The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-10 00:00:00

'-E. M

OPENING OF THE LIVERPOOL COLLEGIATE
INSTITUTION.

The Liverpool Collegiate Institution, in Shaw-street, which

owes its establishment to the desire for the spread of Scrip-
tural education, was opened on Friday. Announcements
had previously been made to the effect that the Right
Lord Stanley, M.P., the Lord Bishop of Chester, the Right
Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., and other distinguished indi-

I,t, lion

viduals, would be present, and that a procession would take
place from the Town-hall to the Institution; and in conse-
quence much public interest was felt to witness the proceed-
ings. The weather, however, which was most unpropitious,
caused some disappointment and inconvenience, but, not-
withstanding, the proceedings suffered no diminution of
interest from the first to the last.

The proceedings of the day commenced by the celebration

of divine service in the parish church of St Nicholas, where
an excellent sermon, appropriate to the occasion, was

preached by the Rev. Jonathan Brooks. The reverend gen-
tleman selected as his text the first and second verses of the

2d chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. " Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
Herod the King, behold there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born King of the
Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to
worship him." The Lord Bishop of Chester, wno was
staying with the Rev. Augustus Campbell, was present du-
ring divine service. After service, the bishop, the rectors,
the churchwardens, and many members of the congregation
proceeded to the Town-hall, where a procession was formed,
headed by the Mayor, to the Institution, in Shaw-street.
About half-past one o'clock the gentlemen who had com-
posed the procession from the Town-hall entered the lecture-
room or theatre of the Institution, and took their places
upon the platform amidst much applause. The Mayor,
Robertson Gladstone, ESII., took the chair. At his right sat
the Lord Bishop of the Diocese; and at his left the Right
Hon. W. E. Gladstone, the Rev. Jonathan Brooks, and the
Rev. W. J. Conybeare (the Principal). Around and behind
were a numerous body of clergy and gentry. In addition to
those we have named we then observed the Rev. Rector
Campbell, Archdeacon Clarke, Rev. Dr. Tattershall, Rev.
Hugh M'Neile, Rev. Fielding Ould. Rev. F. Barker, Rev.
W. Rawson Rev. Dr. Byrth, Rev. T. G. Leigh, Rev. A.

M'Conkey, Rev. John Jones, Rev. Robert Davies, Rev. C.
W. Lawrence, Rev. Wm. Falloon, Rev. J. R. Connor, Rev.
T. Gardner, Old Swan, Rev. A. Knox, Birkenhead, Rev.
J. Cordeaux, of Saint Silas's, Rev. J. H. Stewart, Rev.
Mr. Hornby, Rev. Mr. Brimelow, of Billinge, Rev. Mr.
Carter, Rev. F. Parry, Rev. Dr. Booth, Professor of Mathe-
matics in the Institution. Amongst the laity we noticed
Sir Hoe, 1 Douglas, M.P., J. W. Patten, M.P., Charles
Lawrenc, , Esq., Samuel Stanifortb, Esq., John Shaw Leigh,
Esq., James Aspinall, Esq., George Grant, Esq., I. 0.
Bold, Esq., John Leyland, Esq., R. W. Preston, Esq.,
Charles Horsfall, E,q., Adam Hodgson, Esq., W. Jones,
Esq., James Heyworth, Esq., Richard Dawson, Esq.,
Alderman J. B. Moore ; Councillors David Hodgson, Win.
Thornhill, Joshua Edwards, Thomas Sands, Ebenezer Rae,
Samuel Holme, Thomas Toulmin, Joseph Cooper, James
Proctor, Christopher Bushell, John Kilshaw, Robert Rigby,
John Platt, Richard 1-larbord, Alexander Smith, Esquires.

Before the arrival of the procession the gentleman of the
Phiharmonic Society, who had kindly offered their services,
performed the Jubilee Overture, by Weber, and a variety of
other pieces. As the procession entered a duet was performed
on the organ, and immediately afterwards the following an-
them, by Mozart, was sung :
" Judge me, 0 Lord, according to thy righteousness, and
let them not triumph over me.
" I will give thanks unto thee, 0 Lord, among the people,
and I will sing unto thee among the nations. For the great-
ness of thy mercy reacheth unto the heavens, and thy truth
unto the clouds."

The Rev. A. CAMPBELL, junior rector of Liverpool, then
offered up several appropriate prayers to the Almighty for His
blessing upon the Institution.
The Rev. J. BROOKS, senior rector of Liverpool, then
stepped forward to address the assembly amidst great ap-
plause. The rev. gentleman said, I am happy, my lord, in
this opportunity of congratulating your lordship, for I think
I may do it with it justice, when I reflect upon the kind of
support you have from the very commencement of this un-
dertaking afforded towards it,— (cheering.)—when I re-
member you were kind enough to advocate the cause from
the pulpit, that you took a share in the ceremony of laying
its first foundation stone, and that you have again appeared
here to sanction it upon the present occasion. And, sir, I
congratulate you, ( the Mayor) because I consider you as
officially connected with this institution in holding the office
of one of its vice-presidents ; and I may congratulate the
whole of this large assembly which I see here now collected
together, at the completion of a building, the main object of
which, is, to provide, for the great mass of the population of
this town, a sound religious and scriptural education. (Loud
cheers.) My lord, holding, as your lordship does, the office
of the spiritual head of this diocese, I consider your having
accepted the office of visitor, which gives us the opportunity
of appealing to your advice and assistance in all cases of dif-
ficulty and doubt, as a guarantee that the instruction to be
given within these walls shall be in strict conformity with
the discipline—with the doctrine—with the principles, and
with the formularies of the established church of this coun-
try—that which we sincerely believe to be a pure branch
of the true apostolic church of Christ—and of which
your lordship is one of the appointed national guardians.
(Great cheering.) For these favours thus conferred upon us,
my lord, in the name of the committee I beg to offer you
their sincere and grateful thanks; and I am instructed to
present to you an engraving of this building, which, it is to be
hoped, will not disgrace the public spirit and taste of the town
of Liverpool. (Loud cheers.) It is well known that we had
expected to have seen upon this occasion the noble lord, who
has been kind enough to take the office of our patron.
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not admit of any excuse or denial. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
lam sorry, too—it will be a source of great regret—that ano-
thernoble lord, who holds the office of our present president,
is in such a state of health as to render it quite impossible he
could he with us upon this occasion. (Hear, hear.) We
had then to seek further for some one who would kindly take
upon himself the office of addressing you upon the occasion
of the first opening ; and we naturally went to the list of our
vice-presidents. (Hear.) We were there fortunate enough
to meet with the name of a gentleman whom we thought
eminently qualified. if he would be willing, to perform
the office which Lord Stanley was to have done this
day. To that gentleman, in the presence of that gentle-
man, I feel prevented by that delicacy which I should be
sorry to violate, from doing more than advert to the general
admiration of those endowments and talents which have
placed him in the first rank of British statesmen ;—(Cheers)
—but I do not feel restrained by the same delicacy in point-
ing out to you an additional reason why I think he is peculiarly
fitted to take, in the town of Liverpool, the situation which
he is kind enough to fill this day. (Hear, hear.) I need not
remind you that his father, an eminent merchant of this
town,—(hear, and cheers)—is one of that class of men who,
by the well directed spirit of commercial enterprise, have
raised the town of Liverpool from an insignificant port to the
second commercial city in the British empire. (Loud and
continued cheering.) I need not tell you he is one of those
men who have carried into the remotest corners of the ha-
bitable globe the name of the British merchant, and made it
not only known but respected. (Tremendous cheering.)
That wealth which he has so honourably acquired he has
liberally dispensed ;—(cheers)—and this I mention not in
the way of declamation, for facts speak for themselves.
(Hear, hear, hear.) Witness the noble institution which he
has founded in his own native town of Leith where, in ad-
dition to the provision he has made for suffering humanity,
he has built and endowed a church and a school for the edu-
cation and the instruction of those of his countrymen, who
are of the established religion of that part of the island.
(Cheers.) Witness, too, the noble donation he has made to
that I am sure we should call most important object which is
now going on, the founding; of a Collegiate Institution in
Scotland, for the preparation of the ministry of young men
in the Episcopal Church of Scotland. (Great cheering.)
And, to come nearer home, witness, too, the repeated con-
tributions which he has made, I may say, to all our local
charities ;—the three churches he has built and en-
dowed in this and the neighbouring parish and to
crown all, particularly upon this occasion, I must mention
the donation of £l,OOO which he has given to this build-
ing—(hear, hear, hear, and renewed cheers)—besides a de-
claration of his intention to found a scholarship in connec-
tion with its schools.—(Long-continued cheering.) I think
I have fully shown to you we could not have been more for-
tunate than to have found the son, and such a son, of such a
father, upon the present occasion.—(Great cheering.) With-
out showing the bad taste of detaining you longer, I have
only now to present, in the name of the committee, their
most cordial and grateful thanks to Mr. Gladstone for the
promptitude with which he has kindly come forward in our
day of need—(hear, hear)—and beg also he will accept an
engraving of this institution, which has been prepared for
him.—(Cheers.) I shall therefore conclude by introducing
to you. on this occasion, the Right Honourable William
Ewart Gladstone, as a worthy substitute for the noble lord
who was to have addressed you. (The venerable Rector
then retired to his seat amidst prolonged cheering from all
parts of the building.)
The Right Honourable WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE,
M.P., then stepped forward, and his appearance was the
signal for most enthusiastic plaudits. Silence having been
restored, the right honourable gentleman addressed the as-
sembly nearly as follows : _

My Lord Bishop, Mr. Mayor, and Gentlemen,—You will
allow me to commence the remarks I am about to address
to you by re-echoing, with unfeigned sincerity, those expres-
sions of regret in which your respected Rector has indulged
himself with regard to the absence of that distinguished per-
son whom you regard nut less for his private virtues than for
his public eminence, and in whom the appreciation of his
personal qualities is heightened among you by the fact of his
descent from an illustrious ancestry, long and intimately
connected with your community.—(Loud cheers.) My Lord
and Gentlemen,—lf there is a person who beyond all others
has a right to feel keenly disappointed at the absence of my
Lord Stanley, that individual is the person who now ad-
dresses you, and upon whom it has devolved, most feebly
and most inadequately, to endeavour to supply the deficiency
which is occasioned by his absence.—(Loud cheers.) I
plead, gentlemen, for your indulgence, upon the footing that
I am indeed deeply sensible of my inability to give adequate
expression to the feelings which, upon this remarkable and
signal occasion, animate, I am quite certain, every breast
within this vast assemblage. I plead for your favour now,
and I trust, in what I have to say, I shall endeavour to ex-
press that which, I am quite certain, comes home to the
conviction, and deeply interests the feelings, of every person
whom I now see before me, and of the great body of the in-
habitants of the town of Liverpool.—(Cheers.) I cannot,
indeed, take to myself any part of that eulogium which your
reverend rector might, in his indulgence, have been disposed to
pass; but I do feel there are grounds upon which it must be,
and upon which it ever must be, a matter of the highest
satisfaction to me to discharge any public duty in connection
with the town of Liverpool.—(Cheers.) I have not yet for-
gotten, and I trust I never shall forget, that I am myself a
native of a town distinguished as is the town of Liverpool by
everything that can ennoble a commercial community. aye,
and by everything that can ennoble a Christian community
—(cheers) ; and I do trust that I may be allowed to feel a
sentiment differing far from that of personal vanity—a senti-
ment of satisfaction, in reflecting that I have a favourable
introduction to your notice in the name of my father.—
(Loud and long-continued cheering.) I feel that in opening
an institution intended mainly for the benefit of the middle
classes of society—(cheers)—l, who am myself sprung from
that middle class,—l, who with my family, still claim to be-
long to that middle class,—that we may be expected and
presumed to entertain some sympathy with the principal ob-
ject of this beneficent institution ;7-that we may desire to
open the way and smooth the way for those who may be in-
clined to venture upon the path of honourable advancement.
Upon this account, if not by personal qualification, I may
at least with sincerity, and at least with earnestness, address
you upon the occasion which has assembled you together.—
(Loud cheers.) Permit me also to say, that I hold an office
which has made ma acquainted, in some degree, with the

extraordinary depression of the commercial circumstances of
the country, and that I have some means of appreciating the
extent of pressure which must have been experienced in the
town of Liverpool during the very few years that have elapsed
since first this project was announced ; and I can, there-
fore, appreciate the energy and the public spirit, the muni-
ficence, and, above all, t!:e earnestness of Christian prin-
ciple which has secured fr. this institnt inn au I.IIT P. a l!f, a mar of

support—support, 1 pul quite ee:lain, in many i

given without self-sacrifice. Even amidst thatgreat depression
it hasheen shewn that the p, ople of Liverpool are always ready,
be their circumstances what they 'nay, to contribute nut of that
which, through the goodness of God, they have received at
His hands—no small portion for Luis honour and His glory.
(Loud and continued cheering.) Allow me, my Lord
Bishop, to say that there is no class of men who ought at
least to entertain a livelier interest in the progress of all
schemes connected with public education than that class
which is connected with political office. (Cheers.) What is
the condition of the institutions of this country ? I shall
only speak of facts not open to dispute. Thank God we are
here removed from the arena of party discussion ; but it is
admitted upon all hands, it is boasted by some, it is received
with satisfaction by others, it is denied by none, that we have
arrived at a stage in the progress of society in which you
must give a broad basis to public institutions—in which you
must interest in them, and in which you must challenge for
them the approbation and support of the mass of the intelli-
gent community. (Loud cheers.) We live under a mon-
archy—we live under an aristocracy, we live in daily enjoy-
ment of the blessings of the national church—but how are
these institutions supported ? The church does not stand
upon the footing of superstition ; the monarchy and the
peerage are not supported by violence—(cheers)—it is not
the bayonet of the soldier which is the guarantee of the per-
manence of our institutions. (Loud cheers.) True it is,
indeed, that prescription is a principle of weight and value in
civil affairs; true it is that Englishmen are distinguished
among the nations of the earth, not only by an indomitable
energy, but likewise by a dislike to idle and unnecessary
change, and by a reverence for th?, traditions of their fore-
fathers. (Loud cheers.) All these things have hitherto
been proved ; and I trust we have not yet arrived at the
period when they can be denied to exist. (Loud cheers.)
But it is also true that the constitution of this country calls
upon the people for their free and their intelligent support;
it is also true that extensive franchises are committed to nu-
merous classes of the population ; it is also true that without
the intelligent assent and attachment of those numerous
classes to whom I advert, the institutions of the country
could not be supported. (Tremendous cheering.) Those,
therefore, who in their sphere—be it more or less extensive,
and I, as one of the least amongst them—those who are ap-
pointed to watch over the laws and institutions of the coun-
try, they know (at least they ought to know—the best of all
men) that inasmuch as we look to the great mass of the in-
telligent community for the means of upholding our institu-
tutions, of supporting the throne, and the aristocracy,
of supporting the church, of supporting all which some
men deem to be relics of the dark ages, but which,
we believe to be sound in their principles, and ought
to be deeply rooted in the affections of the people : public
men, I say, ought, of all others, to know best how important
it must be so to train the minds of th'e population in sound
and useful knowledge, in that knowledge which will really bear
the criterion of a searching examination, and not in that
which, unfortunately, too often passes by the name of sound
and useful knowledge without pretension to the substance.—
(Cheers.) We must know how important it is by the com-
munication of that knowledge, by the formation of right
habits of mind, to secure a still larger support, a still warmer
attachment, a still more intelligent assent, upon the part of
the population, to the institutions which we love and revere ;
and it is, therefore, acting upon that conviction that, so far
from desiring to see education restricted in the country, I
wish that every year which passes over our heads may, upon
the contrary, witness its freer and still further extension ;
—(loud and continued cheers)—and in every establishment
which, like this establishment, professes to form the character
of the people according to the true and real purpose of our
being, I, for my part, see, upon the one hand, a great instru-
ment of spiritual good, and, upon the other hand, a new
guarantee for the permanence of our political institutions.—
(Vehement cheers.) Allow me to say, in considering this
institution as an institution intended for the benefit of the
middle classes of society, I cannot help feeling, as you have
indeed already been told, that those who have conceived the
idea of such a design have applied themselves to the supply
of a deficiency which was great and glaring among us.—(Pro-
tracted cheering.) I cannot but feel that, however, it may
be a current opinion in the world, that advancement in the
world is in the nature of an advantage,and that the rich man
is happier than the poor man ; that yet, when we look se-
riously into these matters, and bring them before the tribunal
of conscience, it cannot be denied that the rich man himself,
and every man, in proportion as his desires are multiplied,
in proportion as his faculties are cultivated, has not less need,
but more, indeed, of the sanctifying influence of religion ;
—(loud and continued cheering)—that he who knows little,
he who is poor, he who is called ignorant, does, indeed, stand
in great need of education ; but he who is not poor,—he, the
range of whose desires is enlarged, the number of whose
temptations are multiplied, whose intellect is cultivated, who
has much more scope given him for vanity and undue pre-
sumption before God,—l say, so far from having less need
of education, those who belong to that superior class
have more need of education, in order to enable them
to comprehend their position as Christians, and to live in the
faith and fear of God.—(Loud cheering.) There is also this
difference between members of the middle class and members
of the lower class. The members of the lower classes of society,
as we all know, in many instances, when education is for the
first time offered to them, exhibit a comparative indifference
to the reception of it. To them the need of it is not imme-
diate and palpable. They pursue their daily purposes, Ido
not say equally well without education, but still education is
not to them a necessary in order to enable them to labour
with their hands. But when we look at the middle class, to
those who are carrying on the commercial undertakings of a
great town like this, we see plainly an education there must
be. The very nature of their calling probably requires one.
They are certain to have it ; they must have it either good or
bad ; and it is for us to consider what kind of education ought
to be provided for them, or whether they ought to be left to
the temptation of availing themselves of that more flattering
education which seems indeed to involve less difficulty, which
seems to provide equally well for both parties, but which we
believe to be deficient in all those essential requisites whereby
alone education is rendered valuable. (Cheers.) Those for
whom you arc now providing are those who must be educated ;
and it is for you to labour that that education should
be a good one. (Loud cheers.) And not only the claims, but
surely also the time at which this institution is founded, ren-
ders it valuable. Do we not live in an age when everything is
made thesubject of question and doubt? We live in an age when
men's minds are stimulated into an activity which is salutary,
no doubt, in many respects, but which manifestly requires
the support and the guidance both of sound Christian prin-
ciples and of enlarged and accurate habits of thought. (Hear.)
It is the critical period in the history of nations when men
begin to question themselves respecting everything around
them, when doubts are suggested before the means of solving
those doubts are at hand, when there is a great disposition to
question the merits of this and of that institution ; and when
there is not in an equal degree the power to effect a steady
and personal examination into all the points and bearings of
the case upon which the merits of such an institution may
really depend. (Cheers.) This age is manifestly an age of
criticism, and in that sense of scepticism. Do we hold it is
desirable to cheek the spirit of inquiry ? No such thing. I
am sure there is no one here, and I believe there is no one
without these walls, any more than within them, who would
wish to maintain such a doctrine. (Cheers.) It is a certain
state of the human mind which belongs to our condition and
to our circumstances, it comes upon us as a dispensation of
Providence, that all things should be subject to discussion.
Let that discussion by all means be continued ; but let it be
fair and full, and let us approach it not under the influ-
ence of idle curiosity and morbid prejudice—not under the in-
fluence of personal and partial feelings, but with all those
" aids and appliances" of sound knowledge and of right
thought ; and above all, with all that reliance upon a higher
power which Christianity alone can give. (Loud cheers.)
With these advantages, let us meet discussion, and we need
not fear for its issue. (Long-continued cheers.) But I have
not yet touched, or I have as yet hardly touched, upon that
which constitutes the centre of the interest which is felt in
this great community with regard to the celebration of this
day. I have scarcely touched upon that which really and
fundamentally distinguishes this institution ' • and, my lord
bishop, you must allow me to say, I feel the difficulty of
tcuching upon such a topic when I consider my own position
and the character 1 bear, and when I reflect that I am stand-
ing in the presence of the spiritual fathers and teachers of the
church, and that upon a former occasion—fresh, I doubt
not, in the memory of those who hear me—your lordship
was pleased to make this institution the subject of a discourse
from the pulpit; and the rector of the town did also deliver,
with a clearness and ability not easily to be surpassed, his
views of the principles upon which this institution was to be
founded ; and now it remains to me (for I feel that I can do
no more) feebly to reproduce and reiterate some part of the
expression of those principles which were then laid before
you. (Loud cheers.) But still, my lord, in the discharge
of this duty, I ask what is it we are now assembled to cele-
brate? It is not the magnificent scale of this institution—
it is not the beauty of its architecture, to which my reverend
friend has paid a deserved compliment—it is not even the
high authority under which we meet—but it is the deep con-
viction in the mind of every one of us, that the existence of
this institution is a living and a permanent testimony to a
great and indestructible principle—namely, to the principle
that education, if it is to be effectual, if it is to be valuable,
if it is to be deserving of the name, must be a religious edu-
cation—(great and continuous cheering) ;—and that, in order
to deserve the name of a religious education, it must be
founded—not upon those vague generalities which are sup-
posed to be common to all men, or at least to all men who
assume the name of Christians—but upon the definite reve-
lation which it has pleased Gon to give, and whereby each
man among us must hope to stand or fall. (Cheers.) This, I
say, gives a higher interest to our proceedings than any assem-
bly of merely temporal and secular circumstance, than any
amountof earthly patronage, than any vague and idle curiosity
could, by possibility, have communicated to such an occasion
as the present. (Cheers.) Here we come upon that great ques-
tion—upon nt i
us
i pn ot
enndtheadt
toq vindicate
u e t ion of
for questions—whatitself thatti
is
like man, with his faculties, his hopes, his temptations, and
_anforeducation
a being
his dangers ? (Tremendous cheers.) There are two systems
which are irreconcileably divided, and we are the ad-
herents of one of them. We do not come here to dispa-
rage the efforts of those who think differently from ourselves
upon the nature of education, upon the subject matter which
it ought to embrace, and upon the ends to which it should be
directed. We are ready, I trust, to do justice to their bene-
volence and their zeal ; we are ready to acknowledge, in many
cases, that we may take a lesson from that zeal, and that men
of sounder views may profit in practice by the example of
persons who, though they possess less light, yet seem to male
dc
a more earnest and sincere use of that light which they o
possess. (Cheers.) With all respect, then, for the persons
and motives of those who may think otherwise upon this vi-.
tal matter of education, still we feel there are two systems'
which are irreconcilably and eternally divided.—(Cheers.)
There are those who think—and I admit the opinion to be a
plausible opinion, which seems, at all events, at first sight,
to have much that is capable of being alleged in its favour—
that the great object, the first object of education, is to give
to man such information as shall serve the purpose of his
temporal advancement, as shall enable him to pursue, with
t
efficiency and success, the calling to which he may, be about
devote himself. And if they have that view of the nature
of education—if they really believe that it is the nature of
education only to put tools into the hands of man, which
tools he may employ to shape and fashion all the materials of
the earth afresh as he pleases, if they hold such a belief, the
natural consequence is, they cannot see or recognise the
necessity of founding education upon a definite basis of reli-
gion. (Cheers.) They see we are unhappily perplexed by
religious divisions, that we labour under the sore evils with
which religious divisions are attended, and they are led to
say, " Let us cut this knot ; let us avoid all these difficul-
ties, let us found our public education upon the communica-
tion of the description of knowledge about the utility of which
there is no doubt whatever, and let us leave religion, and all
other things upon which we cannot agree, to be dealt with by
each man according to his own pleasure." I hope that is
not an unfair representation of the view which unhappily pre-
vails, which I admit to be a plausible view of this great
and important subject, and which I believe to he the view
which many men are led to take, I am bound to say, under
the influence of a most unfortunate delusion, but still from
motives which we are bound to avow as by no means, in all
cases, implying an indifference upon the part of the individual
to the importance and value of religion itself. (Loud cheers.)
But still that is the doctrine which prevails. Upon that foun-
dation many institutions have been built the present age has
been witness to many great efforts of that description.
(Loud cheers.) The opposite doctrine is a very, very dif-
ferent one. The opposite doctrine, as I apprehend, is

this—that although it be important to supply every man
with the means of the honourable and successful pursuit of his
earthly calling, yet there is something which is far more
important still; that the great purpose of education, the first
and paramount purpose of education, is not so much to

supply a man with the tools and instruments whereby he may
fashion all things to his pleasure, but it is to fashion and to
mould man himself. (Vehement cheering.) It is so to
sit upon end form his mind; it is so to develop his facul-
ties ; it is so to cherish the imperishable seed of life eternal,
that he may be conscious of the true law of his condition,
and that lie may not bound his views to temporary and
perishing objects : but that, recognising that which was the
state of his first parents before their fall, he may likewise
recognise the great and the absorbing truth, that to recover
that state is the great end of his being upon earth. (Loud
and tremendous cheering.) But, as union with God was the
law of his original nature, so reunion with God is the great
purpose for which he is now placed upon earth ; and to
which not the Christian religion alone, but likewise the whole
experience of life, all that befalls him in it, his domestic
position, his social position, whatever is his, whatever is

around him, it is one great discipline, devised by a divine wis-
dom for the purpose of contributing to the accomplishment
of that great work, the renovation of the nature of God in a
race that was fallen away. (Loud cheers.) Now, this is really
the fundamental question—whether education is a system for
giving to a man the means of pursuing his temporal calling,
or whether, without excluding that purpose, it is likewise a
system for operating upon the mind and character of man
himself. (Loud cheers.) If it be the first, then it is easy to
understand why, in a country which labours under religious
divisions, we should not seek to encumber our education, as
it were, by making religion essentially a part of it ; but if
it be, upon the contrary, so far from being true that such is
the case, that it is one of the subtlest and most mischievous
delusions that ever went forth for the ruin of man, then, upon
the other hand, it is surely equally true that religion must he
included in the matter of education. (Loud cheers.) And
not only that religion must be included as one among the
many, not only as constituting one item in the long catalogue
of accomplishments, but it must be really the pervading
principle, the principle to which all others are to be subordi-
nated, and with regard to which both the foundation of the
institution is to be regulated, and all its ends are to be
adjusted and arranged. (Loud and tremendous cheering.)
That I believe to be the principle upon which those have cor-
dially agreed, who have joined together in the foundation of
this institution. (Cheers.) In this institution I trust we
shall see, under the faithful care, and under the able su-
perintendence of the reverend gentleman who has been
chosen to preside over it, and who will, I trust, shortly
oblige this meeting by explaining to them the nature of the
course which it is his intention to pursue ; in this institution
I trust we shall see communicated to the rising generation—
(l speak of the rising generation, because Iknow that although,
in its comprehensive range, it will embrace persons of other
classes besides the middle class—it will embrace, to a cer-
tain extent, adults as well as youth—yet its leading character
will be, that it will communicate it to the rising generation)
—what has been described in the rules of the institution,
" sound religion in connection with useful learning." We
do not, because we maintain the necessity and the sove-
reignty of sound religious teaching, disparage that of
useful learning. (Loud cheering.) We are ready, I trust,
to concede that useful learning which bears upon the pursuits
of man's calling, and upon the obtaining of his daily bread—
that that kind of learning will also be best, and most ef-
fectually communicated and received when it is joined to
sound religion. But the connexion between the two is that
which this institution is designed to recommend ; and as far
as this town and community are concerned, it is designed also
to perpetuate. We think we have ample ground for our con-
victions upon the subject of education. We think that it
should correspond with the laws of man's nature, and with
his state upon earth. We think when you wish to ascertain
from the most authentic source what is the fitting culture for
a being constituted like man, you must draw that informa-
tion and the reply to that question, not from any vague
theory or speculation, but from a consideration of the ex-
perimental effects of the nature of man himself, and of the
condition in which it has pleased God to place him. If we
go to Scripture, we are assured that his natural life upon
earth is a life that perishes like the grass—that it " flourishes
in the morning, and in the evening it is gone." If such be
the case, is it not natural and incumbent upon us that we
should direct our attention to that imperishable life which
lies beyond the grave; that we should not pretend we are
educating a man when, in point of fact, our efforts only have
reference to this earthly state, which is the state of his in-
fancy, and has no reference to that future state, which is the
state of his manhood and full development ? (Loud cheering.)
If, again, we look to the institutions of our religion, do we
not find that all our children are already in covenant with
God; that they are already dedicated to Him by baptism,
and afier they have been so dedicated, after the very first days
or weeks of infancy have been stamped with His seal and
signed with His cross, it is to be supposed that when their
faculties begin to expand, they are to be trained up
without the knowledge of the life, giving truths of reve-
lation ? If we look to the nature of mind itself, if
we consider its range, how little it is satisfied with
the objects that man has upon earth; how many marks
this dispensation bears of being temporary, and as it were a
transitory dispensation, it is not monstrous to confine our-
selves to certain purposes, which, however valuable in their
place, yet are purposes bearing only upon earthly things and
earthly objects? (Loud cheers.) Is it not paltering and
playing with the subject? Is it not giving stones to those
who ask for bread, if we give that as education to man which
has no reference to his higher faculties and estate, but is
exclusiyely conversant with objects which must perish in the
use? (Cheers.) We are now speaking of the education of
the young, and it involves the whole question, for this reason,
that in youth it is, according to the usual operation of God's
laws, that the character receives its stamp and its formation.
In youth it is that the principles are ordinarily implanted
which determine the ultimate condition, whether for weal or
whether for woe, of man's advanced life. Therefore, in ap-
plying a discipline in youth, it does seem, if we attend to
Scripture,—if we attend to the testimony of the Christian
institution, and to the instruction which the nature of man
himself is calculated to impart to us,—we must return with
more and more sure and fixed convictions to the assertion
of that principle whereupon we stand in this place, namely,
that education to be valuable, and to deserve the name, must
be religious education, and to be religious it must be founded
upon the definite revelation of God. (Loud cheers.) But
after all, is not the whole of our life an education ? Is not
this world itself an apparatus of instruments provided for
acting and operating upon the character of man, and prepar-
ing him for a higher estate? Is it not true that those instru-
ments are themselves all destined to be consumed even as a
vesture when they have done their work ? In the soul of
men, is their end and object. Upon that they are intended
to operate ; arid, according to their, influence upon that, they
will be valuable and beneficial, or they will be worthless and
pernicious. To that, therefore, we must direct our efforts ;
upon that we must seek to operate : and in seeking to oper-
ate upon it, we must employ an instrumentality, not such as
our own means or fancy
may suggest, but we must employ
the instrumentality of all the sound and valuable knowledge
which the experience of ages, and the labours of human
thought for ages, have accumulated in all the departments of
secular enquiry; and we must employ that which is higher
than all—that faith which has stood the test of eighteen
hundred years, and which we know will stand the test of all
future perils and all future storms, until at length it gives
place to the vision and fruition of that which it now only
embodies to our view. (Tremendous cheering.) I feel as I
felt at the commencement, how weakly and inadequately I
have endeavoured to express to you some
part of those feel_
ings with which I know you to be possessed. I feel how
much there is to desire, when a mind more powerful than
mine might be employed with advantage in describing to you
the deep and the radical and the fundamental nature of those
principles which form the foundation of this institution, and
which have guided the conduct of those who are concerned in
its management, (Cheers.) It is I think we may assume,
from considerations of this kind, that it has been declared in
sound religion and useful learning,
the announcements of this institution to the public, that its
object is to maintain indissolubly the connection between
while it provides for the
inhabitants of this town an education suited and proportioned
to their wants. I trust we feel it is for no party object; that
it is for no personal object, that it is for no mere social ob-
ject, however honourable and laudable in itself, that we re-
fuse to combine with those who seem to recommend a more
general scheme of education ; but we inscribe upon the very
front of the institution, that it is intended, while it invites
the approach of all, and does what it can to facilitate the
approach of all, to communicate a definite and a determi.
nate religious teaching, according to the doctrines and
institutions of that national church to which I trust we
consider it a blessing to belong. (Loud cheers.) If we re-
fuse to co-operate with others in schemes which are founded
upon a different principle, it is from no indisposition to unite
with them if we could see benefit in their schemes; but from
a deep conviction that we must in all these matters endeavour
to be governed and regulated by those guiding marks which
God himself has laid down in order to designate our path.
We must not set at nought those laws which he has ordained
and established for our nature ; we must not overlook the
cardinal truths of our condition ; we must keep in view in
placing the stamp and seal upon the character of men, first
of all those purposes which are most essential to his happi-
ness, and then only each in its due place, those inferior pur-
poses, which are more connected with his earthly pursuits
which are undoubtedly honourable and valuable, and receive
their blessing from God, while they are employed in the
measure and according to the laws He bas laid down; but which
become, on the contrary, themselves mischievous and ruin-
ous to our ultimate felicity, when we place them in a posi-
tion they were not intended to occupy, and when we make
them substitutes for religion, and for the consideration of
our good, instead of being handmaids to religion and to the
which belong to it. We believe, if you could erect a system
which should present to mankind all branches of knowledge,
save the one which is essential, you would only be building up
to heaven a Tower of Babel, which, when you had completed
it, would be the more signal in its fall, and which would bury
those who raised it in its ruins.—(Cheers.) We believe, if you
could take a human being in his youth, and you could
make him an accomplished man in natural philosophy, in
mathematics, or in the knowledge necessary for any one of
the professions—for the profession of the luw, the pro-
fession of a physician, or the profession of a merchant,
—and if, with any or all these endowments you could
fetter his mind—yes, if you could endow him with the
science and power of a Newton ,and so send him forth to his
work upon earth, and, if you had concealed from him, or,
rather, if you had not pressed upon him, and mixed with all
his training, the knowledge and the love of the Christian
faith, he would go forth into the world, able, indeed, with
regard to those purposes of science, successful, perhaps,
with regard to the accumulation of wealth and the multi-
plication of earthly desires, but poor and miserable, and blind
and naked, with regard to everything that constitutes the
true and the sovereign purpose of our existence—yea, worse,
with regard to that still
remained sovereign purpose, than if he had
remained in the ignorance which we all commisserate, and
which it is the object of this institution to assist in removing.
In this place, as we trust, will be experienced from year to
s been conceived in a spirit so
suit from a design which has been
which appears to meet the
enlightened and so just,
andlcomnity in these respects, in
wants of the great commercia
year the benefits and advantages that may be expected to re-
d will be awakened to the love
that here many a youthful min
etrust
Wl h h
t iat ere out -
and to the pursuit of
knowledge .
d by healthy and salutary exer-
cise,ful faculties will be invigorate
which they were most grievously
felt.—(Cheers.) We trust
which have exclusive connections
simply to those purposes
that is here to be communi-
cated that the imagination
with our material existence !
those who are to be trained
and the taste—that the heart a
acquired a thirst for knowledge
and that they will not
nbwedetcitluerbaeffdecbtiyon.bseoinf.gracaon..nyfinw.eidil
findt
withinhle
tihrWefsoeeowtdrauilsnl
walls,
and here tasted its sweets, will thereby be incited to honourable
become, in the various branches of
exertion, will be moved to to their
country, and will
British enterprise, benefactors
leave behind them, when they are called away, a name that will
eaavti knowledgemngalyeroefacq
be honourable among succeeding generations ! (Prolonged
that in this
cheers.) We trust, above
be instructed in the nature of their position as Christians !
e trust that here they will learn the substance and mean-
ing of the vows of their baptism !We trust that here they
will be incited by a teaching Christian not merely in its
name, Christian not merely in its form, Christian not merely
in its abstract and naked truth, but Christian in the warmth
and earnestness of its purity—to love that religion which is
their great pleasure upon earth, and to follow with that ear-
nestness of purpose with that singleness of mind which is the
most beautiful property of you h p,ittern left them by
their Divine Redeemer! (Tremendous cheers.)
Surely, if
• which we • •
these are the anticipations in are justified in in-
dulging, I have not been wrong in saying this is a great and
a signal occasion, that it is an occasion marked by some-
thing much better than vague and vain curiosity ; by some-
thing much better than distinguishes earthly countenance—
that it is an occasion upon which we trust we are celebrating

together a great act of duty—an occasion upon which we are
offering up to God as a tribute to His honour and glory, and
for the benefit of our fellow-Christians, some portion of that
substance which He in His manifold mercies has bestowed
upon us ! My lord, 1 need not,' I feel I cannot, longer detain
this assembly, which has extended to me so large a measure
of the indulgence I prayed at its hands ; but I do express my
earnest joy that all the public proceedings connected with the
opening and the commencement of this institution have been
proceedings stamped from first to last with a religious charac-
ter ; (loud cheers) that as you began by taking part in the wor-
ship of the church, two years ago, and by listening to the
public instructions of your bishop, so we are to-day to depart
after having received his benediction. (Cheers.) Regarding,
therefore, the object that it contemplates—regarding the
manner in which its measures have been conceived, I claim
the right to rejoice with you, as one of yourselves—to be
thankful with you, as one of yourselves, for the great mercy
that has been vouchsafed to us, in permitting us to witness a
day so full of promise and of hope to the country. (Loud
Cheers.) And I beg to express the fervent prayer, that as
this institution has been conceived and has been founded in
the fear of God, so it may abound, and flourish, and prosper,
from generation to generation, by the blessing of His favour !
[The right honourable gentleman then resumed his seat
amidst universal cheering.]
The Rev. JONATHAN BROOKS here rose and said, lie had
now the pleasure of introducing to the meeting the Rev. Mr.
Conybeare, the gentleman who had been appointed Principal
of the Institution, whose career at the University would
show how well qualified he was for that important office.—

Great cheering)

•
The Rev. W.J. CONYBEARE, Principal of the Collegiate
Institution, on presenting himself was warmly received by
the auditory. The rev. gentleman said, I have been called
upon to state the principles upon which it is proposed to
conduct the education of this institution, which we are open-
ing to-day.—(Hear.) This is a subject upon which, were I
to go into detail, very much might be said ; but this is not
the time or place for details, and, as to the general principles
upon which we are to proceed, I feel that, whatever I could
have said has been so anticipated in the forcible and eloquent
address to which we have just listened, it would be vain for
me to attempt to speak upon them at any length.—(Hear.)
Still, for the sake rather of showing my sympathy with what
has been said than because I could add anything to the in-
trinsic importance of the sentiments which has been ex-
pressed, I will endeavour to say a few words.—(Hear.)
First, then, I consider our great object to be to place this
institution among the number of those which, in the canoni-
cally ordained prayer of our Church, we are accustomed con-
stantly to recommend to God's protection ;—(cheers)—l
mean the seminaries of sacred learning and religious educa-
tion in this realm.—(Great cheering.) This includes two
objects—that the education we give shall be religious, and
that the learning we give should be sound. As to the first,
after what we have heard, I need only repeat that, if education
be not religious, it cannot deserve the name of education at
all—that if it does not embrace man's whole being, it rather
should be called, if we consider it deeply, an empiricism,
founded upon no fixed principle, tending to no certain end.
(Hear, hear.) With regard to the precise mode of adminis-
tering this important branch of instruction, this is not the
place to enter upon it ; but I should wish publicly to men-
tion one thing in connection with it, namely, that the daily
business here will always begin with prayer, conducted ac-
cording to a form which has been sanctioned by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury (hear) for use in a similar institution :
and, further, we would most.earnestly desire the attendance
upon those occasions of all those who may feel interested in
the welfare of the institution, more especially the parents of
the pupils, whenever their occupations will permit them at
our hour of opening, to attend. (Hear, hear, hear.) As to
the secular instruction to be given, a point of less importance
but of greater length if I were to expatiate upon it, it is
enough to say that the great thing to bear in mind is, that to
teach and to educate are essentially different. Our object,
the object of all those who seek freely to educate, must be
not so much to give positive information as mental training.
(Cheers.) Those studies which tend to develope habits of
accurate thought are, in all cases, to be preferred to others
which have not that tendency. even though they may be less
directly practical in their character, less obviously useful in
their application. At the same time, we must not forget
that if several branches of knowledge could be made equally
subservient to this true education, then those are to be pre-
ferred which will be the best preparation for the -pursuits
of future life. (Hear.) Moreover, we must remember that
the system here will be modified to meet the peculiar cir-
cumstances and wants of a great commercial town . it must
guard, upon the one hand, against the prevalent tendency to
take mere utilitarian objects of education ; and then, upon
the other, that our teaching shall be strictly practical in those
points which may bear upon the subsequent occupations of
any of our pupils. (Hear.) I think these few hints may
suffice at present, as to the character of the education
we shall attempt to give; but I feel I ought not to conclude
without expressing, in the presence of this great body of sup-
porters of this institution, which I see now assembled before
me, my sense of the high and energetic spirit in which this
undertaking was begun, and in which it has been carried to
its present advanced condition. (Cheers.) Judging from
the energy which has been thus shewn—an energy which I
think seems characteristic of this town—judging also from
the intelligence which has avoided those rocks upon which
many schemes have been made shipwreck—l feel we have a
right to be sanguine of success. (Cheers.) I have a further.
I may say the strongest, ground of confidence in the distin-
guished characters and abilities of those professors and mas-
ters whose co-operation I have been so fortunate as to secure.
(Cheers.) Nothing, I think, can prevent our success, if
only we remain true to the principles and objects which we
profess to have in view. (Cheers.) May we never forget
how high those objects are ! (Cheers.) Nothing less than
to Christianize the education of every rank and class in such
a city as this! (Great cheers.) When we think what this
involves—when we look upon the countless sails which year
by year send thousands of our fellow-subjects into every
quarter of the globe, and into every quarter of an empire as
extensive as the dominion of the winds and waves, we can-
not but feel how far our influence for good may extend, and
how far any neglect of ours may be felt. (Cheers.) Such
thoughts may well serve to awaken in us the sense of our
responsibility, may well stimulate us to unremitting exertion !
(Cheers.) If we bear them in mind, if we continually en-
deavour to act upon our highest aim—to teach the highest
truths in the most earnest spirit—l doubt not of the success
of our secular teaching also. (Cheers.) I doubt not but
our continued prosperity will more than realise the sanguine
expectations of our founders ; I doubt not that if we " Seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all other
things will he added to us." (Tremendous cheers.)
The anthem, " Lord of heaven and earth and ocean," was
then sung; and the Bishop having pronounced the benedic-
tion, the assembly separated.

The following description of the building is from the
" Guide to Liverpool," published by Mr. W. Webb :

"This institution is one of the most handsome, extensive,
and admirably arranged of the scholastic edifices in this
country, and will be an enduring monument:of the pure taste
of its eminent and talented architect, H. Lonsdale, ElmesfEsq.
The principal front, towards Shaw-street, is 280 feet in length,
and comprises a centre and two slightly projecting wings.
The magnificent arch, which rises above the central porch,
and the lofty Oriel windows, carried up through two stories,
with the richly carved canopied niches, and statues of Lord
Stanley and Lord Francis Egerton, surmounting them, con-
vey an idea of grandeur which is rarely to be met with. The
main building contains four stories, varying from 14 to 17 feet
in height; but as the highest is lighted from the roof, only
three tiers of windows are shown to the street, and the two
upper ones being combined together in a general composition,
produce the grand effect of a single range of lofty windows.
These four stories comprise 48 apartments, all 25 feet in
width and varying in length from 20 to 50 feet, to he ap-
propriated as school-rooms, a board-room, secretary's room,
a library, lecture-rooms, museum, painting and sculpture
gallery, the latter of which is 218 feet in length, and well
lighted from the roof. There are likewise retiring rooms, &c.
in each story, and three separate staircases. An octagonal
building behind, contains, upon the ground floor, a series of
dining-rooms, kitchen, &c., and above, a handsome, well-
ventilated, lecture-hall, 50 feet high from the floor to the
ceiling, with two galleries, containing accommodation for
2,300 persons. A spacious music-room, with rising seats for
nearly 300 performers, open from the lecturer's platform,
through a lofty arch the whole width of the well of the lecture
hall in which an organ will be erected on a grand scale. In
this portion of the building, conveniently situated for the
purposes of the lecturer, are a laboratory, apparatus-room,
lecturer's-room, small music-room, and retiring-rooms.
" The foundation-stone was laid by Lord Stanley, the patron
of the institution, on the 23d of October, 1840, and the
building will be open for the reception of pupils in January,
1843. The institution will comprise three distinct day schools,
at different rates of charge, with separate apartments, play-
grounds, divisions of the lecture-hall, &c. to each, so as to
accommodate the three great classes of society. The terms of
admission have not yet been fixed, but will not exceed twenty,
ten, and five guineas respectively for each school. The
Bishop of Chester is the visitor; Lord F. Egerton, the presi-
dent ; the Rev. Rectors of Liverpool, the chairmen ; and the
list of governors and the board of management contain the
names of the most eminent and influential of the clergy, mer-
chants, bankers, and tradesmen of the town. The course of
instruction will comprehend every useful and ornamental
branch of education ; and the religious tuition will be in con-
formity with the doctrines of the Church of England. There
will likewise be evening schools, for the instruction of adults
in literature, art, and science ; and from the amount of talent
which the three day schools will place at the command of the
directors, these schools will afford advantages of an extraor-
dinary description to the inhabitant, upon the most moderate
terms."

The Chronicle of Saturday handsomely remarks

" There was also (as our readers will hereafter find) an
opening address, and one, too, which, to our thinking, amply
compensated for that which was anticipated from the right
honourable aristocrat, whose place the Honourable W. Ewart
Gladstone undertook, on a necessarily very short notice. Al-
though we do not—nor can it be expected that we should—
concur with some of the sentiments uttered by that gentle-
man, we cannot withhold our humble !need of admiration of
his tact and fluency ; of the strong and energetic manner in
which he stood to his point on (almost exclusively) scriptural
education; nor can we conceal the pride we feel in reflecting
that, though opposed to him in politics, he is a townsman.
While he maintained his own indomitable affection to the
Church of England, the opinions he expressed with regard
to those who dissented from the principles and formula of
that establishment, were moderate, kindly, and we may add
—Christian."