The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-07-22 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1851.

would feel it in their own case to be a horrible sin, such as
none but an Infidel or Devil in human shape would commit, it
would be, as far as the priest's power went, spiritual murder.
It is, therefore, as unlikely as murder. The Catholic priest
would feel it as great a sin to withhold his intention as Mr.
Minton to commit murder.

This I say as far as the priest is concerned ; for if we grant
it actually to have ever taken place as Mr. M. supposes, still
even then after all malevolence could not secure the death of
its victim ; for, in default of the ordinary means, God would
assuredly provide for the person's salvation by conferring the
grace necessary in some extraordinary way.
If Mr. Minton wishes to see more evidently the inconse-
quence of his argument, let him consider the case of a judge
obliged to trust witnesses when their veracity involves the life
or death of the accused. How can a judge decide except he
takes for granted that men of good character will not perjure
themselves ? It is a maxim without which society could not
exist, that every man is presumed to speak the truth unless he
is a notorious liar; and even then he is believed, unless his
interest lies another way.
I may propose to Mr. Minton the following syllogism in an-
swer to his :

Since my cook may mean to poison me.
If, on the one hand, I believe in the honest intention of my
cook, I may be poisoned;
If, on the other hand, I do not believe him, I must starve;
Therefore-1 must either be poisoned or starve.
And now I will only add, in conclusion, that if what I have
said seem to Mr. Minton insufficient to meet the difficulties he
has raised—difficulties to which all human action are neces-
sarily incidental—l must refer him to a celebrated divine of his
own Church, the learned Mr. Hooker, in whose great work on
Ecclesiastical Polity ;book v. cap. Lvi 11, sec. 3,) he will find
these words with reference to the intention of the Minister in
the Sacraments:—

"Furthermore, because definitions are to express but the
most immediate and nearest parts of nature, whereas other
principles farther off, although not specified in defining, are
notwithstanding in nature implied and presupposed, we must
note that inasmuch as sacraments are actions religious and
mystical, which nature they have not, unless they proceed from
a serious meaning, and what every man's private mind is, as
we cannot know, so neither are we bound to examine; there-
fore always in these cases the known intent of the Church
generally doth suffice ; and where the contrary is not manifest,
we may presume that he which outwardly doth the work hath
inwardly the purpose of the Church of God.
. _ _

Hoping you will excuse the length of this letter, I am, sir,
your obedient servant,
AMBROSE ST. JOHN, Priest of the Oratory.

CHESHIRE NEWS.

CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.—The arbitra-
tors appointed to decide the remuneration to be paid to
this company for the conveyance of the mails during the
period antecedent to the completion of the Britannia-
bridge.have recently made their award. it is stated that
Captain Williams, Royal Engineers, the arbitrator on the
part of the Post-office, fixed the amount at £ll,OOO ; but
the umpire, Mr. J. A. Roebuck, M.P., decided the award
at £28,000.

CHILD STEALING.—A man named John Haywood,
from Liverpool, charged with stealing an orphan child
eight years of age, who has been brought up by Luke
Lyons, the noted chimney sweep, in Boughton, has been
committed for trial at the next sessions. Haywood had
seen the child in the town and enticed it away, but Mrs.
Lyons, who, notwithstanding her husband's humble vo-
cation, seems to have been much attached to the orphan,
ascertaining how matters stood, immediately started off
in pursuit of Haywood, and traced him as far as Tarvin,
where he was apprehended with the child in his custody.

SHREWSBURY AND CHES rER RAILWAY.—An ad-
journed meeting of the shareholders of this company was
held on Wednesday, in Chester, for the purpose of con-
firming or rejecting the proposed agreement for amalga-
mation in January, 1856, with the Great Western
Company, and for an interim arrangement with that
company ; Mr. J. Williams in the chair. The agreement
between the company and the Great Western Company
having been read, a long and angry discussion followed, in
the course of which several amendments were proposed,
one of which was that the meeting should be adjourned to
the 16th of August, for the purpose of allowing the share-
holders time to consider the agreement. After a pro-
tracted meeting a poll took place, which resulted in a
majority 10,791 votes in favour of the motion of the chair-
man.