at last burst into view in dif-
ferent parts of the empire. This movement had been de-
signated by the specious name of " a return to ancient
and Catholic usages ;" and it had borne along with it a
large number of persons high in station and distin-
guished for piety and intellect, whilst it had also carried
with it a hest of individuals whose only claim to
public notice rested upon their arroant assumption of
authority as derivable from the sacred office which they
filled. But those who were intell7gent among them, who
had put themselves forward as guides of the movement
and directors of its course, had declared openly that they
could not bring the Church of England to that standard
which properly belonged to a churc of Christ, so long as
the suhject of Protestantism was discussed and recom-
mended from the platform to the attention of the masses
of the people. (Cheers.) Protestantism, therefore, had
been denounced by these parties as a barrier stand ng in
the way of those desirable improvements in the cha-
racter and condition of the Church of England, which
it was the aim of those parties to attain. (Hear.
bear.) The effect produced by this denunciation had
had been two-fAcl. In the first place it had produced an
impression On the mind of a great number of the true
friends of he Church of England, that our Protestanfa-n
had something essentially wrong in it because it was stated
to be antagonistic to the progressive improvement of the
Established Church of the realm. The o.her effect had
been upon the class of individuals who sill retained their
opinions of Protestantismathpautreitfm
andthe artiagthet.btahtinwgh—o
thing—
that it was Christianity in
had been driven to this conclusi, n. that it was expedient
to yield to the movement for the present. and no longer
lift up their voices against the encrcaelitnetits of Popery.
lie (Mr. James) was glad to hear Mr. Bvylee say he
did not look with anything lice despondency at this state
of things; hut it was necessary, seeing that we were ar-
riving at a crisis in the history of England's Protestantism