The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-04-29 00:00:00

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TIIE ROMAN CATHOLIC DOCTRINE OF
INTENTION.

The Rev. S. Minton, the esteemed incumbent of St.
Silas, is about to publish a series of letters addressed to
Roman Catholics, from one of which we take the follow-

ing : •
" You rely upon sacraments, trust to priests, and ap-
peal to popes, councils, and fathers. But sacraments,
priests, popes, councils, and fathers are all things, the
very existence of which, if the doctrine of Intention be
true, must for ever remain a matter of utter uncer-
tainty. Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, and all the

host of supposed fathers, whose opinions form part of
your rule of faith, may, for all you know, have been mere
unhaptised heathen; for how can you be sure of the inten-
tion of the persons who baptised them ? The Gregories,

h.; nifaces, 'Leos,
_with the.whole line of supposed popes

horn you rerrare

the rock on which she is built, may have been
mere unauthorised intruders, raised successively to the
pontific I throne by the College of Cardinals, and them-
selves accepting it, on the supposition of their being duly
ordained priests, because the outward form of ordination
had been gone through, but being in reality simple laymen
from want of the administrator's intention at some link
of the chain between them and the Apostles. So the
assemblies of Nice, Ephesus, Trent, &n., whose decisions
you regard as infallible, on the supposition of their having
been general councils, composed of lawfully ordained
bishops, may not be more entitled to your respect than
an qual number of any other men in the world. meeting
together to decide upon matters of faith : for how can you
sure that they were individually real bishops at all.

if not

and consequently
council ? Exactly on the same ground Father A., Father
8., or whoever may be the priest, to whom you immedi-
ately look for the all-essential rites of your church, may
be not one atom more of a priest than yourself, and con-
sequently have no more power to absolve you, than you
have to absolve him. While even if he had the power of
administering the various sacraments to you, it would be
impossible for you to know whether he ever exercised it ;
inasmuch as whatever he might. appear to (10, the whole
benefit of it absolutely depends upon his own secret inten-
tion. So that you may en on to the (lay of your death,
not nnly 1111;1,141A Vlllllr .flllth Ail 0-111 .11+11rtlar, ;Imnrrirs.ww•

rley cou

popes, imaginary council•, and imaginary fathers; but
also building your personal hopes of salvation upon the
grace of imaginary sacraments, administered by imaginary
priests. And yet you are taught, that visibility is essen-
tial to the Catholic Chu-ch I

" The importance, therefore, of thiq question can senrcelv
be over-rated : seeing that it is inextricably intertwined
round every branch of your whole system. I question if
you could mention a single doctrine peculiar to your
church, in which the theory of intention is not directly or
indirectly involved.—Par
that the person, who n

;lacy ? Why

3 know

ion of the Vatican

true Pope, you must know the in.
lying. ill

at any given time, is
tentions of hundreds of Iv
their graves for ages.-1
and anthority of the Chur
possibly tell whether hit
dull, is a member of the el

Ivy other then hid
Nay, the v

halal

existence even of an outward church c
of faith, unless you could see another person's intentions
And however confidently you may believe, on the strenatl
of Christ's promise, that there always must be a chur.7h
in the world, there is no promise made that any parti.
cider person, whether priest or laymen, shell belong tc
that church: so that it never can be

only be a mutter

visible hOdN

even in its external ea',
maintain that it must. be s(
trine of Intention, and with it the infallibility of
church ; for intention cannot be visit
tiation ? Whv, how can you know,
the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood
of the Lord's Supper ; unless
intention of the officiating pr
combination of intentions that are essential to the validity
of his orders ? But its bearing on all tl

tical el

If you

give up the do

that you really eat
I, at the celebration
low, rot only the

but also the endle

too obvious to require

e sacraments is
f them.—Shall

we then pass on to the Invocation of Saints, with the
veneration of their images and relies ? Why, the men
whose aid you invoke, and whose images or relics you
venerate, may never even have been admitted into the
church by baptism, or have partaken of any one of her
ordinances.—Purgatory ? Why, the privilege of being

admitted there at all depends upOn your dying in commu-
nity with the Church' through her sac-atnents. (which
all require intention,) and the length of time ynu have to
remain there depends very much upon the intention of
the priest, who says masses for you after your death.--In
short, it meets you at every turn ; and reduces that entire
ecclesiastical structure, which so charms V
rent grandeur and solid

a by its apps.

ity, t o ' the baieles3 'fabricOf a

vision..'

AMATEUR PERFORMANCE IN AID OF THE EYE
AND EAR INFIRMARY.

The Manchester Shaksperean Society appeared before
a Liverpool audience on Friday evening. in behalf of one
of the noblest insiitutions of the town—the Eye and Ear
Infirmary. Most of the principal families of the town
responded to the call made on their benevolence ; and, in
consequence, the lower boxes of the Theatre Royal pre-
sented a galaxy of fashion seldom surpassed in that house.
The other parts of the theatre were but thinly attended,
probably owing to the circumstance of the advanced
prices—a very impolitic measure on the part of the com-
mittee. The play selected for the occasion was Shak-
spere's comedy of " As You Like It ;" and the Man-
chester amateurs nobly maintained the dramatic repu-
tation of their town. As soon as the curtain rose,
one of the characters, Orlando, advanced and delivered
a poetical address, entitled, " Darkness and Silence,"
which was written for the occasion by Mr. J. B. Roger-
son, a poet not unknown to fame. The young gentleman
who personated Orlando won on the audience amazingly
during the recital of the address : combined with the
natural advantages of a good figure, and a clear musical
voice, the acquired powers of grace and dramatic force
were plainly apparent. Not the slightest tinge of melo-
dramatic rant—often the fault of successful amateurs--
could be discovered. He acquitted himself with all the
ease of one who appreciated the sentiments he uttered,
blending the varied impulses and feelings, as they arose,
with the facility of an artist. The prestige extended to
him so early remained in his favour throughout the per-
formance. The taste and feeling observed in the delivery
of the address were more touchingly seen in the delinea-
tion of the character, many points possessing a histrionic
finish not exceeded by artists of the highest order. The
next place i 3 due to the gentleman who took the part of
Touchstone, a character quite unsuited to a tyro. He
excelled many of•the professionals who aspire to retail
the humour of our immortal bard. Adam was a
masterly piece of acting, the only drawback being
the singular dressing of the character. The scene in
which Orlando encourages the old man to rise and pursue
his, journey, after the latter has sunk from exhaustion,
was perhaps the sweerest piece of acting in the whole play,
and it was difficult to say to which the palm was due; the
feeling exhortation of the youth, or the meek resignation
of his venerable charge, the audience were quite taken
by storm, and marked their appreciation by a simultane-
ous and spontaneous burst of applause. Jaques was ad-
mirably acted, " the seven ages" calling forth a round of
applause. Oliver, the Duke, and Frederick were each
well sustained.

Colman's farce of " the Review" concluded the even-
ing's performances. The principal character, Caleb
Quotem, was taken by the gentleman who performed
Touchstone in the comedy. Notwithstanding the marked
contrast between the two characters in dress, he was re-
cognised as soon as he made his appearance, and greeted
with hearty applause. His Caleb Quotem was a still
more extraordinary performance than his clown, and we
might almost have fancied we saw in the pedantic dress
of the rustic pedagogue the mercurial fieure of the Me_

.16u1G VI MU me-
brated Charles Mathews; there was the same wiry viva-
cious frame and the same rapid enunciation of the worthy's
multifarious avocations, and the infinitesimal subdivision
of his time. Looney hfactwolter was a very successful
Irishman, taken by the gentleman who played the beau
in the first play. John Lump. the if illiam of the
comedy, was a good representation of a Yorkshire rustic.
Mr. Deputy Bull and Dubbs were also successful parts.
Several vocalists from our sister town accompanied their
brother amateurs in their philanthropic mission, and en-
livened the entertainment by choral and other songs. Mr.
Milne also, the Scottish vocalist, sang several of his
national songs, which were encored. Tho orchestra per-
formed the overtures of " Zampa" and " Fra Diavolo."
Notwithstanding the many vacant seats throo.h.,,t fha

1:11a tie
house, it is to be hoped the proceeds will show a con-
biderable sum in favour of the charity ; for, although they
assuredly will not be so large as may have been anticipated
under the impression that there would have been a
crowded house, it must be borne in mind that little will
be deducted for expenses, as the use of the theatre was
kindly granted by Mr. Copeland.
The gross receipts amounted to £ll5.

1=MM1Mm5'ar1=mim..,.1...........1

YE'RE LIKE THE BISHOP'S MOTHER, YE'RE NIVVER
CONTENT, NOWTHER FULL NOR FASTING.—Upon the
elevation of Robt. de Insula to the See of Durham, A.D..

4.cctxxiv, be gaN

living a me o
poverty and privation in her island homezult
of Lindisfarne,r now Holy Island, what he conceived an ample provision
and 1innn”...10.,

,tauuburnenc. Ita surroundec _
1 maid-servants suitable to her incom
"1-w instead of being elated with at

lier with

men-servants an
But the poor old wio
least her own good fortune, became so much the mort
wret bed and unhappy in proportion as. the numl
household - • - -

aaa,s 211/U ra
The Bishop shortly afterwardscaCVIA
went to pavm
visit at the place of his nativity; when, to his
he found the ancient lady. hia mntit.r

mood, but alsO in

worse !" quoth she. "And what ails thee,
thee ! Mast thou not men and women and
sufficient ?" "yea," quoth she, " and more
say to one, ' Go,' and he runs; to anotl
hither, fell

'et fall

and in.short all thing,
my belie is bursting.l
and pick a quarrel nil

Th
ed to bi

life with a moderate competen
with reason and daily experier.

long been formed, and slie v

ly them aside.and begin to ape tl