The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-10-07 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

ANOTHER SUPPLEMENT WITH - THE

STANDARD

A Stamped Supplement will accompany the STAN-
DARD of Tuesday next, which will be continued
whenever the pressure on our space requires it.
We had intended one for to-day; but anticipate
being able to afford more gratification to our
readers by the above arrangement.

pursuedin South Cheshire; bat there the objector-
general did not attempt to prop up his case by per-
jury. On the contrary they attempted perjury in
his behalf, one of them swearing in open court that
three different signatures placed before him were
the same hand-writing, whilst he himself gave the
following version of his transactions:—
He had signed a portion of the notices for Mr. Latham,
and another and much larger portion had been brought
to him by the young man above mentioned, who asked
him to get them signed. He did not know the young
man's name. He brought him so many papers to sign
that he could not do them nearly all himself, and therefore
he set his two sons to help him, and they all sat down
and wrote at one table, as hard as they could. He never
looked at the objections signed by his sons, and did not
read a quarter of those signed by himself, but he was sure
they were filled up with writing of ome kind, he did not
know what. He never examined them or compared the
copies, and knew nothing of the parties objected to ; but
took it all upon trust of the young man who brought the
notices. He did not tell his sons to sign objections to any
persons in particular, but merely in general terms to help
him in writing his name to the papers.
Can such a system as this be that which the
Legislature contemplated when it gave the power of
objecting to voters ? Certainly not.
We ask of any honest member of the League
party whether he is prepared to justify such infa-
mous proceedings as those which we have above
exposed. And moreover is not the sin of their
wretched tool, 'Worthington, the sin of every man
who shall henceforth furnish, by his subscription,
the wages of Perjury ? To the Legislature, how-
ever, we turn for protection against this combina-
tion of seditious men against the constitutional pri-
vileges of Englishmen. It is not to be tolerated
that an irresponsible body should thus be able, by
its mercenary tools, to annoy and harass the
entire Electoral Body of the Empire ; and if the
existing law is not strong enough to repress such
unconstitutional proceedings, it is the duty of the
legislature to see that its power be reinforced.

We regret to state that a diligent inquiry, and the
perusal of correspondence from all parts of the
country, have brought us, unwillingly, to the con-
viction that our prospects of an abundant supply of
the great staple of life during the present year are
anything but cheering. The wheats thus far
brought to market are generally in poor condition ;
and, although, from the straw, more than an average
crop might have been anticipated, the yield in
thrashing out is very deficient. The inferiority of
the sample to that of last year may be estimated
from the fact that, at one of our leading corn mar-
kets on Saturday last, whilst the price of old wheat
was 60 to 66 shillings per parter, that of new was
only from 42 to 59 shillings—a proof, at least, that
the sample is a very uneven one; and the accounts
agree in putting down the major part of the crop—
in some districts as much as four-fifths of it—
amongst the inferior sorts.
So much for the crops already reaped. With
respect to those out, in some districts, the pros-
pects by the last advices are in some districts
most distressing, although, we trust, that the
genial change which, at the time we write, we are
experiencing here may have made its way through-
out the empire. In many parts of Scotland and
the north of England heavy rains and floods appear
to have been the distinguishing features of the past
week, so far as harvest operations are concerned ;
and unless our hopes of change are realised, the re-
sult to the northern growers must be the most disas-
trous.
Combined with the destruction or injury of
a great portion of the potatoe crop—which, how-
ever, our authorities still warrant us in believ-
ing to be exaggerated by rumour—we may
fairly calculate upon higher prices and the ne-
cessity of a supply of old wheats from some
quarter, to grind with our new of all qualities, and
especially with our poor qualities. And the ques-
tion arises from what source are we to look for it.
The markets of the Baltic are swept clean ; and, in
the opinion of our most influential merchants, our
only resource for supply is the stores in the United
States. How far they may be enabled to relieve us
from our difficulty we cannot at present calculate.
But we may rest assured that whatever we may be
able to get from that quarter, we shall have to pay
dearly for.
We are far from wishing to cast a damp upon the
public mind upon this subject, or to say anything
which may give occasion to to the enemies of native
agriculture to exult over and to found an increased
agitation upon. We must, however, for the question
involved in our present position,is far too important to
be got rid of by the suppression of any facts which
may bear upon its solution, bring before our readers
a few important facts for their attentive considera-
tion. We have now had in this country three of
the most productive harvests within memory. We
commenced at the first of those harvests with about
three million quarters of Foreign wheat in our
stores ; and at the commencement of the present
month, we had only 440,000 quarters of old wheat
to fall back upon in case of a deficient harvest. We
have consumed in these three years three abundant
harvests, and our previous accumulation of three
million quarters of Foreign supply. From this fact
we do not intend to draw any conclusions ; but it is
one nevertheless which will have to be, and deserves
to be seriously weighed by all well wishers of their
fellow-countrymen and supporters of their coun-
try's true interests.

That Liverpool, considering her vast wealth, has
done less towards the promotion of Art and the
improvement of the tastes of her population than
most other towns, is a fact which we blush to ac-
knowledge. Even Manchester has its Museum,
its College, with a magnificent Library where the
student can consult Works, otherwise far beyond
his reach, free of charge, its Schools of Design and
Literary Institutions for the working classes with-
out number. Here we may say that our two great
Institutions—the Collegiate and the Mechanics—
are the whole of our provision for Literature and
Science, whilst the Art of Painting is left totally
unprovided for—in fact, with difficulty supports
itself—and Schools of Design we have none.
We hail therefore with pleasure the motion
brought forward by Mr. Parker, at the last Coun-
cil Meeting, not that we are satisfied with the
amount proposed to be devoted to the encourage-
ment of native art, or the mode of its application,
hut because the movement comes from the proper
quarter, our great Local Body. Now that the sub-
wet has been mooted there and may be said to he
fairly on the carpet, we trust that Mr. Parker will
not let it fall asleep.

CHRISTIAN UNION.—The preliminary conference to
deliberate on the project of Christian union commenced
its sittings on Wednesdly. The members ai-semhled
were about 250, who met in the lecture-room of the
Medical Hall. The Rev. J. A. James, of Birmingham,
took the chair on the first day, and the Rev. Edward
Bickersteth opened the sitting with prayer. In the after-
noon the Rev. Robert Woodlyke, of the Established
Church in Ireland, commenced the proceedings wth
prayer. Ministers of various denominations succeeded by
turns, and the sittings of the first day were chiefly
occupied in reading the Scriptures and in prayer.
Amongst those present were Sir Culling Eardley Smith,
Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, the Rev. J. Jordan (who
was recently reproved by the Bishop of Oxford for
presiding at a Wesleyan meeting), and several Dublin
clergymen. Amongst the Scottish delegates present
were John Henderson, Esq., Convener, the Rev. Dr.
Candlish, the Rev. Dr. Cunningham, the Rev. Dr.
King, and the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw. It is said that the
most sanguine hopes of the promoters of the meeting
have been realired, and it is their intention to publi.h a
statement of the proceedings, and to hold meetings to
make the objects of the conference better known.
THE WEATHER.—Since our last publication, the wea-
ther in this neighbourhood has been exceedingly changeable.
On several days, and especially Thursday, and Thursday
night, heavy rains fell, with varied temperatures. Sun-
day, however, was remarkably fine and sunny through-
out, and yesterday though coldish, was also propitious
until evening, when a greet quantity of rain fell. The
greater part o, the corn crops in the southern division of
this county have been got under cover, and most of what
remains is in the stook, there being but little left to cut.
Comparatively few of the late potatoes have yet been
gathered. Those brought to our markets for immediate
use are of good quality.
- -

- - -
The sum of £9O Ils, was collected at the Church for
the Blind, for the sufferers by the late fire at Quebec.
ENGLISH OPERATIC SINGERS IN AMERICA.—The
New York Papers are in ectasies with the first appearance
at the Park Theatre of Miss Delcy, and our townsman
Mr. F. Gardner, whom our readers will remember as one
of the Liver Company, a few years ago. Although
American lovers of Opera, fix Malibran, as their stan-
dard of excellence, Miss Delcy's singing appears to have
taken their feelings by storm, whilst of Mr. Gardner, one
of their organs, the New York Mirror thus speaks :
Mr. Gardner is one of the best tenors we have ever had
in this country—some of his notes are positively delicious.
If the power of his voice equalled its sweetness, he would
be the best tenor on the stage. We know not where Mr.
Simpson obtained him—he came unheralded, but be did
not require it,—the exquisite morceaux he gave us last
night, sufficiently established his reputation, and more
than compensated for occasional flaws. He is a gentle-
manly man, and has a fine gage figure and face.

THE CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY. I

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVI

RPOOL STANDARD,

your last number there appeared a letter from
the Rev. Joseph Baylee, of Birkenhead, in which he stated
certain reasons for not attending the conference recently
held in Liverpool, on the subject of Christian union. My
object, in now addressing you, is not to enter upon the
thorough discussion of the adverse positions laid down by
Mr. Baylee, and acquiesced in by twenty-eight of the
ministers of the Church of England, but to point out a
few of the fallacies which he has advanced, and thus to
prevent the public mind from prejudging a question of
surpassing importance onvvhich it must ere long pronounce
a d2liherate opinion.
In all that Mr. Baylee has said adverse to Popery and
Puseyism, and friendly to our dissenting brethren, I most
cordially concur. The only question between him and me
is, what sufficient grounds were there for his declining the
invitation to the conference? His reasons, though scat-
tered through his letter, and reiterated in various forms,
may I think be all classed in two divisions.
First he says, " The invitation to the meeting expresses
no sense of humiliation for our sins and divisions."
Now, surely Mr. Baylee cannot believe that the brethren
issuing the invitation cherished no sense of humiliation
for their sins and divisions. He admits in various parts
of his letter that they are men of piety. He therefore
virtually admits that t!,ey did cherish such a sense of
humiliation, and as to their expressing it, there was this
awkwardness in the matter. They were writing to other
parties not immaculate more than themselves. To have
made allusion to the sins of these other parties would have
been ungracious. To have referred particularly to their
own would have been to convey the idea that they were
sinners above all in Jerusalem. Besides if Mr. Baylee
consult the preliminary documents he will find that such
a sense of humiliation is both implied and conveyed.
But granting there had been a total oversight and omis-
sion on this point, was that any sufficient ground for his
declining a conference with the requiitionists ? He should
rather have come forward and shewed the defect, and he
would have learned from the heavenly temper and spirit
that pervaded the hearts of the brethren, from their many
penitent acknowledgments in prayer, and from various
personal and collective confessions to each other, which
edified and melted the mind of the Conference, that his
objection was the mere shadow of a shade.
Mr. Baylee's second difficulty is thus expressed :

'. We did not think that its objects were practicable in the
present state of the church. Unity of action must be the re-
sult of unity of mind; and we felt that the seven ' denomina-
tions ' could not agree amongst themselves, much less with the
ministers of our national church, as to what Popery, Puseyism,
and Scriptural Christianity really are. There would be a cer-
tain amount of agreement, but there would also be such an
amount of disagreement as would be quite sufficient to mar
true and vigorous unity of action. We felt that to agree to
suppress large portions of what some of us believe to be divine
truth is not Scriptural unity."

Some of the positions here laid down we flatly deny.
Others of them cannot be admitted till we draw cer-
tain distinctions. It is not the fact that the dissenting
brethren of the seven denominations, and the evangelical
ministers of the Established Churches are not agreed as
to what Popery and Puseyism really are ; neither is it the
fact that they are not agreed as to what scriptural Chris-
tianity really is—that is, if you understand scriptural
Christianity to mea❑ those cardinal truths, the know-
ledge, belief, feeling, and practice of which will, through
God's grace, save the soul; and surely any addition which
Mr. Baylee as an Episcopalian, or I as a Presbyterian,
might make to these, are neither vital nor essential nor
fundamental, i❑ the sense in which the cardinal truths
that enter into the composition of a Christian's creed
must be held so to be. Churchmen and dissenters do in the
main agree respecting that doctrine according to godliness
which converts sinners and sanctifies believers. They do
not differ in their views of that which is indispensible in
" Scriptural Christianity."

Mr. Baylee further states "Unity of action, must be
the'result of unity of mind." Here we must distinguish.
Unity of action must certainly be the result of unity of
mind as to the particular tiling to be done, and the par-
ticular mode of doing it, still there may be great diversity
of opinion on subordinate points. Christians must agree
to resist the devil, and for that purpose they may combine
together, though there may be many circumstances
connected with the history of that Evil Spirit about
which they entertain conflicting ideas. Two leaders of
an allied army may be most eager to attack the common
foe, yet the one may firmly believe that the opposing
force consists of 100,000 men, the other only of 60,000.
Mr. Baylee's proposition, in the connection in which it
stands, is but sophism polished and pointed.
Mr. Baylee thus continues—" There would be a cer-
tain amount of agreement but there would also be such an
amount of disagreement as would be quite sufficient to
mar true nod vigorous unity." This is plainly a begging
of the question. The conference were invited to meet
that they might ascertain whether they could agree. Mr.
Baylee assigns as his reason for not attending, that he is
persuaded at they could not agree; but they did agree.
Hence his premises are a groundless assumption.
Another fallacy, and the last which I shall notice, will
be found in these italics. We feel that to agree together
to suppress large portions of what some of us believe to be
divine truth is not Scriptural unity. Mr. Baylee has
here committed a total mistake. It was never intended
there should be any agreement to suppress one iota of
what was held to be divine truth. On the contrary, it
was stated again and again that every individual was to be
at the fullest liberty to hold and maintain and promulgate
(always in a Christian spirit) his particular sentiments on
all subjects, sacred and secular. Of course it was under.
stood that controverted topics were not to be agitated so
as to interfere with the great objects contemplated by the
union. But there is a great distinction between not pres-
sing and suppressing. The one is a negative, the other is
a positive matter. Our Lord sanctions this view in re-
ference to unbelievers when he speaks about casting pearls
before swine. Is not the same principle admissible as
regards our fellow Christians. If Mr. Baylee were con-
sulted by a convinced sinner he would not harangue him
on the doctrine of election or the value of episcopal or-
ders. Yet who would brand his silence as a suppression,
or abandonment, or compromise of his views ? And so
the brethren of the conference have agreed to differ on
their disputed points whilst they carry out the views
in which they concur.
I have thus tried to show that there is little force in Mr.
Baylee's arguments. Had I been striving in any other
spirit than that of love and meekness, I might legitimately
have pushed some of his positions and principles to a
point from which I am sure he would be the first to recoil.
But in the circumstances such a course might irritate,
and could not edify. My object will be amply gained
if I succeed in disposing Mr. Baylee and his friends to
think more favourably of the principles and de-
sign of the Conference, and in preparing them to read
a detailed account of its proceedings with that impar-
tiality and interest which the doctrinal truth and noble
comprehensiveness of its basis, the importance of its
objects, and the distinguished talent, learning, and god-
liness f many of its members ought to inspire.

I am, sir,
Your faithful servant,
JOHN TOD BROWN,
Minister of St. Andrew's Scotch National
Church, Rodney•street.
Liverpool, October 6th, 1845.

EXHIBITION OF THE LIVERPOOL ACADEMY,

We have been prevented during the last two weeks from
performing our usual duty of noticing this exhibition;
and even now, whilst endeavouring to repair past unavoid-
able neglect, we write under the conviction that our re-
marks must be as brief as possible. We shall not, there-
fore, attempt detailed criticism upon any of the paintings
exhibited, but content ourselves for the present with di-
recting attention to a few which appear to us to deserve
examination. And first we are bound to notice " The
Village Pastor, by W. P. Frith, to which has been awarded
the prize of £5O given by the Academy.
The subject of this picture may be best described by
giving the quotation from " The Deserted Village" at-
tached to it in the catalogue—

"The service past, around the pious man
With steady zeal each honest rustic ran,
E'en children followed with endearing wile
And plucked his gown to share the good man's smile

The scene represented is one of great beauty, such as is
only to be met with in the secluded parts of happy Eng-
land, where the infidel philosophy of the present day has
not yet reached, and intolerant dissent is unknown.
There is a character—a story almost—in every face and
figure; and from one only—that of the attenuated face
end wasted form of a victim of consumption placed in the
foreground—do we turn without an emotion of pleasure.
Altogether the painting is one which, its artistical merits
apart, is worthy of the position which it occupies.
Amongst the portraits in the first room, Geo. Patten,
Esq. A.R.A., has one of Edward Gibbons, Esq., painted
by subscription for the Liverpool Infirmary, which we
need not say is full of character ; another of Harwood
Banner, Esq., painted by subscription for the Female
Orphan Asylum; and a third, of Mrs. James Aikiu,
painted by subscription for the same Asylum, which we
prefer to either. Of another painting, by the same artist
—" Maternal Love"—we shall speak after more mature
examination. Philip Westcott has a beautiful portrait of
a lady, done in the rich colouring and boldness which cha-
racterises his style, and an excellent portrait of Charles
Turner, Esq. He has also a painting of the reconciliation
of Adam and Eve, of which more hereafter. Midge con-
tributes a portrait of John Deane Case, Esq., and another
of James Montgomery, Esq., author of " The Wanderer
in Switzerland," and which gives the character of the poet
and the philanthropist admirably. The Worshipful the
Mayor of Liverpool, by R. Beattie, does not so much
please us. The addition of the robes of office, however,
in which we never saw Mr. Lawrence, may alter the cha-
racter of the figure. There are only two other paintings
in this room to which we have now space to refer. One
of these is " Portraits of Horses belonging to Daniel
Neilson, Esq." by R. Ansdell, which is executed very
finely, the colouring and details equally good. We would
recommend our readers to examine this fine picture.
The other is " The Angels Ithuriel and Zephon finding
Satan at the Ear of Eve," by Wm. Huggins, which displays
genius of a high order.

On Saturday, a man named Daniel Charnley died aw.
fully suddenly in a public-house in Tempest 'ley.

POLICE SUPERINTENDENTS.--The Watch Committee
meet this day, (Tuesday,) for the purpose of appointing
three persons to the vacant situations of superintendents
of police. One of these appointments will be as superin-
tendent of divisions, the salary of which is to be £2OO
per annum, and the salary of the others £156 per annum
each, with clothing in addition. A considerable number
of persons have sent in applications, and the committee
have since reduced them to ten in number, five belonging
to " the force," and five not in " the force," from which
they will wake their selection.