The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-04-18 00:00:00

surrounding towns of Lancashire the circulation of

the STANDARD is steadily increasing.

In Manchester,

however, the centre of the manufacturing district, our

publication of Tuesday—occurring upon the most im-
portant market day of the Cotton Trade, when its
Exchange and Hotels are thronged with country manu-

fact urers,

2ners, and calico printers—is firmly es-
'rculation, and is perused with increased

and increasing interest

T these encouraging circumstances, we trust to

receive an increased measure of support from the mer-
chants and brokers of the town generally ; and it affords

us great pleasure to assure those of our friends a;zongSt
those classes, who have hitherto bestowed their adver-
tising favours liberally upon us, of our increased ability
to do justice to the interests committed to their care.

TO CORRESPONDENTS

We will notice the communication of " W. L." on Friday.
We have received the following sums towards the fund now
raising for the relief of the workmen who lost their tools
1 at the late fire at Fawcett's foundry. The amounts have
been handed to the Treasurer.
if From the Bowden Iron Company £lo
ilv „ Air. Edward Davi 1 0
.
,amenA correspondent states his surprise atobservinv on Sunday the

£lO 0 0
1 0 0

es, optician

avies7 actively enz

„,d in excavating the clay to form
the artificial pond in Prince's Park, and inquires if we
can inform him what very urgent necessity so imperatively
compelled the proprietors of•. that undertaking to violate
the holiness of the Sabbath. We are unable to answer
our correspondent's question.

Ebe Etherpool A)tanZiarD.

TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL 18, 1843.

On-the 4th of May,' Sir Robert Peel. will move for
leave to bring in a bill " for the endowment of addi-

tional ministers of religion in certain populous dis-
tricts." We presume that this is the measure of
" Church Extension" which we are to expect from the
present government. At all events, it is an indication
of the mode in which the aid of the state is proposed
to be extended, by government, to the effort for in-
creasing the existing church accommodation for the
people; and, as such, it is worth while asking how far
it is likely to meet the emergency, in which the cry for
Church Extension has been so loudly raised.
Any aid towards the building of churches, in any
district, it is plain, is not contemplated. The govern-
ment confines its efforts to the providing of " addi-
tional ministers of religion." The community suffer-
ing under destitution of the means of Church worship
must find its own church ; the state is asked only to
provide clergymen. We certainly cannot deny that,
to some extent, this is a boon. It is something gained,
at all events. It tends to lessen the evil complained of
—spiritual destitution; but it goes no further. It goes
not to affirm the principle, for which churchmen con-
tend, that it is the bounden duty of the state to care
for the religion, as it cares for the health and good
order, of the community. It proceeds, in fact, upon a
pre-supposition that the volUntary principle is suffi-
ciently active for the providing of churches ; and that
all which it is necessary for the state to do is to provide
for members of the clergy to minister in them. In the
abstract it may be good that we should receive such
aid, for we do not except against the Church Pastorai
Aid, or any other society, which thus endeavours to
advance the cause of the church to which we belong.
But we must confess our doubts whether such is the
direction in which a Conservative government should
meet the cry for Church Extension. The destitution
of which we complain is not such, and in such locali-
ties, as will tempt private parties to build churches.
What we want are churches and endowments in locali-
ties where individual effbrts are not to be looked for.
What we want is that, wherever there are souls to be
saved, and destitute of the means to provide for public
worship, there the means of grace—churches and pas-
tors as well—should be provided. But this is not what
Sir Robert Peel's measure contemplates.

it is only intended to endow " additional ministers of
the Church of England in certain populous places."
If it were necessary, we believe that we could point out
what are these " certain populous places." They are
undoubtedly such places as Ashton, Hyde, Stalybridge,
Dukinfielrl, &c.—places of_vatit.population in the ma-
nufacturing districts, and, we may add, of vast wealth
also ; and though in such places we shall gladly re-
ceive the aid of the government, in providing pastors,
we should much prefer receiving its aid in what may
be legitimately called " Church Extension." We have
no doubt as to the good which may be done, even by
she providing of endowments for churches to be built
by voluntary efforts ; but we should much prefer
seeing the broad principle established, which the advo-
cates of Church Extension have in view, by the erec-
tion of churches by government, in which the poor
have an equal right to worship, and pewholders' sub-
scriptions are less the object in view.

people of Ireland have, of course, always

grievance; but we must confess we cannot see the

xtinence of the case which is just now uniting Con

;ervative as well

Radical in the cause of repe

The most recent offence against the Irish amor pair

is the preference given to a Scotch tradesman of the
name of Croal over every other competitor for the

being that the said Mr. Croak had agreed to execu

ten tho

his Irish competitors. Against the acceptance, by
government, of this contract, the Irish members have

rotested, in a series of resolutions, signed by Frederic],

Shaw, chairman, and G. A. Hamilton, secretary; and
alluding to such an occurrence, the Dublin Evening
(the. Conservative "Times" of Dublin) says, " We

describe this occurrence as the• beginning of a great
end; and is it not so ? Is not a national union among
the hitherto hostile national masses, represented by
G Hamilton and Mr. Ross, by Colonel Verner
n
Stock, ••by Mr. Gregory and Sir, Thomas
aer Der.