The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

CHURCH PASTORAL AID SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the friends and supporters of
this society was held last evening, in the lecture-hall of
the Collegiate Institution, which was crowded to excess
with a most respectable audience.
A few minutes after six o'clock, the worshipful Henry
Raikes, Chancellor of the Diocese, accompanied by- a
number of influential gentlemen, entered the hall, and
was received with loud cheers. Having taken the chair,
he called upon the Rev. Thomas Nolan, who opened the
proceedings with an impressive and appropriate prayer.
The Worshipful CRAIRMAN then proceeded to ad-
dress the meeting, but in consequence of the position in
which the reporters were placed, not one halt of what
was said could be heard by them. We understood him
to say. before he proceeded to call upon the Secretary to
read the report of the operations of the society during
the past year, he felt it due to himself to explain the cir-
cumstances which led to his appearance in that position
that evening. There were many reasons why it was
most gratifyirg to see a layman in the chair ; but
in consequence of Mr. Horsfall being prevented .from
attending, it afforded him an opportunity of showing his
adherence to, and approbation of, the cause: (Cheers.)
At-the same time he felt, upon these occasions, in that
society, the chair could never be so properly filled as by a
layman ; for it was formed by laymen for the benefit of the
clergy, and the good of the church at large. He, therefore,
rejoiced at seeing the chair filled by a layman, in order
that the clergy might have an opportunity of testifying to
them the warm feelings of gratitude by which they were
actuated for the assistance and support of their lay bre-
thren. (Applause ) But he might take the liberty of
saying that, when det.rived of the assistance of a layman
to occupy the chair, they could hardly find amongst its
members a warmer friend to the society than the humble
individual who then addressed them. (Cheers.) He was
therefore willing, upon the present occasion, as he had
always hitherto done when an opportunity presented
itself, to bear his testimony to the usefulness of the so-
ciety. Had it not been for. the operations of this society,
the church, in this diocese at least, in its endeavours to
supply the spiritual wants of the population, must have
met with such an amount of inefficiency and difficulty as
almost to overwhelm it. (Hear.) , Through the agency
of the Pastoral Aid Society they had met the difficulty in
part, and let the society only be supported as it ough, to
he, and there was hardly any thing it would rOt be able
to accomplish. In truth, he trusted he spoke to those
who felt the value of its operation—in fact, their com-
mon interests were concerned in its success—laity and

bourers in t

heir master's servic

v were

but agents for the good of the laity, and just in propor-
tion as they both arted together would success attend
their efforts. (Loud cheers.) Before he sat down he
hoped they would allow him to observe, that whilst the
present aspect of affairs presented much cause for
apprehension, and much fear for future consequences,
he wished to impress upon all the importance of the so-
It pleased the :Almighty disposer of: events to

work by means, and whenever God had an object to pro-
mote—whenever there was an end to be accomplished—
means were to be used, and such means as were most likely
to accomplish the end in view. Thus, when the increase of
. .

Church to meet it, t

this society was set to work, a few individuals met, the !Clan
was formed, and when be looked at its operation he could
not refrain from •concluding that God had blessed the
means, and that it was the purpose of God, by means of
it, to enlarge the usefulness of the church, and to show
how wonderfully it was adapted to met the wants of
the population. He loved the society not merely for the
good it had done in what was to be expected from it, but
in a higher sphere of action, as a sort of pledge from God
that he would still make the Established Church a bless-
ing to the land, a security for the happiness and welfare
of the people. (Loud cheers.) The Worshipful Chair-
ma►► concluded by calling on one of the clerical secreta-
ries to read the report.
The Rev. C. W. LAWRENCE then read the report, of
which the following is the substance :

The committee expressed their thankfulness to God that
the funds collected in this town would fa 'l only a few pounds
short of the returns of the preceding' year, a donatio❑ in
1844 having swelled the returns of that year to an extent which
thee feared would not be realized this )ear. They were labour-

in g not only to increase the number of ministers, but to main-
tain those alreaey employed in necessitous cures. There were
parishes containing thousand • and tens of thousands of souls,
wlOch, if they satisfy the eye of a benevolent man when he com-
paFes the shepherds with the dimensions of the fold, only do so
while the hand of the society supplies the means of subsistence,
and should that hand withdraw its aid, the nice proportions are
gone, the lights will fail in the prospect, and the darkness of
death rest upon the moral landscape. The committee adhere
to the principle and plan cf the society. It was at this conjunc-
ture of the church that men were wanted to enter upon the
fields %tante for harvest. The society has been the means of
sending, not only the ordained minister of God into the vine
yard, but the lay agent ; and it was her privilege to contend for
the employment of humble but devoted men, who, simply, but

under the ordet s of the incumbent, might warn the unruly, com-
fort the afflicted, arid instruct the ignorant, and it is now her
privilege to see a society instituted for the same sp:cibc purpose,
sending forth similar men into the streets of the metropolis,
under the high sanction of the Diocesan. As much depen ed
on the character of a minister, the society were careful tvhom
she employed, and sent such only as gave guarantee to walk
the steps and preach the Gospel of the Lnrd. If the open Bib!

be the privilege of the Protestant—if the power to understand
its contents be recognised in the laity of the church—it there be
a wholesome result, as we should expect, in attending to the
Lord's command to the people, " Take heed what ye hear,"—
.

then was that procedure of the society as scriptural as it was
wholesome, by which the spiritually enlightened ear and eye of
the laity of the church are brought to bear upon the character
of those ministrations which they are instrumental in providing
for their fellow countrymen, and transmitting to their children.
There are few better preservatives from the leprosy of popery
than the just resentments of the people at large, when directed
into such channels as that society presented, which, true to the
church of which she is the scion, esteems a protest against error
unessential feature of an h 'nest altegi-ince and of truth. The
committee rejoiced that the Dish p of Oxford, the son of Wm.
Wilberforce, had cordially expressed his approbation of the so.
ciety. In Liv. rpool the society supported ten curates and two
Scripture readers. One incumbent says : " Our Scripture reader
had not been long at work before the effect was visible in the
seats which are assigned o the poor. tie is now engaged in
visiting others who yet feel a reluctance, or who are kept back
by want f clothing. The filthy courts, the wretched babita-
--

tines, in which a lirge mass of the population lives, the un-
wholesome atmosphere they breathe, the sickness and distress
which abound, render his labours as difficult as self-denying.
Yet good is doing, and the clereyman discovers that the lay
age, t has a much easier access to the poor than he can possibly
hive—that they are mere communicative with him than him-
self—and that through his instrumentality he learns more of
ne I their actual condition, their wants, their knowl dge, and their

subject of third services in chtirches, your c mmittee think it
would b^ well if such more frequently occurred, as the wants of
many might thus be supplied who cannot attend the other ser-
v ces. In St. Simon's the grant received was £lOO, and the
amount returned £ss. In Edgehill, the grant .E5O, the amount
returned £B5, so that in the latter case there was a gain. At-
tention is next called to a pl tn of increasing the parent soc;e-
ty's funds, which had this year fallen short by nearly £lOOO as
compared with the previous year.
.It had been proposed by the

Rev. H. M'Neile (whom the committee highly compliment), to
raise £5OO, by obtaining promises from individuals of donations
to the amount of such a sum ; such promises not to be called
upon till the sum promised amounted to the sum proposed. A
sum of X 27,0 had been promised, and it remained f•;r the friends
of the sotety to complete the promises in behalf of the object.
The report concludes by an earnest scriptural appeal, and a
prayer that it may be effectual to the setting forth of the glory
of God, and the increase of His kingdom.
THE Rev. Canon M'l`T__
first resolution, and was received with loud and continued
cheers. When they had subsided, lie commenced by ob-

EILE then rose

move

tude of thoughts crowded into his mind on the subject of
the Pastoral Aid Society as an auxiliary to our church.
Its name sufficiently expressed its objects. It is an aux-
iliary to our Established Church in one of its most im-
portant functions,—the supply of competent and efficient
pastors. Our church requires such help, because the po-

p. !dation to whomit is a debtor for s 7riptural instruction,
and pastoral superintendence, his largely overgrown her
original and stated resources. They were aware, and none
more so than the chairman, that vast multitudes in
our manufacturing and mining districts, are in a condition

utterly deplorable in a land called Christian—they hare
riot the opportunity, if they had the will, of receiving
Christian instruction; they are as sheep scattered abroad
without a shepherd. He was thinking that the skeleton
frame-work of a national church was still scattered over
the land, whilst the principle of a national church is vir-
tually repudiated in much that concerns the spiritual wants
' -----

o, -ne people, anti .nrown upon the voluntary principle.
It was, however, a good thing to have the frame-work,
because every new church, school.

iastor which was

ebtiblished same immet,

frame-work. But it was deplorable to see a number of
vacant spots on that frame-work, the more so because
they were not altogether empty. There was something in
those places congenial to the condition of man. There were
men in this country, as in all countries, anxious to upset
the present state of things in order to better their own con-
dition. Such persons were not scrupulous about the means
they would use. Weapons which they themselves despised,
if successful, were used without scruple. Hence it was
that infidelity was wielding superstition with great effect,
whilst she was looking with contempt and scorn upon the ;
ignqrance that could be acted upon by such instrumen-•
tality. (Hear, hear.) The society, then, in whose behalf
they had met, was an auxiliary to the church in sending to
the people the only efficient remedy. There was, and
could be, no efficient remedy but in the gospel of the
grace of God, and as it had pleased him to adopt human
instrumentality for the spread of his truth, therefore they
might truly say, there could be no remedy but in the
adequate multiplication of competent pastors. This
was the only remedy which could reach the real
state of man's disease, in our most thickly populated
districts. Nay, more, in carrying out the sacred medicine
of the Gospel to the bed-sides of the sick and dying poor,
the Church Pastoral Aid Society was a proved and tried
friend. (Loud applause.) It was simply on these grounds
they presented it to them for their support. (Continued
applause.) He was thinking on these things when he found
that he had undertaken a very difficult task, and that was to
move the adoption of the report without making a speech.
The rev. gentleman then read the resolution as follows :
" That the report now received be adopted, printed; and
circulated, under the direction of the committee; and
that the following gentlemen comprise the committee for
the ensuing year." He looked to the other side of the
paper but found no names. (Laughter.) He looked to
his reverend brother. the secretary, and found he
had no names. He was so satisfied they were so
well acquainted with the society that they would re-
collect the names of those who formed the committee
for the past year, and therefore lie had lett the list at
home. (Laughter.) They would. perhaps, naturally
ask e by he came under such a very ticklish euxagement.
He would tell them. lie was lately at Cheltenham fur
this very society, and at Chelterihrini they made. him the
eios—(cheers)—and therefore be made a very long
speech. It would not become him to say it was a good
one, but the people of Cheltenham seemed to think so.
(Applause.) Now the Cheltenham lion had conic to Li-
verpool. (Loud and continued cheers.) And be was
content on the present occasion to be a much smaller
animal, he would be the mouse that Dibbled the cord, that

loosed the net, that freed the lion. (Tremendous laugh..
ter and cheers.) Before he sat down he wished to te
them that this noble animal would not only address them
that evening, and in giving that notice he desired them to
forget all that was amusing in what had passed, whilst lie
told them soberly and solemnly that the Rev, F. Close
would on Wednesday evening preach in St. Michael's
Church. (The reverend gentleman resumed his seat
amid loud cheers.)
The lion and Rev W. MONTAGUE VILLIERS, Rector
of St. George's, Bloomsbury, one of the deputation,
seconded the resolution. After a few words of introduc-
tion relative to the foregoing speeches, and that part of
the claims of the society respecting which he had yen-
tured to speak in his sermon on the preceding day, and
which were very indistinctly beard at the inconvenient
corner where the reporters were placed, the reverend
gentleman said. that in addressing a Liverpool audience
he was well aware that he was addressing a people inti-
mately acquainted with figures, and to whose minds itwould
be easy. by their assistance, to convey a clear and distinct
idea of a few important and startling facts bearing upon the
claims of the Pastoral Aid Society, upon their esteem
and support. There were few persons, he would venture
to say, who knew better than the rev. gentleman who had
just sat down, how to combine the amusing with the solid,
and never transgressing propriety ;—(applause)—and he
believed there were few towns which possessed more
eloquent preachers, or more churches in which the
Gospel was preached ; and they would agree with him
that it was a solemn subject to speak of such immense
numbers of their fellow-creatures who were in an uncon-
verted state, without God or hope of salvation, and without
any knowledge of the blessed Saviour; and having, then,
to speak on those points, he entreated their kind conside-
ration that night. (Applause.) The course of events
now was different to what it was some years ago.
He was not going to re-echo what had been called an old
woman's tale, namely, that there were no times like the
old times, or even that the old times were better than the
present ones ; but he must allude to a difference in the
present times with regard to its treatment of popery,
which favoured in some degree the progress of the fatal
superstitions of that religion. In t mes gone past it was
considered fair and right to speak of things by their right
names, and if they found anything worthy of censure, no
man was blamed for speaking in truthful terms of it.
But now, by a kind of bastard philanthropy, their mouths

„
were closed. It, in speaking of Borne and her abominations,
any allusion was made to Sodom or Babylon. it was stig-
matised as unkind or uncharitable; but he had not learnt
to be more charitable than the word of God. (Applause.)
lie desired to speak the truth, but he would do it in love.

Maynoozb was received last session, as an exemplification
of this fact; and the Protestants, both laymen and clergy,
ought to unite to truthful men, •wbo would proclaim the
Gospel as it was in Jesus, to the winning of souls from
that system which had destroyed so many souls. (Cheers.)
With this carelessness of speech there was combined an-
other fact ; a::d that was the increased exertions making
by the Papists at the present time. He bad no doubt

Liverpool•as he perceived in his own neighbourhood.
He could scarcely stir abroad without meeting, two by
two. their sisters of charity, or of mercy, or nuns, or

V WIG awn, cuaas.ovr ta, %I.AVII temporal warns,
and never failing to excite their superstitious fears and
feelings ; and he could not but help feeling some re-
spect for their zeal and earnestness. This was only to be
met by more zeal among themselves, and he looked to
the Pastoral Aid Society, in sending out godly men, to
feed the people with the true milk of the word; and those
who had to spare of this world's goods should take better
care of the bodily wants and comforts of the nnnr.

(Applause.) In order to show the great usefulness of this
society, he would now go to another point, which had been

alluded to before, namely, the great in grease of tepopu-
lation. With that increase there had been some ad_
ditional means—how much he would shortly tell—but he
believed it was totally inadequate to the population. All
that had been done during the last five years had not even
met the increase of the people during that period. He
would first mention a few facts with regard to London.
Some would perhaps think it very unnecessary lot him
to come to Liverpool to speak of London ; but if they re-
collected themselves, they would find few families which,

indirectly or directly, were not connected with London, or
which had not sent some poor youth into that great Ba-
bylon, or, perhaps, they themselves were in the habit of
visiting it. It therefore became a matter of great import..
ance to see what amount of spiritual instruction there was
provided for those youths or for themselves. Take Lon-
don as it is marked out by parliamentary enactment. a
district of eight miles around St. Paula, and, in 1841,
its population was two millions, or rather more. This
more than doubled the amount of population in 1801,
and showed an increase since that period of 30,000 a year.
Let them mark that fact, that there was added to the po-
pulation of London every year, a number equalling the

whole population of the city of York. Let them take
all the cathedral towns in England and Wales, where
the churches were pretty thick and the clergy pretty
numerous, and their whole population amounted but
to 678,943 ; this would perhaps give them a very great
idea of a population of two milllions. If they added to
I the episcopal cities all the country towns in the kingdom.

and add to them the populations of Liverpool, Manelies:
ter, Birmingham, Leeds, and Sheffield „ they would

more than half that of London. [laving given them some
idea of the vastness of London, he would show them how
it was provided with spiritual accommodation. The
whole amount of acco►nmoda!ion in 1843, taking churches
and dissenting chapels, was but sufficient for 601,418.
so that of five-eights of the whole population which might
be reckoned as able to attend a place of worship, more
tha❑ one-half could not, for want of room, if they would.
It was a well-known fact that every Sunday morning and
Evening, a number of persons larger than the population
of the chief towns and cities of the kingdom. wilfully
absented themselves from any place of worship. If
London was compared with New Zealand. it would
be found to be mostly inferior to it, in godliness and
religion. After some further statistics,
spiritual destitution of London, a destitut

showing th.

ion w

Westminster alone, it would take 45 churches, each capa-
ble of containing 1000 persons to ,supply, he described
the state of the manufacturing and mining districts,

which were in a similar dreadful condition. In South
Durham there had been an immense increase of late in
the coal trade, and

ew towns were

R, with

populations varying from 1,000 to 5,000

destitute of churches, schools, anu religious instruction
of any kind. In South Wales not one in 50 of the adults
c ,uld read. In Bradford and Leeds, although the parents
expressed themselves anxious that their children should
be taught to read, they would not consent to deprive
themselves of a small portion of their earnings to give
them time to be taught. In Lancashire and Cheshire, it
was stated by Mr. Kennedy, few of the colliers attended

divine worship, and in general cared nothing mhatever
about religion, being ignorant as beasts of the state of
their souls ; that the children never attended school or
a place of worship, nor could read or write. One clever
lad, about eleven years old, stated that he had heard of
hell down in the pit; that he had never heard of Jesus
Christ; that he bad heard of God in the pit, when the
name was employed in imprecations to send the souls

others to hell: (Great sensation.) In order to show that
something might he done even with a class of people so
much in ignorance, he read a statement of the condition

tecc years

ago, from which it e
and solitary life, that they were violent and debauched,
and the terror of the surronnding neighbourhood ; that
their Sabbaths were spent in rural games or vicious ir-
rekularities ; that there were neither churches nor chapels

11 a clanish

except on the outskirts, arid schools were unknown. Now
the gospel of Jesus Christ had been carried there,
and so great a change had been effected, that the colliers
were exemplary in every moral and religious duty. T 1
task of r.:formation had been undertaken by the Dissen-

ters, whose perseverance had at length been rewarded by
a total change in th,. character of the people. The Dis-
senters bad worked zealously, and raised the means to
build an immense number of chapels. These me ns had
been drawn from the pockets of the farmers, not usually
the most liberal people—from the. small shopkeepers,

.
whose power in general was limited ; and lastly, from the
working classes themselves, by the adoption of a plan
which could quickly realise the £5OO promised to be
raised by their friend, Mr. M'Neile. The plan was by
penny subscriptions. (Applause.) They had thus seen what

the Dissenters had done, and he trusteC
had in it the desire to do as much or more ; that they
would take the lesson, and remember the words of Him
who said "Go thou and do likewise." (Applause.) He
must be excused for giving them one or two more of these
statistical facts ; he felt that they spoke more to the pur-
pose than if he gave them words of his own. Of the two
millions of inhabitants in London, a far greater number
than they would expect had no homes. they lived for
the most part out of doors, and at night they took up
their abode at a lodging-house, where they generally
paid about 3d. per night for part of a bed. In mane,
many cases, there would be perhaps six in a bed. The
poor man, by this means, saved a great portion of the
expense of separate lodgings, which generally cost
at the lowest, about 4s. 6d. per week. Thousands and
tens of thousands had no homes, except their lodging-
houses. In a report published some years ago, on the
best means of establishing a constabulary force in Eng-
land and Wales, these lodging-houses were spoken of as
the greatest obstacles to the morality of the people. They
were filled with the dregs of society and professed thieves
and beggars, and were perfect hotbeds i f vice for the poor
children taken to them by their parents. He described a
room in one of these lodging houses, a place 18 feet by 10
feet, with beds of straw arranged on each side ax thick as
possible, in fact, the floor was like one great bed ; and in
that space the night before. the person from whom he had
the description, visited it,:there were twenty-seven adult
males and fent des,thirty-one children, and twodogs sleping
in it. In the top room of the same house were six beds,and in
these 32 human beings slept; the windows in these places
were seldom opened, and the pesti'ential and noisome
atmosphere which pervaded these dreadful places actually
compelled the visitors to retreat, and often produced vo-
miting. It might be asked what could be done with such
a class of human beings as this; tiler were too bad for the
Pastoral Aid Society to reach; but he replied they were
not too bad, that they had been reached. There were a
number of laymen at work at the (.resent time visiting
these noisome abodes, and reading the eternal Gospel of
GA to the miserable inmates; and many had profited by
the word lead. lie was quite sore, in that town, cele-
meal loi its ministers; for its number of elognerat
men who preached the Gospel faithfully—(applaos'e)—
it would be unnecessary for him to dwell on the !rawer
which might ccornpany a single sentence of the Wold of
God ; to define how far it would go, or when it would
blossom and bring forth fruit. He would, however, state
that during the last year there had been held in these
lodging-houses 132 meetings for the exposition of the
Scriptures, at which 1600 persons bad been Present; and
he was happy to say he knew of some parties, who, he

felt, by the means of these readings, were as sure of going
to heaven as if they were there already. (Applause.)
He then dwelt at some length on the necessity of ac-
companying their exertions with prayer, if they wished
them to be productive of good, and went on to spew that
as the people would not come to hear preaching, it
was necessary the message of the gospel should be car-
ried to them. He alluded to the excellence of the cot-
tage lecture plan, for the establishment of which the✓
were so much indebted to their excel'ent diocesan, and
proceeded to declare that the money given to that society
would be laid out with a most scrupulous regard to
Protestant truth. If any minister employed by the
society were found to be doing the contrary, he would
at once be struck off the list. The money would
not be given for Protestant purposes and used for
papistical practices. (Loud cheers.) He then concluded
by combating the objections he had heard against the so-
ciety, and which he said were actually in its favour; and

appealed to all present, as they felt the deep responsibility
which would devolve upon them, to contribute liberally.
(Applause.) .

The motion was then put, and carried unanimously
The Rev. HALDANE ST

. ,
. .
increased by the excellent speech of the reverend gentle
man who had just addressed them. As there were two
other reverend gentlemen to follow him, he would not
trespass upon their time longer, but would conclude by
expressing his trust that the society would go on in in-

creasing use

The Rev. A. P. IRVINE seconded the resolution, and
entered into some remarks upon the vast importance

of this society. which was quietly and iaobtrusively of
fecting so much good for the Louis of men. He then en
tered into some statistical details from the association'

published report, showing that it provided for 258 pas-
tors, preaching the gospel to upwards of two millions
of souls, the average salary of each pastor being £93
per annum. In addition to this, it aided the incomes of
between 4 and 590 clergymen, and expended considerab:e
funds in other works prorwtin4 the spread of the gospel.
We regret that our space will not allow us to follow the
rev. gentleman through these details, and the very inte-

resting matter which he adduced to show theworking of th
society. _ .

unanimously

Tile Rev. P. NoLAN, Honorary Secretary, here said
hat there had been 31 services this year in the town and
ieighbourhood in behalf of this society. Last year there

and amounts

:vertou Church

s. d.
,40 0 0 St. Mar
28 0 0 St. Jud

£ s. d

Christ Church
A igburth
!.t. An, rew's

St. Thor

St. Bride's

Seafcrth

St. Sircon'i

St. Clement

St. J ames's,
St. John's
St. Luke's
St. Mark's

, Tox. P.i

o 0 St. Paul's.. : ... :
0 0 Christ's. Waterloo

15 0 I St. Silas'

8 5 6
11 11 0

The reverend gentleman announced that the sermon in
St. Michael's, for the same object, would be preached on
Wednesday (to-morrow) evening, by the Rev. F. Close.
(Applause.) He concluded by stating that a collection
would then'be made, and that while it was proceeding a
-hymn would be sung, which was accordingly done.
The Rev. F. BARKER said he had been requested to
move the last resolution, which be read. It was to the
effect, that the meeting concurred more and more in the