The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-28 00:00:00

a Protesia

money (only 2s. per annum), it comes
all ; and, by its plan of local districts, it reaches to the very
door of every member, bringing him weekly a little manual
of information of the most interesting and valuable nature,
comprising scriptural instruction—selections from history

-missionary and ecclesiastical intelligence—ani
.n exposure of the unfounded pretensions, th,
lusions, and the artful machinations of Popery
of our ancestors repelled Popery to is distance

and, with jealous care

Irtified the stateby-various e

n thus kept out of view

lieving

anu opened our gates, be-
laying, however, hecn warned
of our constitution and our

of dar

church, to whose exertions in the cause of Protestantism we
are so deeply indebted, it behoves us; in the absence of ex-
ternal defences, to raise up a militia, armed with knowledge,
practised in the use of it, and therefore qualified to meet the
foe with confidence on no higher vantage ground than that
of truth, and relying on no other help than from the spirit
;ht humbly in faith."
W. POLLOCK, president of the society, then
It gave him great pleasure, he said

of truth soug

to have such an opportunity of addressing them, and of sup-
porting an institution which he knew was doing much good
in the neighbouroood, and which was deserving of all, and
more than all, that the report claimed for it. He was aware
that, in standing forward thus to advocate the cause of Pro-
testantism, he would be deemed by many to be committing
an offence against charity. Even Romanism, in the present
day, thinks fit to resound the cry for peace. It has been
mentioned in the Romish chapel of this place, that it was
said by St. Francis de Xavier respecting his converts, that
lie had caught his flies with a spoonful of HONEY. Peace is
doubtless a good thing, but we are taught that the wisdom
from above is first PURE, then peaceable. We might cer-
tainly use honeyed words if we desired to please men, but
it is our duty instead to sound the trumpet loud and long
when we see the sword coming. It is not our duty to " cry
peace, peace, when there is no peace ; " and our Saviour's
words are but fulfilled if it is found that our faithful preach-
ing of the Gospel sets a man at variance against his father,
and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-
law against her mother in-law. Honey indeed may catch
flies, but it is not our aim to entrap such flutterers of an
hour. We fish for souls • and our instrument must be the
Gospel net, every mesh of it contracted, and every knot and
loop of it drawn and fastened by the convincing spirit of
Him who sends us forth. Many Protestants are under a
great -

uviusion in despising the character of Popery. "It is
too absurd a creed," say they, " for reasonable men to sub-
scribe in this enlightened age; its fallacies and falsehoods
could only have made converts during the dark ages." Let
no man be deceived by imagining that the enlightenment of
this educated age is a barrier to its errors. Until men can
quench the fire of immortality which burns within them,
every heart, that has not been renewed by the Holy
Spirit, will at times long to purchase heaven without
quitting its hold of earth—will experience doubts and
misgivings that poison every cup, however overflowing
with earthly pleasure. To such the religion of Rome is
exactly adapted; for it serves to sooth their consciences by
offering them pardon for their sins without repenting of
and forsaking them, and promising them happiness without
holiness. The carnal mind under the stings of 'conscience is
ready to fly even to a fellow mortal who pretends a power to
pardon sins;—who offers for money to appropriate to him
the merits of an atoning sacrifice in the mass :—to prescribe
penances sufficient to counterbalance past iniquities. Yes—
Popery is a religion exactly adapted for two large classes of
mankind—those who want to save themselves by their works
—and those who want to be saved IN their sins. It is said
also that Popery is changed ; that it is no longer the aggres-
sive system that it was. It may change its weapons, but its
character is unchanged and unchangeable. It cannot cease
to attempt conversions and to proselytise ; and its members
pursue its objects with a zeal that may shame many of us.
The rev. gentleman read the circular letter from the priest of
the Romish chapel near Prescot, calling confidently upon his
Protestant neighbours to assist him in establishing schools in
that town, on the plea that the only object would be to train
up the children to be good Christians, and promising that
no force should be used over their religious opinions. He
proceeded to comment on this letter. It exhibited the mo-
dern character of Popery, plausibility and insidiousness.
He was confident, however, it had drawn no contribution
from any member of their Reading Society ; and yet the
writer was justified in his confident appeal, for some of you,
said the speaker, attended their (so called) Catholic Balls ;
but whoever countenances them, or any other of their insti-
tutions, virtually denies and renounces his own holy Protes-
tant religion. It would not be necessary for him on that
occasion to dwell on the unscriptural character of Popery.
They were not going to give up the pure faith of their ancient
and apostolic church for the perversions and the novelties of
the creed of Pius—they were not going to adopt the awful de-
lusions of transubstantiation, nor image worship, nor the in-
vocation of saints—they would never admit of a host of me-
diators, nor of any mediator between God and man but the
man Christ Jesus—they were not going to bow down under
the yoke of men who first invented the doctrine of an inter-
mediate state or purgatory after death, and then practice on
the sympathies of their fellow creatures to Make and gain of it
for the sake of filthy lucre. The rev. gentleman proceeded to
prove the anti-social character of Popery, and its total in-
consistency with any free or independent government,
and concluded by observing that he by no means
meant to identify all Romanists with the iniqui-
tous system he had been describing. There were hun-
dreds, perhaps thousands, among them who would shrink
from those principles. Yet such was the system
bound; such from authentic documents
it was proved to be, and such it must continue to be ,• for its
character was now stereotyped on its front. All it had put
forth was stamped since the council of Trent, with the fatal
seal of infallibility, and it did not dare to repeal or repudiate
one act or one canon. It has no other principles of action
than it has always had—to use force where it has the power—
to dissimulate where it has not. Against such a system the
Church of England protests, and he was proud, while he
grieved to say it, that in this country she almost alone pro-
tests against it : our dissenting brethren are honoured (for it
is an honour) by being included in the same condemnation
and anathema which the church of Rome hurls against us;
but instead of joining with us in the contest, we see their
ministers uniting with hers in complimenting each other
from their pulpits, in opposition to the Church of England.
Such conduct is unworthy of the descendants of the Dod-
dridge's, the How's, and the Baxter's of former times.
But against such a system we must continue to protest.
We protest against its falsehood ; we protest against its
wickedness ; we protest against its slavery • and we will
stand up by God's blessing in the freedom wherewith Christ
has made us free. The rev. gentleman then concluded a
most powerful address of nearly two hours, of which the
is a very imperfect sketch. He was- enthusiastically
applauded throughout, and the meeting dispersed
singing the doxology.

with horr

:o which they v

At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, on Mon-
day, Mr. Murchison, the chairman of the evening, stated
that a gentleman, employed byGovernment, in ascending the
river Juba, in Africa, from East to West, had fallen in with
a considerable tract of country inhabited by a race of pig-
mies not exceeding four feet in height, with very curious
views of religion and government, and exactly resembling the
type of Herodotus.