The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-14 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

indulged in such conduct, because it ministered to their
own vanity and self.importance, and evil to those visited
with it, because it provoked a reply of repugnance and
hostility. Iles, must be visited leisurely and kindly.
The stories of their domestic troubles—their contentions
and quarrellings with their neighbours must be listened to
—their regrets must exciti- neither sneer nor smile—their
wants and troubles must not tie derided as insignificant—
their failings must not be rudely as-ailed—nothing could
justify rudeness to any man, however poor—they mu-t be
attended to kindly and affectionately, because, he re-
peated, the poor had f•;-lings as well as wants, and bounty
must be accomeaniel with sympathy, or the grand object
they had in view would never he acc nnolished. (Cheers.)
The reverend gentleman concluded by moving the follow-
ing resolution !—" That it appears, from various Parlia-
mentary and other inquiries, that the labouring classes in
this country are placed in circumstances which call for the
efforts of an enlarged and weal-directed benevolence to
produce a perrnantnt and effectual improvement in their
condition."
Mr. Colquhoun, M.P., seconded the motion.
' The following resolutions were subsequently passed :
"That the recent Parliamentary reports on the pottage Allot
ment System, on the Sanatory Condition of the Dwellings of the
Poor, and on the Loan Funds of Ireland, suggest the means by
which such an improvement may be attempted with a reason.
able prospect of success."
That a society be now established, under the designation
of ' The Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the
Labouring (lasses,' which should embrace the above-mentioned
objects—the improvement of the dvi`zllings of the flo r, the ex-
tension of the cottage allotment system, the formation of
friendly loan s ,cieties. and the consideration of other matters
involving the general and permanent welfare of the labouring
classes."

A committee of noblemen and gentlemen was then
formed to carry oat the objects of the meeting, and up-
wards of £lOO mtb collected on the spot.
[lt xs worthy of remark fiat, though the Rev. H. M'Neile
took such a prominent part at this meeting. and at the meeting
far promoting the missionary eJterti 'ns of the Church of Scot.
land on the previous day, he preached two sermons at St. Jude's
Church, as usual, on Sunday.]

Mr. BIRKETT.—An hour and three quarters.
Mr. NORTH.—Yet, the result was its affirmation, by a
majority, he believed, of more than two to one. From
that, the decision of the Council, Mr. Blackburn appealed
to the public—at least if he might trust to his recollection
of having seen in the window of the Mercury-office, in-
scribed, " Substance of a speech of Mr. Blackburn, de-
livered" so and so. The effect of that speech so delivered
and so published, and the influence of the party whose
views it expressed, might be inferred from the fact next
in succeranou in paint ni_tima, snail, La gni:posed Jae might
say, in importance, to that vast display of oratory and
zeal—the Municipal Election, at which the party opposed
to Mr. Blackburn's views on the education question, and
in virtue especially of that opposition, succeeded in car-
rying twelve out of fourteen contested wards. (Hear,
hear.) And, notwithstanding all this, Mr. Blackburn
repeated his attack that day, upon precisely the same
grounds which had been refuted a hundred times in argu-
ment, and twice within one year, by the unanswerable and
overwhelming evidence of the public opinion to which he
had alluded. (Hear, hear.) Now, how were they to deal
with such pertinacity as this? If the sense of any body
of electors was ever determinedly and decisively mani•
fested—if the duty of an elected body was ever well and
faithfully discharged, it was by the manner in which the
Council dealt with the question last year. And were they
now, faithful yet, and therefore, and only therefore, ex-
ulting in increased strength,—were they now to submit,
at the bidding of Mr. Blackburn, to re-argue the whole
case with a view to a reprisal of their own judgment ?
Were they, under the circumstances, to condescend to
debate it at all ?—for that was the question which he was
anxious to put—the only question that he would conde-
scend to speak to that day. And, assuredly, they were
not to do so. Mr. Blackburn had, unfortunately, the
power to visit them with this infliction, and he might
repeat it ; and it was precisely because they could not
help themselves that he (Mr. N.) for one would submit
with civility, and all possible patience. But they were in
no way called upon to reply to him—to renew a struggle
into which they had been so often dragged, or, by any act
of their own, to bestow upon an ebullition of this nature
the character of a debate. His earnest counsel, therefore,
was, to listen, now that Mr. Blackburn had explained,
with perfect tranquillity to any other speeches which
might follow his on the subject, and, without offering a
word in reply, to proceed as quietly and as quickly as
might be to the sole ; for so, he was persuaded, should
they best discharge their duty to those who sent them
thither—so, at least, would they prevent discomfort to
themselves, waste of time, and a disturbance of their
peace, and so much more effectually quench and disap-
point the authors of this strife, than by ministering, by
any show of opposition, to the display and agitation which
was sought. He hoped the motion would be negatived ;
and if there were any form by which, more emphatically,
that could be conveyed, he should be happy to move it.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. EVANS said he had heard many speeches in his
time, but never one that carried his imagination into
Jerusalem to hear the Pharisees there—never one so Pha-

risaical as Mr. North's. (Hear, and a laugh.) He had
not the slightest idea of opening his mouth on the sub-
ject; and, if he did, it had been extorted from him by
the speech which they had just heard—a speech contain-
ing as much misrepresentation, (oh !) as much injustice,
SA as much arrogance and scorn, as he had ever heard.
Mr. NORTH.—I beg to ask what you mean by such
language ?—language to wbich I shall not submit. Did
I utter scorn?
Mr. EvANs.—Yes, you heaped scorn on what Mr.
Blackburn said.
Mr. NORTH.—Aye! on what he said.
Mr. EVANS.—WeII. and what did I say more? (Se-
veral voices--" Arrogance.")
Mr. CHALMER.—I think your expression was perfectly
well warranted.

The MAYOR.—I don't think Mr. North said anything
incorrect, and I know not that Mr. Evans is out of order.
Mr. NORTH.---I hope he will restrain himself.
Mr. EVANS.—I should rather be reguNted by my own
ideas of propriety than yours. With regard to sense,
argument, justice, or charity above all things, he was sure
that of the two speeches he would infinit.-ly rather he the
speaker of the one that Mr. Blackburn uttered, than the
one delivered by Mr. North. To tell the Council that

they were never to re-argue any Question after a fallible
resolution had been passed, was one of the mo-t prepos-
terous things imaginable. He concluded by sayinc that
the slave-trade had been suppressed, and Catholic Em,in-
ciliation achieved by means of agitation and rei eration
of argument, and that the conservative party had sought
safety by cot replying to arguments which were unan-
swerable.

Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE thought that the education
question had done an infinity of mischief to the Council
and town, as it had impaired the efficiency of the former,
interfered with their more proper municipal functions,
consequently
following
and prevented many good men from entering the cham-
ber. He had never looked back with satisfaction to the
education debates, and he thought the reform party had
much to answer for because of having introduced the
Irish system of education into the schools.
Mr. PARKER and Mr. CHALMER followed, after which
Mr. BLACKBURN briefly replied.
The Council then divided, when there appeared—For
the motion, 8;
The
was
members voted in the minority :
Messrs. Blackburn, Thornhill, H. Hornby, Barclay,
Holt, Chalmer, Preston, and John Holmes.
The Council adjourned at ten minutes after two o'clock.

nISSENTERS' CHAPELS BILL.—The Bishop of Exeter
has entered a protest against this bill, because usage has
never before been suffered to prevail against the purposes
of a charitable trust ; because the bill disregards the in-
tention of founders of charities ; because it introduces an
ex post facto law, subverting the rights of the proper
beneficiaries ; because the alleged reason of the measure
ill accords with its provisions; because it is introduced to
quiet the titles of persons who have usurped meeting-
houses; because it is of avowed favour to persons who
deny the divinity of Christ; and because the violation of
principles for such an object may excite in the people an
apprehension of the readiness of the legislature to sacrifice
the most approved rules of law and the most sacred
TATE CHURCH CONFE-
intsecreasAtfirsofFrßeolimgioTunsEt r uAt hN,
ANTI-STATE.
ItENcE.—This remarkable gathering of 500 delegates held
a three days session last week, and then adjourned until
1847. On the first W. S. Crawford, Esq., the M.P. who
presented the petition anent hanging, declared " There
can be no security for religious or political liberty while
the connexion between the Church and the State remains."
Another M.P. (Dr. Bowring) said, " I have travelled in
many countries—l have seen people of every colour and
clime—l have looked at and studied the working of State
Churches at home and abroad—and I am firmly persuaded
that the separation of the Church from the State would be
for the advantage of both." Dr. Cox (who has been for
years a distributor of the regium donum or state endow-
ment of dissent) waxed so superlatively wise on his own
inconsistency as to declare that "he who touches the
regium donum as much insults the principle of dissent,
as he who withholds the Bible violates the principle of
Protestantism." By parity of reasoning, he who distri-
butes it is unclean. On the second day, Friend Sturge
declared—" I have never been able to distinguish between
my political and religious duties. I believe the distinction
is one drawn by priestcraft !" The first resolution agreed
to by the Conference declared " that the union of the
Church and State was the largest, the most specious, and
the most fatal obstacle which Christianity in these realms
had to encounter! I" It was moved by Mr. Shoe-
botharn, of Dundee, who said " they had been taunted by
the charge of belonging to the movement party. He, for
one, did not deny it. Change was the law of the universe ;
everything changed but Jehovah, and as to belonging to
the movement party, he gloried in it, and forward they
would proceed in their course until they succeeded in ob-
taining the full triumph of the Gospel." On the motion
of Mr. J. E. Giles, of Leeds, seconded by Mr. King, of
Cork, a resolution was put to the meeting and carried with
but two dissentients. This circumstance was occasioned
by some reflections on the Unitarians, but the remarks
objected to were eventually struck out by mutual aeree-
ment. Of course it forms no part of the creed of these
men that "Jesus Christ is God." The next resolution
declared it the duty of Dissenters to petition for the abo-
lition of all State endowments, and for their appropriation
"to purposes strictly national and purely secular." On
the third day, " The British Anti-State Church Asso-
ciation" was formed, and a hint was given that the great
battle which the Dissenters would have to fight would be
in the election of proper men to advocate their interests in
parliament ; and effectually to carry on the operations of
this society an annual sum of, at least, £lOOO would be
necessary. So that we are to have another League inter-
ference in elections; and what with Anti-Corn Law can-
didates and Anti-State Church candidates the electors of
England will really have nothing left to do.

Mr. NORTH said he did not intend to answer Mr.
Blackburn, because he could scarcely do so without
seeming to testify a respect for that gentleman's inten-
tions, and a deference for his arguments, which, under
the circumstances of the case, he told him candidly, he
did not feel. For he had no sympathy with any one who
sought strife for its own sake, and a perseverance in it
without any attainable object or even hope of success,
merely for the love of dissension, and with a full know-
ledge that it must be barren and fruitless. (Hear.) To
annoy and weary an opponent, without any possible ad-
vantage to our own cause, was no legitimate, no manly
object of party strife. if the occasion of the present strug-
gle were even less calculated than it was to suggest very
different feelings; and he could not but think, and there
was comfort in the thought, that it would he proved that
day, and that Mr. Blackburn would find, that he himself
had done his own cause some discredit by his very unne-
cessary breach of peace and charity, losing thereby, as he
(Mr. North) thought he would, the supp in of same who,
under other circumstances, might have been inclined to
vote with him. k Hear.) But he had said that he would
not answer Mr. Blackburn's speech, and neither would
he be provoked to more than this very brief comment
upon it, intending to confine himself, and recal to the
attention of the members present the resolutioa of the
Education Committee, which the Council confirmed by a
very large majority last year, and then to state what
course, as it appeared to him, it became that large, or
perhaps still larger majority now, to adopt, under the
circumstances of this repeated, but in no other respect
new, attack. He would not detain the,Council by having
the resolution of December 1842 read, although he might
perhaps do so with considerable advantage to his own
argument. Suffice it to remind the Council that it stated
somewhat elaborately the views of the Education Com-
mittee on the question, and the grounds on which they
had formed and were prepared to maintain it: Now, that
resolution was not at all intended for their guidance for a
year and a day, but was the permanent and unalterable
record of the determination of the Council as then and
still constituted. (Hear.) Against that resolution Mr
Blackburn was patiently listened to for an hour and a
half.