The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-17 00:00:00

,y►AEIGN AID SOCIETY

lEETING AT CHEST

An interesting and influential meeting
friends of the Foreign Aid Society wz
hall, Chester, on Tuesday last, for the
the objects of th
Bishop of Chester occupied the chai
present the Marquis of Cholmon
M.P., the Rev. Chancel
the Rev. J. Collins, the
Artillery in the garrism
society), and a numerous

be members and

at the

,se of forwardin

bove valu

astitution. The Lord

and there were also

ley, J. Tollemache, Esq.,
s, the Rev. H. M`Neile,

to the

The proceedings pos:

handsome collection

On Friday evening, a public meeting of the Liverpool
friends of the society was held in the Music-hall, Bold-

street. The weather was mos

Ind con sequentl

the attendance was not very large

respectably filled. Among those present we observed the
Rev. Hugh M'Neile, the Rev. R. Burgess, the Rev. F.
Barker, the Rev. W. Currie, of Waterloo, the Rev. Dr.
Tattershall, the Rev. Mr. Hughes, the Rev. Mr. Bromilaw,
of Billinge, Major Thorp, G. Duncan, Esq., J. Middleton,
Esq., &c. &c.

On the motion of the Re

M`Neile was unanimously requested tc
the proceedings having been
of the Divine blessir
The Rev. CHAIR/
inform you briefly concerning the nature

the chair

supplicatior

upon them,
N said—lt n

mes my duty to

society upon whose behal
The object of the Foreign A
fest sympathy with the strt

and objects of that
nbled this evening.
England is to mani-

to the nec
nent of Europe, especially, at pre
zerland. The condition of the Pi
known, generally speaking, in Eni
general idea that the population of _
Catholic as to profession, although di
vidual character, into the super
and the infidel. Unhappily thi
of the great mass of tl
there is a very considera
apply, a number of Prott
hers to a million and a half at tl
the Protestants in Franc

iities, of

ud Swit-

a this d

a round nut

out of the reformation, wa
all the powers of the state
obliged to take refuge in tl
that without exaggeration
scription given by the apos
saints, of whom the world
tote, afflicted, tormented

hunted with

welling-places

a of the earth, so
I to them the de-

I may be

they were desti-

part of the reign of

ation, in the early
carried to a great

of the r

that celebi:ated

monarch, it seemed as if
prived of all Protestants—
bad been exterminated and

bsolutely d.

f the Protes-tants

lot by ar-

gument, but by the edge of:th,
concerning the struggles of the A
that period till the breaking out of the
no sooner had the fury of the revolution ,
Napoleon. Bonaparte come into the ascendant,
passed giving full toleration for Protestant worship, and pre-
scribing the order of the ecclesiastical discipline, under
which the Protestant churches were to be governed. That
law of Buonaparte is still the law of France with regard to
Protestant churches. It was recognised by' the peace in 1815,
and confirmed by the charter in 1830. Their government is
conducted by what they call consistories, with the power ac-
corded by law, of uniting in one synod. A consistory, accord-
ing to the law of Napoleon, is composed of the pastors of a
certain district, assisted with a few laymen, not less than
six in number, and not more than twelve in each
consistory : these laymen were not to he elected by the
pastors or any of the Protestants of the district, but are
absolutely designated by the letter of the law—they are to be
the laymen in that district who pay the largest amount of
annual income tax, so they are, at least six, or any number
between six and twelve, of the richest ► -
These were ex officio

of France from

volution ; but

sed away, and

aw was

en in that district.
sistory. Of such

consistories there 'are at p,
reckoning a few Lutherer:
boundary of the kingdom. :long
ninety consistories of France have n,
pastors. Unfortunately, many of these
of their coadjutors, :lie laymen in tb
not hold Scriptural orthodox doctrines ;
fected with the neology of Germany an
semi-infidel and Socinian views, in opposit.
truth of God. Some of them have been to ,at better; and
of late years an increasing number of the pastors and laymen
comprising these consistories have become christian and or-
thodox men. In proportion as they have themselves been
taught divine truth they have become, as all men so taught
will ever become, anxious that others should learn the same;
and they have formed themselves into societies, called Evan-
gelical Societies, for the purpose of disseminating more
widely among the members of their own consistories, and the
congregations assembling under those pastors, the saving
knowledge of God's revealed will. It is, then, to aid these
societies, these `! Societes Evangeliques," or Evangelical So-
cieties, that this institution has been formed in England.
You must perceive from this brief sketch of the state of
things in the Protestant Church of France, that such societies,
still in a minority and struggling upwards, must needs re-
quire assistance ; they require the countenance of christian
people in other countries ; and being poor, they require not
only christian sympathy, but the genuine produceof christian
sympathy, christian liberality. This briefly explains our
immediate object in this association. Then, if you inquire
about the nature of the church government under which
these people are, I have already said that they are allowed by
law to have their consistories, and to assemble, if they will,
in a general synod. The synod is to be composed of one
pastor and one layman from each consistory, which should be

nety, without

,n the eastern

,fthe Rhine. Ti

t four hundred

onsistories, do

have been af-

d Other infidel and
ion to the revealed

the represent
from which