The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-05-26 00:00:00

p to my shoulder a second time be

THE FOREIGN AID SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of this society was held on Tues-
day, and there was a full attendance on the occasion.

The Marquis of Cholmondeley, who presided, said that
they were met to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the
society, which was foimed to assist in the spread of the
doctrines of the Reformation in foreign countr4es. The
contents of the report, which he had read, had given him
the de, pest satisfaction, and would to the friends and
subsciibers of the society be, he was sure, a source of
unfeigned thankfulness to Almighty God. The noble
marquis concluded by calling on the secretary to read the
report. _ _

The report commenced by congratulating the meeting
on the growing success of the cause of truth on the Con-
tinent, but more particularly in France. It then reviewed
the communications between the society and the following
societies abroad :—The Societe Evangelique of Geneva,
to the funds of which the society has added last year
£620. The Socie:e Evangelique de France, to the foi;.:
of which the society has sent £l,OOO. The Societe Evai:-
gelique of Bordeaux and Lille, to which the society has
contributed £155. The s •cicty also corresponded with
M. Maton, in Belgium ; Dr. Gomez, in Portugal ; and
with several pastors in Germany. The income of the
society amounted to £2,408.

Mr. Colquhoun moved the first resolution, which was
that the report be adopted and printed. Referring to the
progress of Protestant doctrines in France, he said that
the people of that country wanted something more than
the mere ceremonials of the Roman church, if they were
asking for something on which to rest their hearts—.
something more than gorgeous vestments, storied glass,
or gothic aisles. These would not satisfy the inquiring
mind, actuated by an earnest desire for something to sa-
tisfy the affections, to move the inner monitor, and guide
his feelings and conduct—to direct the poor doubtful err-
ing creature of a day to some convictions which might
lead to some truths which might satisfy and console him
in the hour when nature failed, and when taste and fancy
could no longer please. (Cheers.) As he meditated on
these things his mind was carried from them to some
matters referred to in the report, which had just been
read. He heard in the north of France, wbere one of the
societies, in connexion with theirs, laboured, some exam-
ples, which were very simple and striking, of what was
now passing there, and he gave to the meeting an instance
as an illustration. In almost all parts of France there
existed an earnest desire for pastors, and the knowledge
of Gospel truth, and he said, let England, then, contri-
bute of her wealth to uphold the existing Protestant con-
gregations, to proclaim the Divine truth, to make known
in that immense country those great religious principles
which she would best consult her own interest in extend-
ing, and which would form the very firmest bond of union
between the two countries. He could not but look on
the various efforts making in the present day to bring
together two countries, which, like France and England,
ought to be united, as pursued by any means more effec-
tive and satisfactory than those which the society pre-
sented. Let us, then, he said, from the abundance of
truth with which we were favoured—let us, from the
abundance of wealth vvith which England was blessed,
contribute to the necessities and demands of the sister
countries around us, and instead of raising the hostile
standard of England once more on the fields of Cressy
and Poictiers, let it be our glorious task in amity wish
our friends on the other side of the water, where no jea-
lousy would trouble, no harsh suspicions enter, no feel-
ings of French or English glory arise to trouble our happy
concord—let us raise that standard equally for both coun-
tries, round which all might gather, whatever might be
their language—let us raise that standard, not in blond
and crime and mutual distrust and strife, but to stream
life and liberty and truth—the glorious standard of the
living God. (Cheers.)

•
Pr-ofrss, r De La Harpe, from the Societe Evangelique
of Geneva, seconded the motion, and in doing so entered

pects of that society. From its smallness Geneva had no
rivalry to sustain; but if we compared what Geneva had
been enabled to do with its physical magnitude, we should
be constrained to say that something had marked it out
for action and influence in the world. He trusted that
the society there which he represented would yet rise to
an importance and power which its present position could

not lead them to anticipate.
The Count St. George supported the motion at some
I,sngth. detailing the result of his experience as to the

spread of Protestant doctrines in France.
The motion was then put and carried, and the meeting
broke up, after having been addressed by M. Audebez,
from the tiocie,e Evange ique of Paris, Le Pasteur Cad-
hate, from that of Lille ; M. Panchaud, from Brussels ;
the Earl r.f Galloway. and the Rev. B. Noel.