The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-03 00:00:00

CORR hSPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlE,—Will you oblige me by giving insertion to the
accompanying letter in your next paper? The truth-
loving Mercury will doubtless be thankful to you for
such a service in the cause of truth, and it may tend to
neutralise the false witness of those who would " accuse
a servant to his master."

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
CHAS. RITCHIE

Crown-street, 31st January, 1846

TO THE EDIIHR OF THE LIVERPOOL MERCURY

Sir,—My connection with " Crown-street Station"
entitles me to join you in calling on" Veritas" to produce
" reasons fir reliance" on his statements ; and also on
you for the statements themselves ; for although you do
not say what those statements are, yet your manner of
noticing them certainly implies that he had given infor-
mation very discreditable to the " railway servants "
there. So far as the railway works here are concerned, I
challenge him, whoever he may be, to shew that any
one's politics or religion is interfered with ; and unless
" Veritas" shall produce his reasons and real name, I
shall be entitled to say, in the words of " the Prince of
Peace," that it is " because his deeds are evil."
In the meantime, the simple rule, " Do as you would
be done to," ought to have kept you back from giving
publicity to such insinuations. until you were satisfied
that they were well founded. What is said by you about
" Orange parsons" is discreditable to you, and unworthy
of any notice from me, further than that it is inapplicable
to the railway works here. The man that will say that
any Orange parson interferes here, is Mendax, not " Ve-
ritas." Is your correspondent ashamed of his name ?
Possibly he has need : he is the best judge of that. But
I can tell him that I am not ashamec of mine, nor yet
afraid to challenge him from his dark lair. I also beg to
remind certain one-sided religionists, that " the Prince
of Peace" is also " the faithful Witness" r and his sub-
jects and followers may well ask, " What hast thou to do
with peace so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jeze-
bel and her witcbcrafts are so many ?" Peace indeed !
For shame, Mr. Editor ! You talk of peace, and what
the Prince of Peace has done, while you are lending your
helping hand to the " accuser of the brethren," and sow-
ing tares broadcast? You, sir, will one day find that the
" Prince of Peace" is " He that in righteousness doth
judge and make war." Let those who have " the mark
of the beast" then glory in their having " spoken lies in
hypocrisy."
I wish, however, in conclusion, to return to your so-
called " Veritas," and entreat him to uncoil himself from
the brushwood where he has hid himself, that we may
admire his glittering scales and slimy trail. There is no
fear of his breaking my bones : his forte lies rather in
besmearing the grass, and " biting the horses' heels."

CHARLES RITCHIE

Railway Works, Crown-street,
30th January, 1846.

P.S —I could " unfold a tale" of many radical attempts
to get up grievances against me here, by parties whose
great grievance was, that they could find none ; and had I
not been too fond of peace I should long since have ex-
posed their conduct. C. R.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sra.,—From the bottom of Shaw's-brow (except St.
Stephen's) to St. Mary's, Kirkdale, there is not a place
of worship for a member of the Established Church in all
that distance. Of course, Christ Church and St. Bar-
tholomew's are filled well; but except those, and Trinity
and fit. Ann's Churches, there is no other to the right,
and St. Mathew's, in Key-street, and St. Mathias's, in
Love-lane there is no other Protestant church in all that
great portion of this town. Now, as there is an immense
number of inhabitants in the north, and a great propor-
tion of them Protestants, how is it that there is no inte-
rest displayed in obtaining for them church accommoda-
tion. The fact of the matter is, Popery and Poseyism
have got so great and firm a footing with many that other-
wise would befriend the cause, that if some other assist-
ance, do not appear soon, all the population of the north
pa,t of the town will be compelled to go either to St.
Martin's or to St. Anthony's, and those in the west of
this quarter to St. Paul's, or to St. Mary's, in Edmund-
street.

Now, sir, to obviate this, there is a small building dis-
engaged in Scotland-road, called St. Peter's Scottish
Church, cannot this be obtained for Protestant worship,
or can any of your friends point out any plan by which a
church can be obtained in the required neighbourhood ?
If it can be fairly stated how the building is to be ob-
tained, and sufficient encouragement given, there is no
doubt but the end can be accomplished.—Your obedient
servant, J. C.
Livorpoal, 29th January, 1816.

THE MERCURY'S CRITIQUE ON M. MICHE-

LET'S WORK

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—Referring to your polite notice of my last com-
munication, I may observe that it was not my intention
to impute to yourself the authorship of the objections inti-
mated by the writer in the Record. The considerations
involved in such an objection do not, however, bear ex-
clusively or chiefly upon the projected " Evangelical Al-
' liance." They have a higher importance and a wider ap-
plication, in general connexion with the pursuit of reli-
gious controversy, and also with the interchange of Chris-
tian courtesy and regard.
1 should scarcely have troubled you with this note, ex-
cept as it affords me an opportunity of saying a word on
another subject. In the Mercury of this morning, I per-
ceive a critique on Michelet's work, " Priests, omen,
and Families ;" some extracts from the translation of
which have recently appeared in your journal. How is
it, that the Mercury, which so publicly and repeatedly
proclaims its professions of fair dealing with all parties,
should invariably allow its observations on subjects affect-
ing the Romish Church to be dictated by those who are
themselves members of that body? This is as evidently
the case, in the brief but characteristic article on Miche-
let, as in the comment on Itonge's proceedings, which ap-
peared in the same paper a few weeks since. What is
there in the Church of Rome, that renders it needful, in
the opinion of some of our countrymen, for none but her
adherents to be allowed to bear witness, when her autho-
rity or reputation are called in question ? Is there no im-
partiality to be met with, except among such as are inte-
rested in her defence ? and can none be trusted to speak of
her but those whose faculties have been trained by her-
self, and who are accountable to her authority in their
exercise?
Michelet employs high colouring; but his outlines are
as indisputably correct as his statements are vividly im-
pressive. They are confirmed by the observation of liv-
ing men, as well as by the testimony of history. The
naked and appalling facts of priestly profligacy cannot be
veiled by such flimsy disguises as the drapery of mere

words.
Were we, for the sake of argument, to admit that Mi-
chelet and some of his fellow-labourers in the emancipa-
tion of the French mind, are tainted with infidel or ratio-
nalistic principles, what would be the obvious inference,
but that which experience has recorded in the invariable
reaction of an enslaving superstition ? Rome has so ma-
nacled her subjects, that when they attain their liberty
they are unfitted by their training for orderly and healthy
action. The wild waywardness of French scepticism is
like that of some untamed animal, whose early discipline
is imprisonment, whose youthful development a con-
strained obedience, and whose freedom, when attained by
force, is asserted by a violent and fearful retaliation.-
1 am, sir, &c. ANGLICANUS.
West Derby, Jan. 30, 1845.

THE EAST INDIA AND CHINA ASSOCIATION

DUTY ON TEA

A special meeting of this body was held on Thursday,
Charles Turner, Esq., in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN said that no doubt the members felt
great disappointment that Sir R. Peel had not, in his fi-
nancial propositions, at all alluded to tea, the increased
consumption of which would increase the export of ma-
nufactures. The meeting had been called to consider
whether they could induce the minister to re-consider the

question.
Mr. Nicol, said they had already strongly represented
to the treasury the great advantages of a reduction of the
duty on tea, which would greatly increase our exports to
China, and extend the consumption of the article itself;
but their representation had been passed over without no-
tice, and Sir IL Peel had introduced reductions on a num-
ber of paltry things which would do more harm than
good. China had reduced the duty on British manufac-
tures, which did not now exceed five per cent., yet still
the duties were left on the productions of China; lie no-
ticed seven of the items in the proposed new tariff—such
as the reduced duty on French bo As, shoes, and hats,
brandy, and gin, &c., which be thought was impolitic,
He thought the people should be encouraged to drink tea
rather than spirits. The 'whole reductions were paltry
with the exception of that on the corn duty. It was on
national grounds that the association Fought a reduction
of the tea duty : on such grounds Air. Cobden us ged the
abrogation of the cora-laws, but the minister did nothing
in that respect until a quarter of a million was subscribed
to swamp the:county registration ! He (Mr. N.) would
rather that the duties were retained on brandy and tal-
low, and taken off tea. He suggested that they should
call en their representatives to take up the matter, and
that they should communicate with Glasgow, Hull, &c.,
by deputation on the subject.
Mr. RATUBONE did not altogether concur with Mr.
Nicol, and was favourable to all reductions of duty that
might be proposed. They should take ' all they could
get. lie thought it advisable to memorialize Sir R. Peel
as to tea, reminding him of the now admitted principle
that in most articles the lower the duty the higher the
revenue. He thought the reduction on French hats,
shoes, &c., would benefit the poorer classes. The reduc-
tion of the duty oh tea would benefit the West Indies, as
it would increase the consumption of sugar. It would
also increase our trade with China. He suggested a me-
morial to that effect.

WINCH thought the proper course would be to pe-
tition both houses of Parliament. China, by largely re-
ducing the duties on imports, was entitled to a response
at our hands.

Mr. POTTER thought an application for a reduction of
the duty on tea of Bd. would be more successful than the
reduction formerly proposed of Is.
Mr. BRODRIBB showed that the present high rate of
duty -acted as a prohibition to the consumption of the
lower and higher qualities of tea.
After a short conversation, Messrs. Potter. Winch,
Scott, Rawson, Nicol, and Steains were appointed. a com-
mittee to propose a memorial, to appoint a deputation, and
to take the necessary steps to bring the subject before
Parliament.