The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-12-03 00:00:00

TOWN EDITION.

LIVERPOOL
PROTESTANT OPERATIVE SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the Protestant Operative Asso-
ciation was held at seven o'clock last evening,in the
Commercial-hall, Gloucester-street, which was filled by
a crowded and attentive auditory. A considerable body
of clergy were present, and many influential laymen; but
the bulk of the meeting. consisted of operatives, their
wives and families, who manifested the greatest interest
throughout the proceedings. Mr. GFORGE JONES was
called to the chair; and tee Divine blessing was suppli-
cated by the Rev. JOSEPH BAYLEE.
The CHAIRMAN having addressed a few introductory
observations to the meeting, expressive of his firm at-
tachment to the principles of Protestantism, the Secre-
tary read the Committee's report of their proceedings
during the year just terminated. This was an elaborate
and well-written production. It commenced by explain-
ing the grounds of the Society's constitution, and the
necessity which existed for its continued operation. Fro-
testantism was in a crisis. The debt which bad pressed
upon the Association for some time was now liquidated ;
and it was contemplated to revive the Trect Committee.
the operations of which had been so efficient two years
ago.—The accounts were next read; horn which it ap-
peared that after discharging every claim there was a
small balance remaining in the hands of the Treasurer.
The Rev. JOSEPH BAYLEE res-, ateidst much applause,
to move the first rest lu ion ; and he commenced by ex-
pressing the pleasure he felt at again meeting the Protestant
operatives of Liverpool. He would much rather attend
such a meeting as this, than one of the higher classes,
who had attended e hen politics were mixed up with
religion, but who had ee-erted them now that they tnet for
religion without polities. All classes of individuals were
necessal t each other; end he was just as well pleased,
nay better pleased, to stand among his i rotestant opera-
tive brethren, than be should he to appear in en assembly
of more wealthy persons ; for he believed he was standing
among Den who were less tainted by the iniquities of the
world, and more ready than many of the others to lay
down their lives for Christ's sake. But they must remem-
ber their strength lay not in money, but in God our Sa-
viour, and that if they wished to be saved it must be by
standing upon their religtous rather than upon their poli-
tical principles. Our battle with Romanism was not upon
political grounds only, but it must be fought upon political
& religious principles ; and, though he wa- not a
he could respect the politician that was a man of religious
principle. Lord Eldon said, the church was joined with
the state not for the purpose of making the church politi-
cal, but for the purpose of making the mete religious; and
if the Protestant operativ. brought relieion into their po-
litics, it was not to n,ake religion pelitcal, but to make
politics religious. (Loud cheers.) The resolution he had
to move was, that the report be aborted, printed, and cir-*
culated, under the direct:on of the committee. We
beard, in these days, many people speaking of popery
being liberalized; that Romanists tow enjoyed religious
freedom. There *were upon the platform some examples
of the religious freedom of popery. Here the reverend
gentleman related the outlines of the cases of Signor
Ciocci and Mr. Day, whose narratives of the persecutions
they have suffered from the popi-h priesthood are before
the public. He (Mr. Baylee' w. s not, however, one of
those who looked with gloomy des; o.e.lency upon the pre-
sent aspect of things ; he regarded it rather as a motive
for energy and activity. We should never expect an
army of eloubtful, wavering, hesitating, trembling sol-
diers, would he able te gain a victory. (Cheers.) Let us
then, in the name of God's truth, do on- duty. (Cheers.)
We had statesman, who were for: ed by the circumstances
of the time. to tamper vet t popery : but let them
do so at their peril : for if thee did God would not
honour their statemanship. It w,s very r ifficult for us
to feel for the position of the Prime Min:ster of the pre-
sent day ; it was easier for us to point out the main point
to remedy. If we remembered that the Prime Minister
was but the representreive of the majority of the people,
in the long run, it was easy to see that the helm of affairs
must go with the majority of the people. Purify the
people, then. (Cheers.) Make the people Protestant.
(Cheers.) Make the majority of the people what they
ought to he—men who do not care who is the Prime Mi-
nister, but who require that he must be a Protestant
Prime Minister. (( beers.) We none of us felt so deeply
as we ought to feel towards Romanists. We should
always draw a distinction between Romanism and Ro-
manists. (Herr, he: r.) I, we desired to bring a Ro-
manist from his error, how were we to do it? By ridi-
cule, unkindness, and needless exposure of his errors ?
Far from it.
A VOICE.---What do you think of the Puseyites ?
(Some confusion, and a cry of " Turn him out.")
Mr. BAYLEE.—No : let 1 i n not be turned out; it was
very good question, and he should be very glad to answer
it. (Cheers ) He thought that a Puseyite was little
worse than a Romanist. (Great cheers, and applause.)
When he resich d as he d'd for four year-, in the west of
Ireland, there were two ttoman Catholic archbishops,
both well kn,,w,, ; one was Dr. Murray, of Dublin, and
the other was De. M' Hale, of Tuatre Dr. M' Hale was
very zealous and vio'ent ; but Dr. Murray spoke soft
things—he could sit at the same table with the Protestant
archbishop to provide an united education for Romanists
and Prote,tan s —and it es .41 to he said they would much
rather have I;r. M`Hale than Dr. Murray. just as we
would mu !h rath -r have a man with a pitchfork over his
shoulder than a man with one under his cloak. (Hear.
hear.) Now he (Mr. Bayles) would much rather have a
Roman Catholic priest in his pat jab than he would a Pu-
seyite, because the puseyite brought Romanism into the
church, but the Roman Catholic brought it only outside
the door. (Great applause- ) tie would rather have Pu-
seyism outside the door any t roe. (Cheers.) In the ra-
dical papers he had himself b -en address el as a Puseyite.
and spoken of as if he was a traitor, be euse he desired
in his own church to teach I is people to love the prayer-
book of the Church of England in all its integrity. He
had never wanted to add one letter to, or to take one
letter from, it; but he eh .uld be glad, as every sound
Protestant in that room mu=t he, to have the service of
the church in its fulness, as laid down in the prayer-book.
(Hear.) Take, for example, the case of last Saturday,
November 30, which was tnarlted in the prayer-book as
St. Andrew's day. Win t did the Bible tell us was St.
Airier w ? A d sc'ple of John the Baptist, who, as soon
as be heard Jesus Christ, immediately followed him ; and
when he found He wag the Saviour, he went and brought
his brother Simon. Now he would put it to every man
present, was it a bed thing for those who had time to
meet together in God's heti zo, to pray, in the week-day,
and to have brought before them what the Scriptures
taught about the holy man of God mentioned on that
day? (Hear.) As a clergyman of the Church of Eng-
land, when he entered.. the church he declared his un-
feigned assent and consent to all that is contained in the
Book of Common Prayer. He wanted no candles at the
Lord's table, no surplice in the pulpit : he was glad to have
a good Protestant gown in the pulpit—the emblem and
mark of the Reformation, for it was then for the first time
that the academic gown was worn in the pulpit. (C' eers.)
He wanted not the innovations of Puseyism ; and, above
all, he wanted nit the doctrines of Puseyism. (Renewed
cheers.) In short, li N answer was that he thought a Pu-
seyite w: s a papist inside the Church, and he would much
rather have a papist out of the Church. (Cheers.) The
rev, gentleman then le Armed his consideration of the cha-
racter of Romanism ; and in the remaining part of his
speech, which was of great length, he showed that Popery
takes the Word of God from the people ; that it sets the
priest between the sinner and his God ; that it enfetters
the mind and elslaves the body ; and that it is dan-
gerous to the soul.
Dr. BETTELHEIM, an Austrian physician, and a con-
verted jew, who is on his way to Palestine for the purpose
of labouring among his brethern of the house of Israel,
seconded the motion in a speech of much length. The
Doctor spoke English' with fluency, and in a very ani-
mated manner he stated his conviction that by defending
Protestantism we were best advancing the great cause of
converting Jews to Christianity

The Re-v. A. InwiNn supported the motion in a most
able speech.

Signor Croce' followed, with a short narrative of the
treatment he had received at Rome, the circumstances of
which have already been published.
The motion was carried.
The Rev. D. JAMES moved "that whilst this meeting
desires to express its gratitude to Almighty God for the
national prosperity which we enjoy under the present
government, is cannot, at the same time but feel alarthed
at the concessions made to the Church of Rome, and the
continuance of the anti-protestant system of education in
Ireland." During the reading of the report *felt the
confirmation of a conv:ction in his own mind that we were
arrived at a crisis in the history of English I's:cite-tan ism.
The persons r‘ho drew IT teat report must have observed
what ,he had ob-erved, frr they had conveyed statements
which had forsome time been itnpressing themselves upon
his thoughts. There had been for several years past a
quiet movement, which might be called an under current,
setting in within the bosom of the Church of England,
within the domain of the Protestantism of our country.
For a time it was unobserved ; but it had acquired strength
in its progress, until it had at last burst into view in dif-
ferent parts of the empire. This movement had been de-
signated by the specious name of " a return to ancient
and Catholic usages ;" and it had borne along with it a
large number of persons high in station and distin-
guished for piety and intellect. whilst it had also carried
with it a host of individuals whose only claim to
public notice rested upon their arroe.ant assumption of
authority as derivable from the sacred office which they
filled. But those who were intell'gent among them, who
had put themselves forward as guides of the movement
and directors of its course, had declared openly that they
could not bring the Church of England to that standard
which properly belonged to a churc of Christ, so long as
the subject of Protestantism was discussed and recom-
mended from the platform to the attention of the masses
of the people. (Cheers.) Protestantism, therefore, had
been denounced by these parties Is a barrier stand ng in
the way of those desirable improvements in the cha-
racter and condition of the Church of England, which
it was the aim of those. parties to attain. (Hear.
hear.) The effect produced by this denunciation had
bad been twofold. In the first place it had produced an
impression on the mind of a great number of the true
friends of the Church of England, that our Protestant'so
had something essentially wrong in it because it was stated
to be antagonistic to the progressive improvement of the
Established ChtPrch of the realm. The other effect had
been upon the class of individuals who still retained their
opinions of Protestantism—that it was the right thing—
that it was Christianity in a pure form and state, but who
had been driven to this conclush n, that it was expedient
to yield to the movement for the present, and no longer
lift up their voices against the encroachments of Popery.
He (Mr. James) was glad to bear Mr. Baylee say he
did not look with anything I.ke despondency at this state
of things ; but it was necessary. ss eing that we were ar-
riving at a crisis in the history of England's Protestantism