The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-11 00:00:00

of which no one can be saved ! No power on earth could
induce me to sign them with a clause such as this, which you
sign in the creed of Pope Pius. But being required to subscribe
the thirty-nine articles, as being in themselves agreeable to
the word of God, and in their effects consolidating and guard-
ing from heresy the English church, I do so most cordially.
I-I ere, then, is an essential difference between the two cases.
The twelve articles of Pope Pius are a creed to you, and very
awfully pronounce them, and require your converts to pro-
nounce them necessary to salvation : our thirty-nine arti-
cles are not a creed to me, I neither think of them, nor say
of them, nor write of them, that they are necessary to sal-
vation : neither are any of our converts required to do so:
but we use them for the avoiding of unnecessary and extreme
diversities of opinions in the English church.

Concerning the Anthanasian creed, I answer, that we re-
ceive it, not because of its authority ; but because of its
scriptural contents. This is consistent in us, seeing that it is
only on this ground we receive any creed—not because the
Council of Nice defined ; or because the council of Ephesus
approved ; but, as it is expressed in our article viii., because
" they may be proved by most certain warrants of holy scrip-
ture."

But now let me ask, upon what principle do you receive
the Athanasian Creed? you who deny that any thing can be
proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture? You
cannot plead authority in this case. You cannot show for
the Athanasian Creed the authority of any one general coun-
cil; neither can you show for it the authority of consent
sooner than the seventh or eighth century. it is highly
inconsistent, then, in you to receive it, seeing you refuse to
plead the authority of Scripture. Not so in us; we most
consistently receive it because of its scriptural contents.
I must here conclude. I truly rejoice that you have at
last come out with your remarks on a speech of mine. It
was high time. If you think proper to vindicate your re-
marks against these observations of mine, and to•grapple
with my argument, now that you have it in a more correct
form than a hasty report of an extemporaneous speech could
be expected to present, I shall be happy to see your further
remarks.

1 hope you will not now retire behind your "natural
antipathy to controversy," as it would look like having
availed yourself of what you fancied was a slip of mine in a
speech ; but inability to maintain your ground, now that you
have my argument more closely and correctly in a letter.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
HUGH M`NEILE.
St. Jude's, 101 h January, 1842.

POPISH SCHOOLS AT PRESCOT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL. STANDARD,

StR,-I see in your paper of Tuesday last an excellen
letter on the subject of the applications lately made to Pro-
testants to aid in establishing Popish schools in Prescot.
Allow me, Mr. Editor, to ask the Protestants of Prescot
how it is that there is so much room for this application to
them. Do they support no schools to which the poor, whe-
ther Protestants or Romanists, can have access, and in which
the simple TRUTH (not a Popish per-version of it) is offered
to all ? Alas, no. It is true there are Sunday schools ; and
a free school, established by the liberality of bygone times,
accommodates a limited number only of the Protestants ;
but there is unhappily no national school, no infant school,
no attempt to make the instructions of our national church
commensurate with the wants of the rising generation, in
this centre of a most important parish, from which the church
derives an income of some thousands annually. This is the
reason why Popery demands schools in Present; and, in so
doing, she cries shame on the Church of England, which has
not anticipated her.
Other questions might be asked respecting the Church of
England's duties in Prescot. Why are there so many dis-
senters there—Unitarians, Independents, Methodists old and
new, to say nothing of Rnmanists • and all, except the first-
named, apparently flourishing? Why are so many of the
lower orders chartists ? Can it be expected that one elderly
clergyman, however respectable, can make head successfully
against such a host of active enemies, even though he be as-
sisted from time to time by a deacon, who is always removed
as soon as he becomes tolerably acquainted with the field of
labour.

Let the college which derives so much from Prescot be
invited to give liberally towards the erection of a national
school there ; but whether they will hear or whether they
will forbear, let the Protestants there do their duty, and call
on their neighbours to help them, and they will find help ;
and before the year is out, they may have both a national
and an infant school adequate for the wants of their own
poor children, as well as those of their Romanist brethren.
A FELLOW-CHURCHMAN.
Jan. 7, 1842.

THE PARISH BURIAL GROUND,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SM.—Every one possessing the feelings of an Englishman
who read the account of what took place at the Police-court
on Saturday last, in the case of an unfortunate man, who
was found dead in llublin-street, must have felt the greatest
disgust at what was then disclosed relative to the mode of
burial at the Workhouse burying ground; and I think this
case should not be allowed to pass without further remark or
comment.

It appears, by the evidence, that the body was conveyed to
the place of burial and put into the ground without the
Curial service having been read over it, as that would be per-
formed the next day; and further, it would appear that this
is the custom when bodies arrive after the service is over.
I ask, is this in accordance with the rubric? Is it in accor-
dance with the dictates of our blessed religion ? Or, rather,
is it not an insult to some of the holiest feelings of our nature?
I will now say a few words respecting the graves. Mr.
Dowdall stated, that 350 bodies, or thereabouts, were put
into one hole ! That such a thing should be allowed in a
civilised country almost surpasses belief; but such is the
melancholy fact. I trust, however, that the disgrace as
regards Liverpool may immediately, and without loss of time,
be wiped away by discontinuing such a system ; but the stain
will long continue. Harassing, indeed, is it to every one who
has the feelings of a man and a Christian to think that the
unfortunate should be treated in such a manner,—that the
sailor who has met with a watery grave and been cast on our
shores,—that the stranger who-has died friendless and penny-
less in our streets,—that those who have not a friend to shed
a tear at their graves,—should, after all their misfortunes in
this world, and when death has put a period to their suffer-
ings, be treated in a manner so revolting, and be denied the
last boon which man confers on his fellow—a decent burial.—
Yours, respectfully, R. P. B.
Everlon, 71k January, 1842.

SCRIPTURAL EDUCATION AND THE MERCURY

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—The Editor of the Mercury will not allow that there
was either argument or reason on the conservative side in the
debate on the school question. Permit me, through )our
columns, to ask him these questions :—Wh:ch of the two
schemes does he think the devil would prefer, supposing he
was obligated (as in this day he is) to choose between the
two ? Would he not prefer the. national ? If so, how can
Christians conscientiously support it? If he cannot com-
prehend such en argument as this, I give him up as wooden-
head indeed.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant.
PHILO JUSTICIA.

FOREIGN LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

SlR,—Permit me to call your attention to a great incon-
venience which merchants and others have to contend with,
and which might be immediately remedied at a very trifling
expense; it is this. that although we have receiving boxes in
almost every part of the town, yet we have no place for the
posting of foreign letters except the General Post-office. The
Exchange box for the stamped letters has been a very great
convenience to the public, and if a person was either placed
there or somewhere very near to receive the postage of foreign
ones, what a very great deal of trouble it would save us and
the community at large. One hour in the day would be
quite enough, say from 4 to 5, p.m., as the time for these
letters leaving the general office is either with the London
mail or in the middle of the night. I sincerely trust you as
well as the other newspaper editors will use their endeavours
to the furtherance of this desirable object.—l remain, &c.

A. FRIEND AND A MERCHANT

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVEIZPOOL

STANDARD

SIR,—We have heard of an English monarch who won
"golden opinions of all sorts of men" by his noble and chi-
valrous hearing alone. We live now, however, it would seem,
—at least in the opinion of a councillor for the ward in which
I live—in a different age, when to win these opinions from
Popish radical opponents, a conservative must come down
with a handsome donation to a Papist chapel, or to a " testi-
monial" to the memory of some defunct radical. Perhaps,
Sir, you will permit me to suggest to conservative gentle-
men, who wish to purchase such valuable commodities as the
good will of the Liverpool Mercury, the advantage of bid-
ding at once a price proportionate to the boon to he gained ;
for It does look a little awkward to see a gentleman paying
£5 for that which is not worth, in my opinion, five-pence,
and yet not getting it after all.
What a triumph it must have been to the well-known
malevolence of the conductors of the radical rag, whilst vent-
ing on Friday a portion of their concentrated scurrility upon
the family of one of his colleagues, to be enabled to
parade in their advertising columns the name of the can-
didate for fame, whom that gentleman himself introduced
into his present position in the council, in the humiliating ac►.
of endeavouring to propitiate the lush which was preparing
to flagellate himself, by an offering to the memory of the
radical pen which had never ceased to heap calumny, the
most rabid and venomous, upon his patron and his patron's
family I—l remain, sir, yours, &c.
A VOTER IN ABERCROMBY WARD.

PUBLIC TEA PARTY IN HONOUR OF THE REV. H.
STOWELL.—The friends of the Rev. Hugh Stowell have
celebrated the recent decision in the case of Hearne versus
Stowell by a public tea party, given in the Corn Exchange on
Monday evening week. Upwards of 900 persons, chiefly
females, were present ; and several were refused admission
for want of accommodation.

PORT OF AMOY.—The news of the recent victories of the
British arms in China, invests Amoy (the principal scene of
those successes) with much interest at the present moment.
This celebrated part of the celestial empire is situate in the
province of Fe-kin, and, in the Mandarin dialect, is called
Hea-mun, which is pronounced by the natives Ha-moy. It
is stated by Davis to be " a fine shelter for any number of
large ships ;" and the town itself is represented to be the
emporium of the commerce of the province. The province
itself, however, is the most barren of all China, and nut only
yielding nothing for exportation, but being dependent even
for the necessaries of life on the neighbouring island of For-
mosa. Still the merchants of Amoy are characterized as
among the most wealthy and enterprising in the empire,
having formed connections all along the coast, and esta-
blished commercial houses in many portions of the Eastern
Archipelago. Most of the Fermosian colonists are emigrants
from the district of Amoy, with capital supplied by its mer-
chants; and in proportion as the island has flourished so has
Amoy increased in wealth and importance. The fort was re-
sorted to formerly by Europeans, but was abandoned when
foreign commerce was restricted to Canton. There are se-
veral temples in the place, particularly one of great cele-
brity, dedicated to the god Po, or Budha (who according to
the homilies of the priests, exists " in forms as numerous as
the sands of the Heng-ho.") This temple contains a statue
of the god, of colossal size. During the south-west mon-
soon the merchants of Amoy freight their vessels at For-
mosa with sugar, which they dispose of at different ports to
the northward, returning home with cargoes of drugs. They
maintain commercial relations with Manilla, Tonquin, and
Cochin-China, and Siam ; and many of the junks annually
go to Singapore to procure goods of British manufacture.
The port has not always been closed against European ves-
sels; as, according to the records of the East India Com-
pany, we find that " the King ofTywan, on taking Amoy in
1675, issued a proclamation inviting both Chinese and foreign
merchants to trade thither, exempting them from the pay-
ment of all duties for three years. In consequence of this,
numerous vessels went; but the exemption was soon revoked.
The town was then taken by the Tartars, six years after-
wards : but the Europeans still resorted to it until 1734,
when the exactions of the Mandarins deterred them from
continuing so unprofitable a trade. Since that time many
attempts have been made by English ships to induce the
Chinese to trade, but without success. The recent events
will, probably, produce more favourable results.