The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-04-15 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

Critchley, Bradley, and his intimate friend, the
watch-finisher, but for one little difficulty which
comes in our way—viz., a slight uncertainty as to
the fact whether the five pounds and interest paid
by the latter to Mr. Parker carne out of his own

peculiar horde or from the stock purse. As Mr.
Brownbill, ho.vever, is evidently a conscientious
individual, no doubt he paid it himself.—No doubt
at all!

Independently of all considerations as to the
policy or impolicy of the government grant to May-
nooh, there are some circumstances connected

with the 7nanner in which that measure has been
introduced and pushed forward, which deserve
serious attention. It cannot he denied that the
proposal has excited, and is exciting, an unprece-
dented amount of hostility throughout the country;
it is known that extensive preparations are on fort

for giving constitutional expression to that hostility;
and, in all probability, a week or two's delay, con-
ceded to enable the public voice to make itself
heard, would suffice to convince the House of Com-
mons of the depth of that feeling which they are
about to outrage. Yet nothing will induce Sir
Robert Peel even to pause in his arbitrary career ;
nothing will induce him to loosen for a moment
the clutch with which he holds and wields at his
despotic will the unhappy slaves of the treasury
benches. He has made up his own mind upon the
measure ; and whether the path to its consumma-
tion be through the mire or over the necks of the
constituencies—through broken pledges or in the
face of an excited and indignant people—they must
follow him or . The blank is not difficult
to fill up.

Where, we ask, is to be found any plea in behalf
of this despotic and tyrannical haste ? Where is
one solitary circumstance to be discovered which
can, even in part, acquit Sir Robert Peel of the
imputation that-he is, in this matter, setting his own
will and his own temporary power against the will
of the great body of the people ? We see no evi-
dence of any loud call for this national endowment
of a faith against which the nation is in an attitude
of protest : there is no strong popular feeling in its
favour to be met with anywhere—no public meet-
ings, no numerously signed petitions. The bulk
of his own party in the house either oppose the
measure or submit to it with a bad grace. Out of
doors it is only acquiesced in by a very small sec-
tion of the Conservative party, or defended, if at
all, upon grounds of pure expediency, or as a sacri-
fice which i to he made to the whim or to the will
of the Premier, in order to preserve to the commu-
nity the benefit of his valuable commercial legisla-
Nowhere do we witness anything like enthu-
siasm in its behalf; and if it meets with a certain
amount of support from the Radical and Popish
party, that support is given in a mocking spirit, or
in the hope that its successful carrying out will
irreparably damage Sir Robert Peel with the Con-
servative body of the people. Well might he reply
to the offers of such support from men whose most
earnest anxiety is to wrest his power out of his
hands,

" Timeo Danaos, et dons ferentes !"

And such must inevitably be the result of success
in carrying this iniquitous and unpopular measure.
We regard it as the certain forerunner of Sir Robert
Peel's downfall as a Conservative statesman and the
leader of a great Conservative party in this country;
and we think we could almost adduce proof suffi-
cient to convince a reasonable man that Sir Robert
himself so regards it, and is preparing himself for
that break-up in the political system and the rela-
tionship of parties which it is calculated to bring
about. He is far too astute an observer of human
nature and human experience to shut his eyes to
the conviction that a second great apostacy, such as
is his introduction of this measure, can never he
forgiven ; and lie must be conscious, too, that the
measures in the same direction as this which he is
known to have in contemplation can never be car-
ried by a thoroughly Conservative ministry. His
coquetting with Lord John Russell, and that amia-
ble nobleman's interference to procure the with-
drawal of Mr. Ward's amendment, are not without
their signification, and proclaim to the world a
much closer assimilation between Conservative and
Whig policy, and a much more loving tone of mind
between Conservative and Whig statesmen towards
each other, than is satisfactory to contemplate. We
may have imagined all along that we were progress-
ing down-hill in our legislation quite fast enough;
but we may depe d upon it, if the country is not
resolute and watchful, we shall shortly he called
upon to go still faster, if not ultimately to be handed
over to the tender mercies of a Peel-Russell slide
into anarchy and confusion.

MEETINGSToPETITIONAGAINSTMAYNOOTH.

The country, as will be seen by our columns and by the
reports in every newspaper which comes into our hands,
is up and alive to its duty upon this question. Yesterday,
in addition to the meeting in our Music-hall, an aggregate
meeting of Protestants of all denominations was held in
Covent-garden Theatre ; and a meeting of the merchantg,
hankers, and traders of London, convened by the Lord
Mayor, took place in the Mansion-house, in pursuance of
a most respectably signed requisition. To-night, an
aggregate meeting of Protestants of all denominations is
to by held in Dr. Raffles' Chapel, Great George-street.
Will ministers pay the same deference to these petitions
that was paid in the withdrawal of their factory education
bill ? We shall see.

THE FUNDS, SATURDAY NIGHT.—The English stock-
market is the shade firmer to-day. Consols, which
opened 984 to 8 for money and the account, closed 984 to
9. Three per Cent. Reduced are quoted 974 to 8 ; New
Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents.. 101 to 4 ; Long Annu-
ities, 118; India Stock 277 to 9; ditto Bonds, 735.
Bank Stock, 210 to 3 ; and Exchequer•bills, 575. to 59s
premium. The foreign-market exhibits very little acti-
vity, indeed altogether business in the Stock Exchange
has been very limited. The closing Quotations are—Aus-
trian, 113 to 115; Belgian, 1004 to 1014; Brazilian, 87 to
88 ; Buenos Ayres, 42 to 43 ; Chilian, 98 to 100; ditto
Deferred, 52 to 54 ; Colombian, 154 to ; Dani'h. 88 to
89; Dutch Two-and•a-Half per Cents., 624 to 633;
Cutch Five per Cents., 994; Mexican, 364 to 4; ditto
Deferred, 164 to 17 ; Portuguese. 644 to 654; Peruvian,
314 to 324; Russian, 1164 to 1174; Spanish Actives, 30
to 8 ; ditto Three per Cents., 404 to 4 ; ditto Deferred,
174 to 18 ; and ditto Passives, 7 to 4.
The last of the course of lectures at St. Andrew's will
be delivered this evening ; the subject being." Upon the
connection between present devotedness and future re-
ward ; or upon the degrees of glory."
ROBBERY OF TEA FROM A WAREHOUSE.—A ware-
houseman employed by Mr. Gilbert Gammell was yes-
terday charged at the police court on suspicion of having
abstracted three chests two half-chests and other quanti-
ties of tea from his employer's warehouse in Matthew-
street,—the value of the whole £7B The evidence was
not, however, conclusive, and he was remanded.
THE SELECT VESTRY.—The following are the mem-
bers of the select vestry who retired from office yester-
day :—Messrs. Briscoe, Clay, Scholefield, Whitby,
Blackburn, Ford, Lea, and James N. Holmes. As yet
we are not aware whether all, or how many, of these
gentlemen will present themselves for re-election. In
any case, however, we trust that the conservative party
will not allow themselves to be overridden entirely by the
radical party. There is no question of close or open
v .stries to perplex and divide them now. The admission
of reporters is alreadyggranted, as will be seen from the
report of yesterday's proceedi, gs, which will be found in
our columns. Perhaps the motion of Mr. Bright will
afford them a specimen of what radicalism would do, if
trice the ratepayers permit it to have dominant influence

without. Pleasant must have been the reflections
of all the parties when, after modestly proceeding
through the back streets to avoid the congrwula-
' Lions of applauding fellow-townsmen, they mct in
their sanctum in Richmond-row to gaze upon each
other's faces, to perform their ablutions, and to cal-
culate the cost, in cash and character, of their un-
successful attempt at persecution.
Most heartily we congratulate them—we had al-
most said we condole with them ; for such excess of
glory achieved must be difficult to bear. If they did
not "command" success—" 'tis not in mortal to do
that"—they did, at least, " deserve it." Their plot
was first-rate ; the plotters beautifully assorted. The
man of gallipots and the man of files and watch-
springs shone forth in beautiful fraternization—a
perfect Orestes and Pylades—whilst the disinterested
and public-spirited prosecutor, Mr. Critchley, made
up a happy companion picture. If the jury could
only have believed the allegations made, Mr. Parker
would have been but a lost town-councillor—" a
shotten herring," as our immortal Sir John has it.
But most of all to be admired is their scrupulous
ticUBLIC FEELING
_ AGAINST TUE ENtD7OnWilebEeNcTonOsi,.
honesty and conscientiousness. All the world be-
lieved, when Mr. Brownbill, the intimate friend of affordingderA2oNaOsOTH:
Dr. Bradley and the finisher of watches, borrowed f petitionsanthin tloikePaarlicaomrernect
national feeling with respectyg to any pol.tical measure,xof the
feeling of opposition to the endowment of Mavnooth ust
Mr. Parker's money and then voted against Mr.
Parker and refused to repay it, that the worthy man be acknowledged to be overwhelming. On Friday even-
iunlg no lessn Commons
121 members presented petitions to the
intended to keep possession of the produce of his
teagainst
35
co tee
eti t
°lto w. rg.n t wtankdi
eo f these
neat performance of the character of Jeremy Did- Mr.ou i dley7reosenns
dler.. No such thing. The money in question was Col. Rolleston 38 ; Mr. Busfieldp 19 ;' Mr. PlumptYrelLo
on Friday last handed back to Mr. Parker, with in- Col. Fox 107, from 2291 teachers of Sunday Schools'.
ar.dSpooner. 22; Sir T. Acland 20; Mr. Wodehouse 17;
terest. Some people thought, too, that the costs of
that entleman's defence would he somewhat diffi- combo lToa.rsrlyr sCoo;iver.s2B: eneilsilendno ;t Mn r.4OT. Dun-
g
cult to get at; but those costs, we are happy to be 1005 petitions from 14 members. The bulkg of the in
nthaelri
informed, are ready to be paid in due course. Where members presented from sto 10 petitions each. To meet
they are to come from—out of whose pockets—we this immense display of opinion Sir Robert Peel presented
cannot say ; but we should have been driven to the one petition from the Remonstrant (Unitarian) Synod of
Ulster,—themselves
and endowed out of the public purse,—
conclusion that they have been exclusively contri-onefrom Joseph Hume, in favour of the measure!
bated by the patriotic parties to the action, Messrs. This is
s" the whisper of a faction" illustrated to the life.

ri the parish

THE LIVERPOOL, ORMSKIRK, AND WIGAN LINES,
AND THE NORTH UNION.—We are informed that the
disinclination of the shareholders in the North Union
Railway to amalgamate with the Liverpool and Man-
upon the terms agreed upon between the two

chestel
board.

is increasing; and that it is in contemplation to
come to some arrangement for an alliance with' the Orms-
kirk and Wigan line, in which the traffic to the North
from Liverpool, Wales, Ireland, &c., will be provided
with a route much more advantageous than the Liverpool
and Manchester company have shown a disposition to
afford it. Such an arrangement would at once protect
the North Union from the possibility of the formation of
any line from this port injurious to their interests, and
give every legitimate accommodation to the districts which
seek for a more direct route to Preston, &c., whilst it
would, in all probability, fall in with the views of the
Board of Trade, and induce them to recal the sentence
of postponement pronounced against the Liverpool and
Ormskirk, when it stood as an independent and partially
competing line with the North Union.

MINISTERS AND MAYNOOTIL-STRENUOUS
OPPOSITION OF THE PROTESTANT OPE-
RATIVES. - ADJOURNED MEETING, AND
GREAT EXCITEMENT.

The Protestant Operative Association of this town held
a glorious meeting last night, at the Nluic-hall, to testify

their opposition to the ministerial proposition for endow-
ing Maynooth. Never was more unanimity exhibited.
The room was crowded in every corner, and hundreds

upon hundreds were obliged t) go away unable to procure
admission. The platform was filled by the committee and
friends of the As,ociation, amongst whom were a number
of cl>rgymen. The chair was taken, at seven o'clock, by
the Rev. HUGH M'NEILE, who is patron of the Asso-
ciation.

The CHAIRMAN commenced the proceedings by saying,
I desire to remind you once more that the first of all our
duties, in all our ways, is to acknowledge GA, and to
confide ;n His promise, that being so acknowledged, He
wil! direct our steps. I call upon the Rev. Mr. Graham
to ask God's blessing upon this meeting. (Hear, hear.)
The Rev. Mr. GRAHAM then offered up a suitable
prayer.

The Cnar RMAN said, this is a meeting of the members
and friends of the Liverpool Operative Protestant Asso-
ciation. (Hear, hear.) If there be any friends of that
association present, who are not yet members, I hope they
will this night enroll themselves (hear) ; and if there be
any persons present who are neither friends nor members,
I hope they will bear in mind that they have not been in-
vited, (hear,) and as they are here without an invitation,
it is reasonable to ear ect from them that they will remain
in modest obscurity without any interruption. (Cheers.)
This association is likely now to become, if properly
managed, one of the mo-t important practical bodies in
this town. (Hear.) We had hoped that her Majesty's
present ministers—deeply indebted, as they are, to Pro-
testant influence, and professing, as they did, considerable
sympathy with the Protestants of this empire--would
themselves have been the defenders of our Protestant insti-
tutions and of those great principles on which those insti-
tutions are based—principles, let me add,upon the strength
and integrity of which the reigning family in this realm
hold the scentre—(lond cheers)—which is strictly and
legally limited to a Protestant succession. (Continued
cheers.) Had her Majesty's Ministers done so, as might
fairly have been expected from the responsible—a Pro-
testant Sovereign—who continues to be a Sovereign only
.while she continues to be a Protestant—(loud cheers)—
such associations as this would not have been required,
because then Protestantism would have been defended at
its legitimate source. (Hear.) But the state of things
is far otherwise ; and, therefore, we are thrown upon the
painful, but indispensable, duty of self-defence. (Hear.)
Protestantism is now in peril in the land, because of the
defection of the rulers of the land. (Hear.) I say we are
driven to the nainful but indispensable duty of self-defence
in this matter; and it is upon this ground that I antici-
pate benefit from such associations as the present. Our
constitutional power is indeed but small, being limited to
the elective franchise and the right of petition. Petitions,
even in overwhelming numbers, and from an acknowledged
majority of the country. are disregarded by a majority of
the house. (Hear.) It is therefore high time for us to try
whether, by a judicious use of the elective franchise, we
cannot manage to cause the majority in the house to be
on the same side with the majority in the country. (Hear,
and cheers.) It is obvious that by a weapon so rarely
used as the elective franchise, nothing can be accom-
plished except through extensive combination. (Hear.)
Under ordinary circumstances, such an amount of com-
bination was scarcely to be expected ; but we have
seen, within the last few days, the Protestant feeling
of the country exhibit such a spontaneous and simul-
taneous movement—with such might—with such en-
ergy and fervour—that we have good reason to hope,
if the rn, asnre against which that manifestation has
taken place—the proposed national adoption and endow-
ment of Roman Catholic doctrines ; —if that, I say, should
take place, we have reason to hope that the combination
in question will arise in such a manner, and use the el. c-
tive franchise with such efficiency as to shew, at last,
we have still a constitutional representative govern-
ment, and not a tyrant oligarchy. (Enthusiastic Cheers.)
It is in this connection that Protestant Associations and
Protestant Operative Associaions may be of invaluable
use, and I am happy to tell you that many are in process
of formation at this time, in different parts of the country.
(Hear, hear.) I have lately letters from various towns in
the kingdom. requesting my assistance in the formation of
such associations. (Cheers.) Is the time indeed then
come for a revival of Protestant zeal, zeal on behalf of
scriptural truth really believed and enjoyed ? If so then
most assured.y, as a consequence, the time is come for a
revival of Protestant canquest. Why, with reason and
scripture on her side, has not Protestantism been trium-
phant ? The reason is because she has not been zealous.
With some few noble exceptions, she has not been zea-
lous. (Hear.) It is zeal that moves men. The right
fervour of Protestantism is religious zeal—call it enthu-
siasm if you will. There must be passion, or men will
not be moved. (Hear, hear.) Men, after all, are much
more moved by their affections and their passions
than by their reason; and no form ofreligion, howeversound
in reason, will operate upon the mass of men if it be divested
of passions. Prote:tantisrn,relying uponthe intrinsic merit
of the truth itself, has net used, with the necessary fervour
and energy, the means needful for propagating the truth
among men, she has not made use of the enthusiasm of the
heart. The right passion of Protestantism is religious
zeal. While she was zealous she was triumphant. I
appeal to history on this point. While protestantism was
really zealous, while she believed what she said, and said it
as if she believed it, she was triumphant. (Cheers.) Luther
touched the spring, and reformed Christianity started
forth like a giant. (Loud cheers.) But all her con-
quests were made at once. (Hear, hear.) It is a
most remarkable fact, she accommplished all that ever
she accomplished in the way of conquest in the very age
after Luther lived. All her conquests were made while
fervour—the fervour of religious passion—was in her heart;
and when she cooled into prude: ce, from that day till now
she has scarcely held her own. (Hear, hear.) Our
own church—our own English Church—has never under-
stood fully, how to use the enthusiasm of her sons.
(Hear, hear, hear.) Instead of acting upon that
deeper philosophy of the human heart which cal-
culates upon the effect prcduced by passion among
men, and thereupon directing and guiding the fer-
vour of even untutored zeal in her service, how has
she treated it ? Alas, she has gravely frowned upon
it ; and, with cold, calm dignity, she has excommu-
nicated it. (Hear hear.) Instead of directing the
warm current into some skilfully constructed channel,
in which it would have given an impulse to genuine or-
thodoxy, she has been content to allow her orthodoxy
to be quiescent; she has dammed up the current uetil,
rising in its might, it has burst from her authority, and
made a schismatic channel for itself, not because schism
was preferred, but because action was morally ine-
vitable, and the church had constructed no arena for that
action. tHear.) Alas, for the consequences! Why—
oh, why, should the Church of England have expected
that all the ardent spirits of all her sons could be cut
down to the Procustes' bed of her mild, calm, classical,
and gentleman-like prudettce ? (Hear.) Why, I ask,
should an edict of outward uniformity, adhered to as
strictly as if it were an essential doctrine of the Gospel,
have thrown into dissent thousands of warm:hearted,
noble, generous men, who, if they had been wsely and
generously treated, would have been the strength instead
of the weakness of the church ? (Cheers.) We have t eaped,
we are reaping, but we have not yet reaped the fullness of
the harvest—the bitter harvest—which was naturally to be
expected from that unwise and unphilosophicat, and—l
scruple not to say it—that most injudicious Act of Uni-
formity. (Cheers.) And now the vast varieties of opi-
nions occasioned by that act are cast in our teeth as a
reason why the Church of England should not be
attended to, and should not be defended. ((tear,
I e Ir.) But, taking matters as they are, looking at
the circumstances of the case as we find them, let us do
our duty. (Loud cheers.) Let us witne, s our good
confession. Let us avail ourselves of our constitutional
privileges and discharge wisely arid seriously the respon-
sibilities connected with them. (Cheers.) I wish to propose
a plan to you, a mode of operation by whichyour duty in this
matter—especially as many of yen as are electors in this
borough,—may be rendered efficient. It is a plan which
may be profitably followed as an example in other places.
(Hear.) But before Idoso I wish to call your attention
to what took place in the House of Commons last F
night

(Hear.) An hon. and learned gentleman, not
content with noticing the arguments which had been
brought forward in Parliament upon this subject, did us

tne honour of presenting our Liverpool meeti
week to the notice of the house. He said,—
.‘ The grant was objected to on ehe score of religious pri
ciple. These arguments were difficult to reply to (hear), and for

of last

the most part he could not understand them. (A They
eluded his understanding altogether. (Laughter.) lie was
told the objection was, that he teach ng at Maynooth was .i

each.ng of er

ing. He bad in his hand a very remarable report of a
speech made at Liverpool. Ile wished to call the attention
of the House to observations made upon the present question
by a Reverend Gentleman at Liver 001. He really telt it
necessary to beg pardon of the House for bringing upon

in all respects so Objectionable, but the manner in which
the reverend gentleman discussed this matter was, in its
way, very striking. He said,—' Was God's word to be pi acti-

caily supreme, or not,' and then he went on to observe that
though no part of the Bible was obscure, certainly not unin-
telligible; yet ther were some pictures of the sacred Scriptures
so characterised by extreme clearness, that no doubt their

meaning was littl,

I do not know whether he read incorrectly, or whether it
was an incorrect report he read from, but certainly what
he is here reported in the Times to have read from my
speech is not what I said. I said that although some
parts of the Bible were obscure, and some parts admitted
of a variety of interpretations, yet the great fundamental
differences between Romanism and Christianity were so
plain, that to deny them was to make the Bible useless.
(Hear, hear.) He proceeded—

"The Bible prohibited the bowing down to graven images, it
.ohibited adultery, it prohibited theft. Then he added that in.

A of endowin

for promoting adultery or theft, so they ought not to endow a
college which inculcated the practice of bowing down to graven
images."

That was my argument. He went on,—

Now he would appeal to hon. members to say, if that was the
manner in which such a question as the present was to be ar•
gued, could he or any member be fairly called upon to meet such
argumonts ? For his part he should nct attempt to do anything
of the sort.

(Laughter.) In one thing I altogether agree with this
hon. and learned gentleman,—that is, that the arguments
in question were difficult to reply to. Neither am I in
the least disposed to doubt the truth of what he added,—
that for the most part be could not understand them. But I
must deny that they are in themselves objectionable in
any serious meaning of that word. And I deny it upon
this ground—that the arguments in question are strictly
scriptural and apostolical. [The reverend gen tleman here