The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-09-24 00:00:00

CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL SOCIETY.

The Rev. Hugh M'Neile preached a charity sermon,
on Sunday morning, at St. Jude's church, in aid of the
Church of England School Society, upon the merits and
origin of which he enla, ged at some length. He reminded
bis hearers that it was established in consequence of the
municipal authorities of the town having introduced the
Irish system of education into the Corporation schools
and persevered with a continuance of that system, despite
the remonstrances and entreaties of the Protestant portion
of the community. It was, he said, under such circum-
stances that himself and others of the clergy had felt it
their bounden duty to come forward and expose its hol-
lowness and call upon the Christian public to establish
schools in which the unrestricted use of the word of God
should be recognized as the distinguishing characteristic.
Had the Irish system been introduced into seminaries for
the education of the children of the wealthy and influential
interfered,
because of society the clergy would not have
because they considered those classes fully competent to
form a judgment as to the so. t of instruction, temporal and
spiritual, which it was desirable that their offspring should
receive; but, when that system had been introduced into
schools for the education of the children of the poor, it
became the manifest duty of the clergy to put the public
on their guard. The consequence was, that, though they
failed in producing any effect upon the municipal body,
they succeeded in arousing the town to a sense of the
danger, and, as the result, the Church of England School
Society was established. In the outset those schools
were most liberally supported ; but now they were de-
manding efficient aid, He regretted to think that they
were not upheld, at present, with the same generous hard
a' at the outset of their career. Some of the original
subscribers had " fallen asleep ;" their successors had rot
considered it their duty to continue the annual subscrip-
tions; the church subscriptions, which originally amounted
to £550, had, last year, fallen to £250; and, notwith-
standing the expressed wishes of the rectors and committee,
some of the local clergy (why, he knew not, they best
knew themselves) would not, he believed, make any
collections in their churches for the institution in the
present year. In all there were twelve schools in con-
nection with the Society, and the average attendance
was 1,880 children. He earnestly hoped that failure in
the end would not ensue : if it did, it would cover the
original promoters of the scheme with disgrace, as far as
failure could do so. He called upon the Protestant public
of Liverpool to remember, that this institution aas the
banner under which the battle for scriptural education was
fought and won; that this was the Ebenezer they had
set up; that this was the column they had erected; and
that to sustain this banner, to maintain this Ebenezer,
and to repair this column was their bounden, their in-
cumbent duty. The collection, at the close of the ser-
mon, amounted to £53 18s. Charles Kemble, Esq., was
amongst the audience.

THE LITTLE TRANSATLANTIC STEAMER,

" EARL OF ELGIN."

In our paper of the 9th of July last, we furnished some
particulars of the beautiful model and fine machinery of
"The Earl of Elgin," a very sharp and elegant iron
schooner-rigged steamer, of 115 tons burthen—the hull
built by Mr. John Laird, of Birkenhead, and the engines
(of 32-horse power) by our townsmen, Messrs. George
Forrester and Co., for Mr. Thomas Lundie, Oldhall-
street, and his house in Jamaica, (Messrs. Lundie and Co.)
and intended to run from port to port in that colony, with
passengei s. The length of tl a voyage, with so compara-
tively small a vessel, however scientifically constructed,
naturally excited considerable interest amongst nautical
men, and we partook of the anxiety they expressed ; yet
aware of her excellent qualities from personal inspection,
we ventured an opinion at the time, that, (bating some
untoward accident which the largest ships cannot always
escape,) we had no doubt but she would reach her des-
tined haven in safety. It will be gratifying to all inter-
ested in the progress and achievements of steam and also
o sailing navigation to learn that our hopes have been
fully realized. She made a fine run out; steamed for, 8
days only, and sailed the remainder of her passage. She
called at the island of Antigua for supplies, and after-
wards reached Kingston, from that colony, in five days.
Her appearance was hailed with the greatest enthusiasm
by all classes, and the colonial journals (before us) unite
in praises of her beautiful form, admirable engines,and
extraordinary speed acknowledging, ; at the same time,
the literality and enterprise of her owners in furnishing
them with so delightful a mode of conveyance round their
island, and w shing them every possible success in their
enterprise. Several of them quote the whole of our arti-
cle describing her. She had commenced running,
in lieu of another steamer, belonging to the same
parties and requiring to be repaired, between Kings-
ton, Port Henderson, and Port Royal, and had
given the utmost satisfaction. One paper states her
speed to be " eleven (and more) miles an hour," another,
that " she performed the passage from Port Royal to
Kingston,"—a distance, by the five-foot channel, of five
miles—" in twenty-three minutes ;" and another says,
"In these depressed times, when people cannot afford
the old, expensive mode of travelling, or conveying their
persons and luggage from one part of the country to the
other, the facilities afforded for locomotion by a steamer,
making a rapid circuit of the island, are gratifying in the
extreme, and will doubtless benefit many poor invalids
desirous of a cruise, or change of air to recruit their
shattered health." We heartily congratulate the owners,
and also the builders, on this success of " The Earl of
Elgin," and with regard to her safe arrival out—as we
thought much of the voyages of "The Royal William,"
to and from New York, before we had larger vessels on
the station—we may surely say of a craft not a fourth of
her size, " Well done little one!"

DEATH FROM FIGHTING.—On Sunday morning, at
Chelsea, a man named George Benson, a labourer, was
killed in a fight which took place by appointment between
him and a man harried Henry Jones.
We are anxious to call the attention of our readers to a
periodical work, which appears to us to be peculiarly cal-
culated for family reading; in fact, suited to supply a
great desideratum in our periodical literature ;—a work
embodying truly Christian principles; not so abstruse in
its character as to be unintelligible or repulsive to young
readers, yet solid and improving; and, while quite flee
from frivolousness, entertaining and attractive. All
these advantages meet itt " THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER'S
MAGAZINE,"--5 periodical recently established, and of
which Mrs. Milner, the author of several popular works,
is the editor. This excellent magazine needs only to be
known in order to be duly appreciated. The religious
papers which it contains bear the impress of great ability;
no less than of true Christian piety. The papers on familiar
astronomy, of which we rejoice to observe that the series
is not yet completed, are beyond all praise ; and the various
articles on education have each great and peculiar merit.
In short, we are confident that we cannot do a grower
service to all classes of the reading public than by recom-
mending to their attention this admirable and attractive
magazine. No family should be without it.