The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-13 00:00:00

THE REFORMATION SOCIETY.

On Tuesday evening, a meeting of the British Society
for promoting the Religious Principles of the Reforma-
tion was held in the Music-hall, Bold-street. George
Finch, Esq., late M.P. for Stamford, and the Rev. John
Cumming, Secretary for Scotland, attended as a deputa-
tion from the parent society. Every part of the spacious
building was crowded with respectable auditors.
The Rev. H. M'NEILE was unanimously called to the
chair.

Prayer having then been offered up by the Rev F.
Parry,

- I •
TS Rev. CHAIRMAN proceeded to explain the princi-
ples and objects of the society in behalf of which they
were assembled. The work, be said, is, the defence and
diffusion—defence against the hostile, and diffusion among
the ignorant—of the religious principles of the Protestant
Reformation. It is not willingly, as a matter of abstract
preference for its own sake, that we are engaged in the
contention inseparable from this work. Peace and ease
are objects of attraction to us as to other men, and if we
had no objects of more powerful attraction because of
more paramount imoortance, we would rest in peace and
ease. The real cause of our conduct is this, we believe
our Bibles ; and so long as the Bible remains the final and
sufficient standard of Christian truth and Christian duty,
it must continue to be a Christian duty earnestly to con-
tend for the integrity of Christian truth. (Hear.) We
are fully aware of the repugnance, the seemingly amiable,
and charitable, and kind repugnance, to all contention
which we have to meet. We are aware of the prima"
facie advantage which the advocates of peace and har-
mony possess with the public. We are aware of the skill
with which that advantage has been worked. At this time,
and in this country, the policy of Rome is apparent peace,
and consequently her practice is denial of all that would
justify contention. The principles we impute to her are
denied, although announced in the very words of her own
publicly authorised, accredited, and unrescinded formu-
laries. (Hear, hear.) The practices we impute to her
are denied, although transcribed from the pages of authen-
tic history. We know with what consummate talent, and
with what encouraging success, this game was played by
the late learned prelate Dr. Baines, Bishop of Siga, where-
ever that see is situate—(laughter)—and factor for Rome,
at Prior-park, in the city of Bath, and throughout the
southwestern counties of England. We know how, at
the opening of new Roman Catholic chapels, built in a
great measure by contributions from deceived Protestants
—(hear, hear)—and among the rest at the opening of St.
Anthony's, in this town, he managed, under the profes-
sion of expounding the Roman faith, to gloss over, mys-
tify, or deny all the peculiar and distinctive principles of
Romariism—(hear, hear)—so that Protestant gentlemen,
attracted there by curiosity, returned thence quite charmed
with the meekness, urbanity, and winning gentleness of
the good bishop. We know that similar success is now
attending similar practices, as carried on by Dr. Wise-
man the bishop of Melipotamus, another outlandish see,
—(laughter)—who is doing Rome's work in the midland
counties of England. Full well we know that the denials
of these gentlemen are palatable, because they plead for
peace, and that our associations are unpalatable ,because
they invite to contention. We perceive also, that what is
called, though most improperly, the liberal section of our
population, however widely they may differ from Roman-
ists in anything else, agree with them cordially in their
opposition to the gospel and to us. (Hear.) And as the
Romanists accuse us of obloquy, so these accuse us of
bigotry and uncharitableness. On this side also our op-
ponents seem to plead for peace, while again upon us is
thrown, with skill and effect, the appearance of wilful
contention. (Hear and cheers.) We are not ignorant of,
or insensible to, the many disadvantages of our position.
It is with our eyes open, having counted the cost, and
seriously considered the alternative, that we have occu-
pied, and continue to maintain it. The cost is loss of
reputation for judgement and discretion and moderation
among men whose good opinion we enjoy in other respects,
and value in every respect ; the alternative is, as we firmly
believe, unfaithfulness towards God. Therefore we can-
not hesitate. We believe it is better, far better, for men
to disagree about truth, than to agree in falsehood ; bet-
ter, far better, to disagree about religion and holiness,
than to agree in irreligion and sin. (Much applause.)
As to tnis-atatements, unfounded calumnies, and all such
charges so freely inculcated against us, our simple answer
is, we do not make any. It is easy to assert without
proof, and a press which boasts its liberty and high prin-
ciple takes the liberty of asserting roundly, not only with-
out proof, but in direct opposition to counter-proof,
all t
reiterated
which counter-proof is wilfully suppressed by the same
free press.
the
(1-Ciehaur'rchhear.)of
Amongst
Rome,
advanced
by a large portion of the press of this town, against your
present Chairman, not one instance has been specified ;
and why ? Simply because not one instance has occurred.
andhe charges
of

(El3ar and ) If such an instance hal onirrt d
w"'" have !Jr'e:-. lung since. I inv.,te it now... I
invite on anti al, oi hen spnifc the instance they
can. of any c.har4e falsely advanced against the Ch arch
of Rome. Abuse in general terms is easy, so easy to write,
that it is very easy to bear. (Laughter.) Let them lay
it aside, and specify an instance. (Bear.) If the thing
has occurred so often as to ju.tify this charge, there cart
be no difficulty in pointing out some one time and place
and assertion. Watch now and see what they will do.
(Laughter and cheering.) See whether any one of them
will meet this as a man with truth on his side would and
could easily meet it. I fully anticipate that our friends
who have come among us, and from whose statements I
will no longer delay you, will meet with the same descrip-
tion of treatment that I have met with. (Laughter.) I
believe they are quite used to it: and I have no doubt
they will thrive under it quite as well as I have
done. (Much laughter and cheers.) The reverend gen-
tleman concluded by calling upon George Finch, Esq., to
address the meeting. . _ _

--ifr:FiNctisaidle conceived they ought to esteem the
obloquy to which they had been exposed a high privilege.
They were only in that respect partakers with our Lord
and his Apostles. In the days of Nero. the Christians
were accused of setting fire to Rome. He did not agree
with the Chairman that they would incur as much odium
as himself, and for this reason, that they had not done as
much to deserve it. (Hear and cheers.) Since the last
time he was in Liverpool, during the discussion between
Mr. Dalton and Mr. Falvey, the society had been making
great progress. The society was called the British Refor-
mation Society. Its principles were those which are con-
tained in the Book of God. They were to be found in
the standards of the various reformed churches. He
felt that some apology was required for their abstinence
from politics, intimately connected as these were and
m st be with religion. They professed not to be a great
national society, but a home missionary society: they
came forward to take up the irregular work which was
rendered necessary by the irregular proceedings of the
Roman Catholics,—to meet and counteract the manifold
and desultory efforts of the emissaries of Rome amongst
the population. For this purpose the absence from poli-
tics had many advantages. He referred to the thirty
years' war in Germany and to the religious wars in France,
as well as to what had taken place in our own country
under Henry, Mary, and Elizabeth, to show the spirit
which religious controversies in connexion with politics
engendered. On this account, unless there was something
of paramount importance forcing them into politics, they
had, he thought, a manifest advantage in keeping away
from them. The religious prejudices in the minds of
Romanists were too strong to make it expedient to add
to them the many prejudices of a political kind which
weighed upon the minds of that class of the population
of this country. He thought this character of the society
I would rather raise it in the estimation of Christians, how-
ever it might lower it in the opinion of worldly men.
Mr. Finch went on to show from the nature of the super-
stitions and delusions of Romanism, the importance of
the work in which the Reformation Society was employed.
The object of the society was two-fold : to warn Protes-
tants against the errors of Romanism, and to endeavour
to win Romanists to the embracing of the truth. There
was no place where this work ought to be carried on upon
a more effective scale than in Liverpool, chiefly on account
of the great numher of Roman Catholics residing in and
passing through the town. Much might be done in this
way to the evangelising of Ireland. The feelings with
which this work should be engaged in were those of hu-
mility, patience, meekness, and forbearance. In addition
to these, there should be a correct knowledge of Protes-
tantism ; in order to obtain which, those who undertook
to act as missionaries in connection with it should get
themselves indoetrined by their respective pastors. The
seminal principle of the Rornish error he believed to be,
that the Church of Rome made a distinction between sins
before and sins after baptism. For the former there was
forgiveness by the merits of Christ al me; against the
latter he was represented as being angry: and here the
intercession of the Virgin and the saints was called in.
On this point Protestants must he clearly informed, or.
they would never succeed against Roman Catholics
(Hear.) Mr. Finch then pointed out the advantages this
country possessed for the encouragement of missionary
enterprises, and the responsibilities arising therefrom ;
and concluded by an urgent exhortation to zeal and per-
severance in the cause.

The Rev. Jorus CUMMING recommended the persons
connected with the press in Liverpool, to whom allusion
had been made, to inform themselves of some of the prin-
ciples of Romanism. He would advise them to read the
encyclical letter of Gregory the XVI, which had been be-
fore the world since 1832 ; by which they would see, that
if Rome bad her way, the thumb-screw would soon be
upon their hands. How did Pope Gregory speak of that
boasted liberty of the press in which these persons gloried
so much ? This was his language. " The never to be
sufficiently execrated and detested liberty of the press."
(Hear and loud cheers.) If those members of the press
of Liverpool, then, really cared for the liberty of the
press, how deply-rooted in their minds ought to be the
sentiment "No peace with Rome! " The Church of
Rome was no less inimical to liberty of conscience than
to the liberty of the press. Of this charge Mr. Cumming I
likewise offered proofs, as well as of its idolatry and
blasphemy, in the worship which it paid to the Virgin
Mary. He believed that until every clergyman followed
the example of their excellent chairman, they would never
succeed in spreading the Gospel throughout old and happy
England. There were some who wished to see the rose
without any thorns, the atmosphere without any storms,
and the millennium coming to-morrow in all its peace and
uninterrupted beauty ; btu thorns are needful to defend
the rose, storms to purify the atmosphere, and there never
would be a millennium of peace until a millennium of
truth and righteouness should have been established over
all the earth. (Applause.) It had been argued as an
apology for Rome, that there were truths in that church.
This was the fact. Thene were truths in Hindooism and
many of the other infidel systems of the day. Satan's
policy, with regard to Rome, was to gild the bill.
The Rev. Mr. M'NEILE here expressed his regret at
being obliged to leave the meeting. The chair was
taken, amid loud applause, by the Rev. Fielding Ould.
Mr. CUMMING then proceeded to remark upon the
various expedients of the Church of Rome to circulate its
influence throughout the world. He confessed that when
he saw men drawing from the wardrobe of Aaron, with a
view of decorating the church, he began to think that
there was something which they wished to conceal. "The
king's daughter was all glorious within," not without,
and her beauty was a moral beauty. He wished the opera-
tive classes to be able to meet the salient points advanced
in support of Popery in a short compass. The readiest
mode of proving the existence of error was to contrast it
with what had been written by the Apostles. The ques-
tion had nothing to do with chronology, out with the
law and the testimony. In one sense, Roman Catholic-
ism was old ; for its members would appear before God
in a robe of their own righteousness, too short and too
narrow to cover them. He believed Cain was the first
Romish priest, and Abel the first Protestant martyr. It
was the height of effrontery for the Church of Rome to
ask where the Protestant Church was before the Refor-
mation, when she knew well that her own persecutions
had been the means of driving it out of almost all coun-
tries. Prior to the period of the Reformation, the Pro-
testant Church was in the cold iron death-grasp of a per-
secuting church ; and it was only when Cranmer, Latimer,
Ridley, and other martyrs rescued it from that grasp, that
it shot up and bloomed into those churches which are at
once the glory, the bulwarks, and the ornaments of all
lands. (Cheers.) The Roman Catholics were building
gingerbread cathedrals at present, thereby showing that
they had given up the claim to the Protestant cathedrals.
He then proceeded to combat the doctrine of infallibility,
and to eulogise the character of the Church of England.
He said, the stones of the latter church were living stones,
her cement living cement, her foundations the rock of
ages, on the top of which there was a glory which was
met by the blending beams of righteousness and truth.
She had not only a true priest, and a true altar, but she
had a true sacrifice also ; whereas the Church of Rome
was the mistress of iniquity, Babylon the great, drunk
with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus.
The points which separated the Churches of England and
Scotland were microscopic, for the articles of the one and
the confession of faith of the other were everlasting as the
attributes of God, enduring and immutable as eternity.
The rev. gentleman sat down amidst great applause, after
which a collection was made.

The CHAIRMAN called upon the meeting to return
thanks by acclamation to the two gentlemen who had
given the meeting such a feast of truth. He hoped the
deputation would soon return again to Liverpool, where
there were Protestants who loved the Reformation and
did not denounce John Knox. He hoped also, that all
who held the head would unite—that there would be unity
at least, if there was not conformity. He contended that
it was the duty of all Protestants to join in such a work
as the present, at such a time as this. Popery was active
in the United Kingdom ; she had her tracts and her sisters
of mercy, or, as he would call them, her pitiful sisters ;
and, at such a time, should Protestants be slothful, because
of the ribaldry of an infidel press? (Loud applause.)
The meeting concluded with the singing of the dox-
ology.