The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-12-17 00:00:00

the feel

stnd having briefly referred to the events wl
hin► to call the present meetinz,
Letters were read from Sir Philip Eger ,
Tollemache, Esq., regretting their inability to be present
The latter gentleman said—
" I hope that those who speak will express themselves yen
freely with respect to the Tractarians in nnr Awn ph/IT,I,

ch had led

I look ug
had it nc
and his friends wo
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as the principal

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nost Provi

Mr. PEECY DOVE, manager of the Royal Assurance
Company, moved the first rfsolution, which was to the
effect that the late Papal bull was alike insuitinz to the
crown and people of this country, Mr. Dove referred in
beautiful terms to the two powers between whom the
meeting had tf choose in bestowing their allegiance. On
the one hand they had their beloved Queen, the object of
the national affection, because she was a truly Britisl
Queen ; British by her birth, British by her habit
devotedly attached to I

cause of Protestantism. On the other hand they had
Pope, a weak prince, propped on his tottering throne
French bayonets. After some further remarks and
eloquent anneal to the lovaltv of his hp.rpr. n,

concluded by movinz ti
_ Rev. ANDREW KNOX

Luis country was in opposition to civil and
religious liberty, and which must be kept down with the
strong arm of the law, and that, they would have no
ial Archbishop or Popish hierarchy in England
The rev. doctor here alluded to the manifesto of Cardinal
Wiseman, in which he justifies the recent bull of the Pope
on the ground that the canon law could not be called into
operation by vicars apostolic, and showed from Dr. Wise-

forward to second it with very great pleasure. .
his own desire not to have come forward on the present
occasion, not from any feeling of friendship towards the I Carat
Pope of Rome, or towards the Pope's measures, because
he was enabled to enter his solemn protest against both
him and his measures in the Town-hall there, about a
week before the late melancholy attack upon the police
force took place on the recent occasion.of their attempting
to hold a public meeting on this vitally important qur
Lion; and whilst upon the subject of the disgraceful
which was then made upon the authorities of Birkenle
be could not hut express his horror and indignation th,
when English Protestants met together to enjoy their un
doubted privilege—the exercise of their civil and relie;-
liberty—their proceedings ehould have been so
lously interrupted, and that bad it not been for the time].
assistance of the inhabitants themselves, many peoph
might have been murdered* (Hear. hear.) They bar
been told, indeed, by the Romaniets in Birkenhead, tha
Birkenhead was the only place in England where resist
anco to a public meeting called to appeal against th
insidious encroachments of Rome had been succes
ful, but he (Mr. Knox) was proud to see that
present meeting, held in the most public manner,
open market square of Birkenhead, showed that the IL
tnanists were greatly mistaken, and that the true an,
public spirit of English Protestants animated the hearts oi
the inhabitants. (Tremendous cheers.) At the request
of the committee he had given way, and even consented the middle, and the mod
to take part in the erecting. From the rosition which he I no in'''"
held in Birkenhead, being now one of the oldest inhabi- ''
tants, (as he had resided 23 years amongst them, as the
spiritual head of this township,) it would, perhaps, not be
contended that he was nut of place in coming before
them, to enter, in • common with the multitude he saw
before him, his protest against the insult which had been
offered to the Queen on the throne, as well as to her sub-
jects. (Loud cheers.) They were met that day to con-
tend for that which was clear to every man, hut especially
to Englishmeu—the principles of civil and religious li-
berty. (Vehement cheers.) Thank God, in this country,
both Protestants and Roman Catholics, enjoyed the
blessings of civil and religious liberty, under the sway of
their Protestant Queen. (Hear, hear.) The Pope of
Rome, a foreign prince, had dared to invade our Queen's
dominions with his bull—(" hear," and laughter)—and to
strike from her hands that sceptre which she, in the fear
of God, swayed over people in this country. (Much ap-
plause.) The speaker then proceeded to denounce the.
late acts of the Papal see, and concluded an eloquent ;
speech amidst much cheering.
_, e suojects
The resolution was carried unanimously, with /mama- owe him no allegiance; and if this state of things shall lest
Con, a forest of bands being held up in its favor. for some time, and the sovereign being admonished do not
W. lltooter, Esq., submit himself to the church, his subjects are absolved from
barrister-at-law, (nephew to the
Bishop of Limerick,) all fealty to him." moved the next resolution, which The Pope may dethrone the Emperor for lawful causes.
was to the effect " That this meeting is of opinion that Archbishop Cranmer published a tract entitled " A
such measures should be adopted, in reference to the re- Collection of Tenets extracted from the Canon Law,
cent Popish aggression, as trey secure to her Majesty the showing the extravagant pretensions of the Church of
sole and undisturbed sovereignty in this land, and to the Rome." It is thus spoken of Strype in his first volume
nation the free enjoyment of Protestant independence." of Memorials of Cranmer :
The learned gentleman protested against the Canon Law phis One of the first things wherein be (i.e. Cranmer) showed
of the Church of Rome ; and asked the meeting whether his good service to the church was done in the Parliament, in
they would prefer being pieced under he canon law of the latter end of this year, 1533. When the supremacy came
the 'Church of Rome, or the common law of England. under debate, and the usurped power of the Bishop of Rome
This observation gave rise to an immense shout " for was propounded, then the old collections (from the Canon
England." Law) of the Archbishop did him good service; for the chief,
The Rev. Mr. LUNatE, minister of St. Andrew's Itant:ll oinn 'lli': shoulders.ghole burden, of this weighty cause was
.
Presbyterian Church, seconded the resolution in a speech On the subject of the usurped authority of the Bishop
of great power; and declared that, although a dissenter, of Rome, Cranmer made the following selections, and
and opposed to the establishment of archbishops and gave them with accurate references to the several decretats
bishops, he would be content to take his stand under their in which they are found. They have been frequently
mild and tolerant rule, rather than submit to the tyranni- verified, and cannot be gainsaid. They are reprinted,
cal rule of a Papal power. (Hear, hear.) They had been and may be examined, in the Parker Society's edition of
told that Cardinal Wiseman had disclaimed that the Pope the archbishop's works.
sought any temporal dominion; but he knew how to in- "The see of Rome bail neither spot nor wrinkle in it, nor
terpret the disclaimers of Rome. The Church of Rome cannot err. The Bishop of Rome is not bound by any de-
was not to be judged by what she said in times of tern- crees, but he may compel, as well the clergy as laymen, to
pest, but by what she said in times of calm. (Applause.) regove. his decrees and canon laws. The
.Bishop of Rome hath
cales oir? tryai line jaund g ycitio. dainscdermnatyheasasrotiii
Rome claimed temporal as well as spiritual power. Pius
detl'ilait mwnoaut ansceccojauln
the Fifth excommunicated Queen Elizabeth : should the (acquit) them that the council bath damned t!
but no man bath
present Pope be allowed thus to treat their Queen ? authority to judge him. nor to meddle with anything that he
(Cries of " No, no.") Popery made men bad subjects, bath judged, neither emperor, king, people, nor the clergy;
as well as directly interfered with their duty to the sove- 73Viliotpisonfoitiotamweftne for any man to dispute of his power. The
excommunicaterstate saass emperorse r -
reign. (A voice : " The broken heads the other week depose them from t'iltyei subjectsa 1d lr i talc ems '
prove that.") But he rejoiced at the part taken by the their oath of obedience to them, and so constrain them to
Duke of Norfolk and Lord Beaumont. Those noblemen rebellion. The Emperor is the Bishop of Rome's subject, and
must either break with Rome or England, and he (Mr. the Bishop of Rome may revoke the Emperor's sentences in
Lundie) bad no doubt on which side the breach would be. temporal causes. It belongeth to the Bishop of Rome
after he is elected ; and he
Father Ignatius had said that there were 100,000 Roman- to allow or disallow
t the Emperor
may translate he. empire from one region to another. The
ista in London, and that if Napoleon had had such a force Bishop of Borne is judge in temporal things and }lath two
he would not have hesitated ; and Bishop Gilhurst had swords, spiritual and temporal. The Bishop of Rome may
said ja Edinburgh, " that the time lie trusted was coming give authority to arrest men, and imprison them in manacles
when ttleo British empire would crumble in the dust— and fel' ers. 'The Bishop of Rome may compel princes to re-
(groan)e—eenti when Rome should regain her ancient ceive his legates. It apneertainetth
,Ntodtcliie Bishop of Rome to
supremacy." (Disapprobation.) The rev. gentleman judgei e wtiecial enin'ignh: tAehecakrLt; and
id
decrees of the Bishop then-referred to the late assault on the police as a proof Romey, be of' no force nor strength. All kings. bishops, and
that Popery .exetee„ised temporal power in England, and nobles that allow or suffer the Bishop of Rome's decrees in
contrasted the reggious liberty of this country with the anything to be violate, be accursed. The Bishop of Rome may
tyran,nv pcnetiaed In th 4. Roman States, where the Bible be judged et none but of God only; for although he neither
when totted was inntriAiAly destroyed. He concluded regard his own salvation, nor no man's else, but draw down
eetuidpt Sreat Applause. with himselfinnumerable people by heaps.unto hell.; -yet may
. no mortal man in this world presume ,to reprehe“ Min.

sat the canon law was the basis of the hierar-
ently called into existence by the Pope. The cardinal
" In order to adopt this second and more natural
expedient, one condition was necessary, and that was, the
catholics must have a hierarchy. The canon law is in-
applicable under vicars apostolic." Thus our attention
is fixed by the cardinal upon the canon law—" the real
and complete code of the church." Let this be borne in

chy re

at tack
1

scanda

mind, for you will doubtless•be told thattheCaa ;;;I;iW—isol;-4
solete—acodeof the dark ages, unsuited to modern improve..
ment, and not to be ascribed to Roman Catholics of our
times without extreme prejudice and bigotry. If the peo-
ple believed this it would not be his fault, and by doing
so they would practically falsify the proverb of Solomon
" Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any
bird," for the cardinal had expressly told them that the
Romish Hierarchy had been made with the special
object of introducing the Canon Law, which was not ap-
plicable under Vicars Apostolic. The rev, doctor then
proceeded to say that the canon law, speaking comprehen-
'v, might be divided into three heads,—the ancient,
_ern. With the ancient we have
no immediate concern. The middle commences with
the appearance of Isidore Mercator's collections of canons
in the ninth century. The modern period contains the
canons of the Council of Trent, and the various transac-
tions and concordats between the sovereigns and the see
of Rome. The general character of the middle code or
Canon Law, properly so called, of the Church of Rome,
is thus given and exemplified by Mr. Hallam :

"The superiority of the ecclesiastical over the temporal
power, or at least the absolute independence of the former,
may be considered as a sort of key-note which regu'ates every

latabase 111 lIIC Lanon Law. It is expressly declared that sub-
jects owe no allegiance to an excommunicated sovereign, if,
after admonition, lie is not reconciled to the Church. And the
rubric prefixed to the declaration of Frederick .11.'s deposition
in the Council of Lyons, asserts that 'the Pope may dethrone
the Emperor for lawful causes.'"
Tn confirmation of these statements, the following cita-
tions al e given :
"The laws of kings have not pre-eminence over ecclesiasti-
cal laws, but are subordinate, or subservient, to them."
"Tile statute laws of laymen do not extend to churches, or
• -tical persons, or to their goods to their prejudice."
-ereign remains excommunicated_ hi. el,h!

While a sc