The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-12-15 00:00:00

THE LIVE POOL S;ii.A.NbAttli.

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PROTESTANT. CHURCH, NEWFOUNDLAND

We refer our readers, in the confident hope that we shall
dri so in vain, to an appeal which will be found in another part
of our paper, calling upon the protestants of England tiassist
their pottier brethren in Newfoundland in their efforts to estab-
lish a protestant, or rather a church of England, church in that
colony.
The town of St. Johns contains above 13,000 souls, of whorl)
8,000 are catholics, and the remaining 5,000 are principally
attached to the church of England. The only protestant epis-
copal church in St. John's accommodates abont 800 persons:
the dissenting congregations are estimated at about 1,000; thus
upwards of 3,000 protestants may be said to have no place of
public worship. The question, then, arises—can we suffer these
protestants, principally emigrants, who have, by the force of
circumstances, been compelled to desert the land of their fore-
fathers, to merge into catholicism, or, in other words, sink into
that state of barbarism which bas been so fruitful of crime and
violence in Ireland? While the church of Rome is actively
endeavouring to gain the influence in the new which she has lost
by the exposure of her errors in the old world, it is the bounden
duty of all protestants, duly sensible of the blessings they en-
joy, to be equally dilligent, if not in extending, at least in pre-
serving those blessings to the humblest, holding communion
with them, wherever they may be located.
The holiest, and therefore, in all human probability, the
most lasting, of all ties between the mother country and its dis-
tant colonies is that which is based upon a community of religi-
ous feeling. The absence of this feeling precipitated the separa-
tion between Great Britain and America, and to fhe same cause
may be attributed the revolutionary movements, all but ripened
into open rebellion, in Lower Canada.
This subject, if viewed prospectively, becomes one of infi-
nitely greater importance than it' considered only in reference
to the few thousand inhabitants of St. John's, whose religious
wants we are endeavouring to supply. On these grounds, which
we consider stronger than the actually existing necessity sought
to be relieved, we repeat our confident hope that our protestant
readers will assist in establishing an episcopal protestant church
in the colony o 1 Newfoundland.

MEETING OF ELECTORS OF EXCHANGE WARD.

On Friday evening Thomas Sands, Esq., and G.- B. Irlam,
Esq., two•of the conservative candidates for the office of town
councilmen for Exchange Ward, addressed about 3i.YJ hundred
of the electors of that ward in the large room of the Golden
Lion Inn, 1111 e-street.
J. —. PUTTER, Esq., took the chair, and, in opening the
business of the meeting, said it had been thought desirable that
the candidates who had been proposed on their side should state
their claims on the electors fur their suffrages for the odice of
town councilmen. Two of those gentlemen were then in atten-
dance, Mr. Sands and Mr. Hato. Mr.33ent was unfortunately
detained by a domestic calamity; and he (Mr. Bent) hoped it
would not be considered as any mark of disrespect that lie was
obliged by deputy to declare his strong attachment to the insti-
tutions of his country, and that, if elected, it would be his earn-
est endeavour to do his duty faithfully, firmly, and conscien-
tiously. _ _

THOS. SANDS, Esq., then said—l need hardly state to you.
gentle non, that on an occasion like the present a person situ-
ated as I ant, totally unaccustomed to address public assetuhlies,
must feel considerable embarrassment and difficulty. Difficuk
ty, not because I do not understand the subject that has brought
us together, but because I am not in the habit of communicat-
ing what I know to others through the medium of a speech,
(cheers) and I am free to confess, gentlemen, that I feel a
difficulty in expressing to you brit much 1 feel honoured by your
confidence; and I assure you that I do feel greatly honoured by
that confidence, for I am not one of those who disregard the
good opinions of my fellow-townsmen: that good opinion I
highly value. (Luta cheering.) It is because I highly value
and appreciate it that I have a difficulty in giving expression
to my feelings: (Cheers.) If it were necessary that I should
make a speech to convince you hove much I feel honoured by
the confidence you have placed in me, fear I should find my-
self inadequate to express my sense of obligation to you. (Loud
cheers.) But, gentlemen, I ton not the less disposed on that -
account—l ant not fur that reason to be deterred from making
an attempt, at least, to state to yon some of the views which I
entertain of the subject in question. Some of our friends on
the opposite side seem to think that they only have a perfect
right to think. We claim to ourselves the right of thinking,
and we are willing to concede it to others. (Cheers.) They
seem to think that political feelings, political bias, political sen-
ments, political considerations, (might to be.the test of a man's
eligibility—the test of a man's suitableness to the office, the
high office of town councillor. Gentlemen, Ido not quite agree
with them in that opinion. My decided opinion is, that poli-
tical considerations of a purely party character ought as much
as possible to be dismissed from the minds of the council, (great
cheering,) whilst those affecting the general interests of the •
town ought to be pre-eminent. (Cheers.) I wish-to be clearly
understood on this subject. I say that political feelings of a
purely party character have nothing to do with the town coun-
cil, whilst those local considerations for the improvement of the
town ought to be first and foremost. (Cheers.) For, if the
town council shall adopt such measures as shall promote and
extend the general interests of the town, does it not follow as
a-matter of .course—is it not as dear as that two and two make
four—that every interest in the town will be benefitted eqUally?'
All classes of society—the shoemaker, the tailor, the butcher,
the baker, the block-maker, the ship-builder, the porter
even—all men, from the highest to the lowest, must be
benefitted in alt equal degree. (Loud and continued cheering.)
I, therefore, gentlemen, as I have stated to you in nay address,
am determined ever to support those enlightened principles of
trade and commerce which have raised this town, and many
other towns in England, and which have raised England itself,
to the position which she holds in the scale of civilization.
(Lund cheers.) Well, gentlemen, this I think is the first and
primary consideration. The nest is, to relieve as much as pos-
sible the pressure of local taxation by the utmost possible econo-
my in the expenditure of the corporation funds. (Cheers.) I
wish also to state to yoe, most explicitly and honestly, that 1
ant a decided friend to civil and religious liberty. (Cheers.)
I wish every man to serve God according to the dictates of his
own conscience—(cheers)—provided always that those dictates
and that that conscience are regulated by the sacred scriptures.
(Loud and continued cheering.) We live in an age, gentle-
men—and we ought to be thankful that we do so—we live in an
age when every ratan can worship God under his own vine and
tig-tree, none daring to make him afraid. (Cheers.) Gemle-
men,. having stated to von some of the views which 1 shall ever
feel determined, ever feel disposed to snppoit, I may tom state
to you one or two that I shall feel equally disposed to oppose.
I am a decided enemy to all monopoly ; I think all contracts—
private contracts of course, will be so—but all contracts of a
public nature ought to be thrown open to the fair and legitimate
competition of every tradesman in the town. (Cries of
"Bravo.") And this is a principle I shall ever feel disposed to
support and maintain. 1-loving stated thus much, I will only
say, if I ant so favoured as to be seta to the town council as
your representative, whatever votes I may, give, I will give—
although they 'nay not always meet the approbation of toy con-
stations, they will always have the approbation of lily. own con-
science—l will give them independently. (Loud cheering.)—
Gentlemen, I beg to express my obligation for the very kind
reception you have given ante. (Continued cheering.)
G. B. IRLAM, Esq., then rose and said, geutlemen, my friend
Mr. Sands thought it necessary to apologise to you for any dif-
ficulty he ,oight experience in, fur the first time, addressing a
public meeting ; I shall not make any apology on the occasion,
because I am quite aware that none will oe due to you—that you
will very soon find my inexperience out. It has ever been my
wish to stand well in the good opinions of my fellow-townsmen ;
and I beg to thank you sincerely for the honour which a large
portion of the burgesses in this ward have done me, in declaring
it as their opinion that I am a fit and proper person to represent
their interests in the town council. If that opinion should con-
tinue the same on the 21;th of December, and I should be elected
by a ntajority of electors in this ward, I can only promise you
that you will have my best endeavours to secure your interests.
With regard to politics having been mixed up at all in this quee-
thin; I think it was very unnecessary. That is my own private
opinion. I can only regret, however, that such has been the
case. I can only declare to you what my politics have eser
been—l deClare myself a conservative—(cheers)—l declare my-
self a member of the church of England—(loud cheers)—and I
hope that I ant a member of the church of England without bi-
gotry. I ant a member of the church of England from convic-
tion. It is nay opinion that without such church establishment
we should have rut toleration. An establishment we tonst have;
so far as my own opinions go the church of England is as tole-
rant as any known establishment. Having said thus much, I
can only again repeat any thanks to you for the honour you have
done me by being here this evening to ;Ilford me an opportunity
of thanking you for the good opinion which so large a body of
the electors entertain towards one. (Cheers.)
Air. LLOYD and Mr. PENINGTON afterwards addressed the
assembly.
A vote of thanks was then given to the chairman, and the
meeting separated.