The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-07-08 00:00:00

and the other deserted. (Loud applause.) He would,
however, mention a few facts which had come under his
own knowledge, and which would show the state of France.
He then proceeded to detail to them several very grati-
fying statements, showing the progress of Protestantism
in France, in which whole congregations had left their
priests and become members of the true church, of priests
who bad left the Church of Rome, one of whom had gone
out to Canada to teach Protestantism, and of the fact that
during the past year be bad succeeded in one department
in France of establishing six christian churches. He again
reminded them that France was ready and willing to re-
ceive the Gospel, but ministers w-re wanted, and although
there were young men ready to be educated for the pur-
pose, yet it would take ten years to effect that, and he was
not willing to wait so long. (Hear.) If they did, the
Jesuits would occupy the ground. They wanted young
men now ready to teach the Bible. For £2,006 sterling
two hundred of these could be obtained and supported for
the next year; and be appealed to the people of this
country to supply that sum. (Loud cheers.)
Mons. MERLE D'AunIGNE, upon being introduced
by the venerable chairman, was received with unbounded
applause, which lasted for a considerable period. After a
few opening remarks relative to the difficulty he felt in
speaking the English language, he said he felt he must
begin with an apology for not having been in Liverpool
when many persons had met to receive him. But all our
ways were in the hands of God : the state of his health
had detained him in Scotland, and he was not at this
moment quite well. His cause, however, bad been ably
pleaded before them by an eminent advocate, his rev.
friend Mr. M`Neile (cheers); and as that gentleman was
never known to lose his cause, he hoped the disappoint-
ment had been forgiven. (Hear, and cheers.) In some
measure it had been good be was absent, for from
that circumstance a new demonstration was obtained
of the trust of the Protestant Church not being upon
man, whether bishop, priest, or pope, but upon him
who, to us, was always held to be quite sufficient for all
—that man, that God-man, who said, " Lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world." (Hear.)
The Protestant Church was built upon no bishop,
no minister, and no member; it was built upon Christ
alone, and where Christ was it could not fail. We had
experienced this great truth in Liverpool when we met
upon the 16th June last, no man seeming afraid, for
Jesus Christ was with us. The all-sufficiency of Christ
must be dear to all our hearts. When we witnessed the
dangers of the church in these times we might be afraid
for it. Let corruption, indifference, and infidelity abound.
These were the evils with which the church had always to
contend. But there were dangers to it peculiar to our
own times. Popery was striving to overcome again, and
was outstretching its arms to the ends of the earth. Pa-
pists were in the church drawing away the souls of men
from the Word of God, and from the blood of the Lamb ;
and the state was every year coming nearer and nearer to
the establishment of anti-christian doctrine and anti-
christian power. Many bishops were abandoning the
doctrines of the bible, which were professed by the Cran-
mers and the Latimers of olden days. (Hear, hear.)
There were, however, some striking examples of the ser-
vants of the Lord, but perhaps they were not combined far
enough, and there was not a sufficiently efficacious union
of all. Those who confessed the Lord Jesus Christ,
relied upon the efficacy of his blood. He indeed saw in
this sky of Christ's ministers some stars of the first mag-
nitude; and he wished to see preserved in England this
great army, which should be one in action and in love.
Yes, the state of the church in this point of view was sad
and discouraging, but, as he had before said, " Jesus
Christ is always with us even unto the end of the world."
Much was now being spoken of the real, but incorporeal,
presence of the Lord. We were they who believed the
true real presence of the Lord. (Cheers.) Others might
believe the presence of some meat, some flesh, some bones,
but we believed the real presence of Him who was able
to save. (Hear.) Yes, Jesus Christ was really present
in his church : the Son of man is in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks. (Hear, hear.) We saw his
eyes as a flame of fire : we heard his voice as the
sound of many waters : and when seeing and lamenting
all the dangers of the church we fall at his feet. and he
lays his right band upon us, saying " Fear not : I am the
first and the last ; behold I am alive for evermore.
Amen." (Cheers.) Friends of the Lord—of the present
lord—we were assembled for the interests of the great
battle which was now waging everywhere between Roman.
ism and the Gospel, between the Pope and Jesus Christ.
We desired the evangelization of all Roman Catholic
countries, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
and—lreland—(eers)—and all others. In this wag
we desired to be instrumental, first for the salvation of
souls, and secondly that we might by the Word of God,
pull down the strongholds of Popery and exalt the
knowledge of Christ our Righteousness. And where
was our power ? Our power was in the Word of
God alone. (Hear.) By that Word, by the power
of the Holy Ghost acting by that word, and by bringing
that word everywhere we shall certainly overcome.
(Cheers.) It was true that many, both in Rome and Ox-
ford, said it was not the word of God, but the traditions
of the church that should be observed. What, the tradi-
tions of the church? Well then, the traditions of the
church. There was an apostolical tradition, and from
this source alone came the knowledge of the true christian
faith; but this apostolical tradition was exclusively the
Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. (Cheers.) Pe-
ter' by his vicar, it was said, was teaching the Holy Ca-
tholic Church ; but we said more ; we said Peter, not by
his vicar but by himself, and not Peter only, but Paul,
John, Matthew, and. James, were teaching us. (Loud
cheers.) They still held their functions in the church,
and no body on earth had power or au.hority to
take their place. Yes, the apostles of the Lord Jesus
Christ preached now everywhere the remission of sins and
the conversion to God by the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ ; they forgave sins, they laid the foundations of
the church, they taught by missionaries and preachers—
they did all this by the power of the Lord. And they had
left to the church not a dead word, but a word living and
refreshing, and the influence of the II oly Spirit by whom
these holy men of God spoke as they were moved. (Hear.)
The Papists boasted of having among them the successors
of the successors of the successors—and so on—of Peter ;
—(a laugh)—but we had more than they, for we had
Peter himself—(hear)—and not Peter only, but all
the other founders of the church. But, above them all,
we had the divine head of the church, who died for us, and
who was now living far evermore making intercession for
us at the right hand of God—(hear). He (M. D'Au-
bigne) wished, in the next place, to Flvjgest to his worthy
friends some thoughts which he would also recommend to
the serious consideration of every minister and christian
among us. They had been spoken to about the evangeli-
zation of the continent, and some striking facts had been
reported to them by his dear and reverend friend Mons.
Roussel. Now for the evangelization of Europe, not of
France only but of all the papacy, two things were neces-
sary, first, the liberty of speech, and secondly, the
reality of action. (Hear.) First the door must
be opened, and secondly, we must enter in and
speak. There were many countries upon the Continent
where there was no Bible, and no evangelization, because
the door was shut. This was the case in i part of the
neighbourhood of Geneva, which was under the dominion
of Savoy, and he would rr ',te one or two facts which had
recently occurred there. An English gentleman, a cap-
tain in the royal navy, who had been in his (M. D'Aubigne's)
house, told him the history. He was going with his fa-
mily from Switzerland into the Savoy dominion, and when
he came to the frontier, the custom-house officers found
a Bible among his effects. "We cannot allow that
book to enter here," they said. " But it is my Bible,"
replied the captain—" my on n Bible ; I need it, for I
read it every day." "No sir," responded the officer,,
" you cannot bring that book into this country, we are
very strict to see that no Bibles at all enter here." " What
then shall Ido ?" asked the captain. " You must send it
back," was the answer; and his gallant friend was
obliged to send his Bible back by the coach to Geneva,
where he found it again upon his return. This instance
was a clear proof that into that country the Bible could

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not enter at all. (Hear.) Anotler case was as follows :
A countryman of his, (M. D'Aubigne's) an invalid had
occasion to go to the baths in Savoy for the sake of his
health. He was a Christian, and had some little tracts
in his possession. The maid who took care of his room
found one or two of theselittle tracts lying upon the table.
The maid said to him, " Sir, can I take one of these
with me?" " Yes," he replied, " but bring it me again."
She took the tract away, and shewed it to another person.
By and bye it got to the priest. The poor invalid was
thereupon taken up, and put into prison ; he was brought

before the court, and condemned, for the crime of having
a tract upon his table, to one year's imprisonment. What
was a great trial to him, he was put into the same room
with a murderer ! (Hear, hear.) After having been in
prison for a period of six months, by very great influence
he was freed. Thus this invalid was imprisoned for six
months for having a little tract in his possession! Another
circumstance happened in the neighbourhood of Geneva.
Three miles from the city was a Catholic town belonging
to Savoy. A poor man was hurt there, and he was taken
to the Dispensary at Geneva. The poor man had no
money to pay a physician ; but some of the physicians
there were good Christians, and they lost no occasion to
render useful service to the bodies of their fellow-men,
and to save their souls. They gave to this poor man a
Testament. The man went back to his village, recovered,
and then read his Testament. For that offence he was
taken by the carabini, condemned to the galleys, and
he was now in the galleys in Genoa. (Hear.) Such was
the state of things only three miles from his (M. D'Au-
bign's) own country, and he could assure the meeting that
these statements were true, for he had seen and spoken
to some of the parties. (Hear.) There were many other
countries, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Portugal, which
were shut up in like manner ; and he would ask, so long
as this state of things existed over a great part of the
continent, what could we do with our bibles, our tracts,
our evangelistes, our colporteurs? Absolutely nothing.
(Hear, hear.) Should that state of things always endure ?
Should the great principles of reiigious liberty and of free
inquiry never prevail in the world ? The doors were shut in
many countries, and there were others where they might
be very soon shut. France and Belgium for instance; in
one the government and in the other the jesuits were ad-
verse to the liberty of conscience, and to religious liberty.
Now, religious liberty was the principle which, as Pro-
testants, we must everywhere maintain—civil and religi-
ous liberty all over the whole world. (Loud cheers.)
That, for a long time, had been the motto of this country
—the motto of England, and of her government. (Cheors.)
We must have Bibles, colporteurs, evangelists, and mis-
sionaries, but before all these we must have the liberty of
sending our Bibles, our colporteurs, our evangelists, and
missionaries—(hear). There must be some power with
the special charge of counselling and of obtaining reli-
gious liberty and free enquiry in the whole world. There
must be a watchman to watch everywhere over that pre-
cious right. England had for a long time been the watch-
man, the sentinel of the world. The English government
had for a long time considered it one of its duties to
maintain everywere the rights of conscience and of reli-
gious liberty. England had long been essentially a
Protestant State, and the supporter of free examination all
over the world. But was this so now ? Was the English