The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-10-29 00:00:00

ENLARGEMENT OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH,
SEACOMBE.

This neat little church, which forms one of the most
striking ornaments of the Cheshire side of the river, hav-
ing been found insufficient to accommodate the congrega-
tion drawn toeether by the ministration of the incumbent,
the Rev. E. Roberts, is now being enlarged, by the addi-
tion of an aisla on the south side, for which, when re-
quired, it was originally designed by its talented architect,
Mr. John Hay.

Although the work is not as yet advanced far enough to
enable us to judge accurately the effect of the alteration,
a glance at the plans, and at the alteration so far as it has
progressed, is sufficient to enable us to form a tolerably
correct idea of it. The outer walls of the new aisle are
in a state approaching to completion, and the addition is
in perfect keeping with the architectural characteristics
of the original structure. Internally it is divided from
the body of the church, and the south side of the roof is
supported by a row of light and graceful arches, so light
as not in the slightest degree to interfere with the °cen-
t:mots of the seats obtaining a full view of the pulpit. In
this aisle 31 additional pews will be furnished, affording
sittir,v for 217 persons. A gallery is also about being
thrown over the west end of the middle aisle, or what will
be such when the structure is completed, by the addition
of another aisle on the north side. To provide for the
erection of this gallery the large window at the west end
will be shortened, and six narrow windows will be intro-
duced below it, to light the sittings under the gallery,
and a window is being opened above the large window
in question. By this addition 50 more seats will be
gained, making the total derived from the alteration 267
sittings. To throw a further light into the body of the
church, and replace that which is partially obstructed by
the formation of the aisle, a row of clere windows is being
opened out along both sides of the roof, the effect of which
from the exterior, as shewn in the plan, will be very
graceful.

The only drawback, so far as the effect of the alteration
upon the symmetry of the interior is concerned, will he
its imparting to the church a one-sided appearance. We
trust, however, that, in the course of another year, the
congregation will be enabled to remove this by the erec-
tion of another aisle, when the church will present one of
the most pleasing ecclesiastical interiors in this neigh-
bourhood.

We understand that the same architect—Mr. Hay—
together with some other gentlemen who feel an interest
in the erection of a church in the improving locality of
New Brighton, has suggested the perfect practicability,
as well as the economy, of removing that beautiful and
unfinished ecclesiastical edifice near the Dock Cuttages,
Birkenhead, to the former place. It is painful to see
such a building perishing from the action of the elements,
whilst there is little hope of its being completed, or of its
being useful if even completed, in a locality which is at
present, and likely to remain for some time to come, al-
most entirely unpeopled.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,—You will, I am sure, allow me, through the
medium of your paper, to correct a publicly uttered mis-
representation of the sentiments of those clergy, and
others, who with myself believe that the doctrine of the
National Restoration of the Jews to Palestine is a mere
Jewish notion, unsanctioned by the Scriptures and incon-
sistent with pure Christianity. The misrepresentation
to which I allude occurs in the speech delivered by Dr.
M'Neile; at the late meeting of the Jews' Society. I
heard it myself, for I was present; and I have since read
it as reported in your paper.
It is contained in the following words—the speaker
told us :—" That we had no right to say that the curses
of the Bible rested on them (the Jews), and that the
blessings predicted were intended only for ourselves."
And again, in the next sentence, he represents us as
making the Bible spiritual. " when promising blessings
which we would appropriate to ourselves."
I must be allowed to say that the statement in the
passages just quoted is one of the most extraordinary
misrepresentations that I ever remember to have heard or
read. So far from wishing to appropriate God's promised
blessings to ourselves, we openly declare, and, as far as
T know, always have declared, riat of all those countless
mercies which God has promised to believers in Christ,
there is not one which is not offered as freely and as fully
to every Jew as it is to every Gentile.
I cannot doubt that the speaker, when he thus imputed
to us the very opposite to our real doctrines, spoke igno-
rantly. But he ought to have known better ; for, in a
speech which I delivered only last year, in his presence,
at a meeting of the same society, and which has since
been published, I made a plain declaration of our senti-
ments on this very point, which, if you will permit me, I
will here quote. It is in the concluding words of the
speech :
"My Lord, I have not spoken this evening against Jewish
restoration. I have spoken in its favour. I would indeed re-
store the Jews to the true church of God, to their own olive
tree. For God's church was once their church. But it pleased
God graciously to lead that church from childhood to man-
hood. It pleased him, in his great goodness, to abolish its old
covenant by giving it a new and better one. It pleased him to
make temporal promises wax dim in contrast with that immor-
tality and life which Christ brought to light by the Gospel.
Why, my Lord, should the Jew prefer to be a slave, when he
may be a son of God through Christ? At least, let none of us
encourage him in that base pr. ference. No let us rather be-
seech him, with the affectionate earnestness of those who are
in possession of those better things, which Jewish eye never
saw, and Jewish ear never heard, to restore himself to that
church which, may again be his own as well as ours. We will
all welcome him as a brother in Christ. We will all honour
him as a true son of Abraham. And while we deny to him
any separate right to God's favour,—for that would be to dis-
honour our universal Bishop,—yet, if he will love God more,
and serve Christ better, we will all acknowledge, with willing-
ness of heart, his pre-eminence in the kingdom of Gun, and
his nearer relationship to Christ our King. We are bound to
do so: for he has said, Whosoe,er shall do the will of my
Father, which is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister,
and mother.'"
But I feel bound not only, for the sake of truth, to pro-
test thus publicly, against the above-cited misrepresentation
of our doctrines, but also against the speech itself; and I
respectfully submit that, under the circumstances in which
Dr. Ili`Neile is placed, he had no right to make it.
The circumstances to which I allude will be easily un-
derstood by a brief review of the past.
Ever since I have been at Everton (now nearly ten
years) Dr. M'Neile has been in the habit of directing, at
the annual meetings of the Jew's Society, controver-
sial attacks against the doctrines, which some of his
brother clergy believe to be in accordance with the Gospel
of Christ. On one occasion, several years since, in con-
sequence of a direct challenge publicly addressed to us by
himself, I requested leave there and then to offer a reply.
This request was denied. At last, after long patience, in
1848, finding that there was no disposition to afford us an
opportunity of stating our own sentiments, I, with much
reluctance, but under a strong sense of duty, made use of
my undoubted right as a member of the Jews' Society,
to obtain a hearing for those sentiments which had so
often been denounced. In this attempt, as it will be
remembered, I failed : for again I was not permitted to
speak. Ido not recall the remembrance of that disgrace.
ful scene with any feelings of anger, but simply because
it is necessary to remember it in order to explain the cir-
cumstances under which Dr. M'Neile is now placed.
At last, in 1849, chiefly through the strong remon-
strances of one of the most respected of my brother
clergy, I obtained a fair hearing, and I then set forth at
some length our views on the Jewish question. The
speech which I then delivered, and from which I leave just
quoted, has been published, and has had a wide circula-
tion throughout the country.
And there the matter might have rested : for not only,
in the speech itself, did 1 declare that I made it without
any intention of personal controversy, but I have repeat-
edly assured the advocates of Jewish restoration that we
are perfectly willing to abstain, in the meetings of the
society, from all controversial discussion of disputed sub-
jects of prophecy, if they will consent to the same.
But Dr. M'Neile was not willing that the matter should
so rest. Not long afterwards he took occasion, in a ser-
mon preached in Mr. Villiers' Church in London, to at-
tack one of the positions of my speech. This sermon is
published.
Of course I could not complain of this. Indeed I was
very glad of it; for I believe that the Jewish notion of
restoration only requires to be brought into the full light
of christiatiity to be exposed and rejected. Accordingly,
I lost no time in addressing, a published letter to Mr.
Villiers, (as the sermon was preached in his church) in
which I gave what I believe, and what every one who has
spoken or written to me on the subject believes, to be a
full and complete refutation of Dr. M'Neile's reply to my
speech. This letter, which is entitled, " A distinction
without a difference," I sent, as politeness required, to
Dr. M'Neile, but I was not fortunate enough to obtain
even an answer of courteous acknowledgment. I am not
aware that he has ever attempted a reply to its arguments.
In that letter I especially noticed a statement which he is
in the habit of reproducing, year after year, at meetings
of the Jews' society, namely, that if some of the prophe-
cies respecting the Messiah have been literally accom-
plished, all of them must be literally accomplished. This
statement, I shewed, by a reference to the forty-fifth
Psalm, to be utterly groundless. I now allude to it,
because I observe that it was reproduced this year also.
Now, sir, I respectfully submit, and I think the Chris-
tian public will agree with me, that, under the circum-
stances of the case, Dr. M'Neile had no right, as a fair
and honourable controversialist, to utter in my presence,
and at a Jews' meeting, a controversial speech on the
Jewish question, to which he knew that I had no oppor-
tunity of replying. He is bound, I think, (especially as
he was the challenger,) either to attempt a printed and
published answer to my " letter," or to abstain from
a controversial attack on our sentiments at a public
meeting, when we have not the opportunity of speaking
in our defence.
As for the Jews' Society itself, unless the directors
take care so to arrange its proceedings, that they who
earnestly desire the conversion of Jews to the faith of
Christ, but who cannot adulterate the Gospel with
exploded Judaism, may attend its meetings without
being condemned to hear, speech after speech, notions
which they unfeignedly wonder that any Christian
man can admit into his creed, it will soon be high
time for those of the clergy and laity who think
with me, to leave a society which seems likely,
if unreformed, rather to promote Judaism amongst
Christians than Christianity amongst Jews. As for my.
self, I have done my duty in the matter to the utmost of
my power. I have protested and will protest (firmly, but
always in a Christian spirit,) against the unfairness of
assembling together Christian persons professedly with
the sole object of speaking on Jewish conversion, and
then, practically, so arranging the proceedings of the
meeting, that expositions of prophecy, which are con-
sidered by many of those present as not only false, but
most injurious to the cause of Christ, are loudly and con-
troversially forced upon the members, to the serious
annoyance of many Christian minds, and to the destruc-
tion of that Christian harmony and peace. which ought
to prevail in these assemblies which are gathered together
for the promotion of Christ's blessed cause.
I am, Sir, your faithful servant,
W. WITHERS EWBANK.
Everton, Cct, 28, 1830.