The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-08-08 00:00:00

_ .
that Divine mean whereby the benefits -of the atonement
are really communicated to the soul ? Do you really
hin4 ha Itrnalii ba. 1112,alvr 4.r% in rn cm+ +ha rlarvay.a.n.rm

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SIR,-1 am not sorry that Mr. Pollock has thought fi

to reply to a portion of my strictures upon his speech at
St. James's School, because it gives me a fair opportunity

in extenso the correspondence which took

Christians in departing from the spirit of .ipostolie times

wished to measure the ;value whit

But, first, with regard to his assertion, made at the same
time and place, that the "Tractarians" had been the first
assailants, I again deny it, as I did in my letter of July

prospectus did not caluminate, it may be said to have
assailed the Puritan party. But even so, we cannot be
said to have been the first assailants. We and our prac-
tice's, or rather those of the Church, have been denounced
ov

and over again, from pulpit and platform. Nay,
more, our motives have been impugned. We have been
charged with designs to lead the people back to Popery,
&c. Nothing of this kind can be found in the prospectus.
No motives are imputed, &c." Now, surely, any child
might see that, while in the above I did not deny that
s I the prospectus assailed the Puritan party, I went much

the Apostles set upon

ucharist, wou:

ie aptest met

ascertain how often they celebrated it ; and on what
footing shall we place a system which openly and avowedly
teaches the propriety of the extrernest departure from

their frequency of celebration ? Nov, on this footing would
the Apostle himself place it. My Lord, our position with
regard to the Apostles is not affected by any occur-
rence which took place in the sixteenth century. It
is not altered by the relation in which we stand
towards an artificial system of antipathies con-
structed in the last three hundred years. We are as much
members of the Apostolic Church as the disciples at Troas
(Acts xx. 7) or at Corinth (1 Cor. xi. 20) ; and if it had
been a crime there, in the lifetime of the Apostles, to cut off
the Weekly Communion, so is it here and now. I must
and do firmly believe, then, that assuming such a case as

further back in point of time when I charged them with
being the first assailants. The prospectus asserts facts ;
and so far as those facts are discreditable to the parties
concerned, so far it cannot but assail them ; but FOR
THE LIGHT, HAVE

I have set out with conceiving, to really happen, your con-
viction is, that the Apostle, however he would deal with
those prejudices, and " mistrusts and fears," which your
Lordship has thrown in our way in this matter, would
devise some mode by which they should not, in any way,
prevent the restoration of that primitive rule of worship
which was once, as a matter of course, considered to
be essential to the well-being of the Christian body.
us Perhaps your Lordship will say that, to an Apostle,

LONG IC

WE BEEN ASSAILED WITH FALSEHOOD AND PERVERTED

TEETH, WHILE MOTIVES OF THB BASEST HIND HAVE

BEEN AGAIN AND AGAIN IMPUTED TO
All Mr. Pollock's rhodomontade about

the removal of all obstacles in the 'way of restora-
tion would be easy, and that assuming such to be
the character of the pars— • -- reed be considered

is sufficiently answered by reminding him that it was
handed to the editor of the Mail, and by him published iothing .
in full at the time when the scheme was first advertised n. You co
in the local papers. I believe it was also handed to the ... taken into
editor of the Standard. As Mr. Pollock has printed the pro- at has your Lt.
spectus as an appendix to his letter, your readers can judge rejudices as the ba
of it for themselves. I fearlessly assert that it contains Church,'? even thoik,
no calumny, nothing but truth, if measured by the re- allowance of a flags
quirements of the Anglican Church, nor any imputation :,ordship adopts might be
of motives. But it is marvellous that, while printing it rovisional rule founded on
in full, he should twice misrepresent it, and that most : :ge is not rise for the restorati
grossly. "Thus," he writes, "the clergy, to the number / _ . abrupt revival of the fulness o.
of some sixty, are, inferentially at least, denounced to a Church privileges should be preceded by a careful and
man, as being all, more or less, guilty of wanton indiffer- gradual education of popular feeling up to the tone of
ence to their ordination vows ; while sentiments are Apostolic Christianity ; and you might contend that to
ascribed to them, or some of them, which they would all force these privileges on a people insensible to their value
utterly ignore ; as, for instance, that `any approach to would be to defeat the object of reform. But how stands
a choral service or decent ceremonial' is ' Popish,' and the case ? If indeed the present practice be a great defect,
' that our venerable Book of Common Prayer contains a if indeed reform be a Christian necessity, does your Lord-
large amount of covert Popery,' &c., &c." Now, so far is ship lament with us the one, and offer to devise a scheme
this from being warranted by the prospectus, that Mr. for accomplishing the other ? No, my Lord. I repeat, you
---m.nces the seventh paragraph thus —" The recognise present practice as the fit rule of worship, and
being made in a spirit of re- whilst you cannot condemn the particulars of reform, you

but the value of the reformation. You contend, then, that
existing prejudices should be taken into consideration.
Let it be admitted. But what has your Lordship done

You have recognised these prejudices as the basis of what
you call " the peace of the Church," even though such a
recognition results in the allowance of a flagrant cor-
ruption. The course your Lordship adopts might be taken
as merely indicating a provisional
_rule founded on this

above remarks are far from
sentment against those who are guilty of these irregu- pass it ty as affording no feature to justify the intt.
larities. It is charitably supposed that they are the result, of uniformity. You commend the proprieties
not so much of wanton indifference to their ordination popular mode of devotion, and seem to involve us in th
vows as to the present unsatisfactory state of Church odium of impugning the fidelity and zeal of its supporters
ief—entertained also by many Not one word of approval do you bestow on our effort t

to the be

mption
of the

ill-informed Dissenters—that our venerable gook of restore a great Christian practice, whose abeyance your
Common Prayer contains a large amount of covert Lordship must believe is a scandal, to our Christian name.
Popery." If, indeed, Mr. Wray had attributed this belief We find ourselves covered with reproach ; we are offend-
to the Puritan clergy instead of to ill-informed Dissenters, ing against Christian charity ;we are accused as endeavour-
he would have attributed to them no more than many of ing to disturb the even tenor of your lordship's way, and
them have openly avowed, if not in Liverpool, yet certainly to poison the satisfaction with which you have hitherto
in other places. And, if I have not been misinformed, at viewed the general condition of your diocese, the zeal of
least one Liverpool clergyman—the incumbent of St. its clergy, and the " confidence ' of their flocks. This
George's, Everton—refused to take part in the meeting clergy, recollect, are the men, part of whose very system
held at the Amphitheatre against confession, upon this is that infrequency of Communion and public worship,
ground :—That the Book of Common Prayer sanctioned which is the subject of reform. Tiley are the men who
the Popish practices (so-called) which the meeting was actually vindicate to themselves the right to depart from
called to condemn ; and that, therefore, he could not join Apostolic practice in this matter, as though it were the
in condemning those who followed it ; though he would most precious heritage of their " Protestant religion and

take part in ameeting called to condemn the book itself. liberties?' They come forward, my Lord, in ti
In this, however, I am open to correction. I cannot prints openly to fix upon the Church of England the grave
guarantee its truth, though I can guarantee that it is no reproach that her syste%does not necessitate Communion
more in substance than I have heard from Puritan clergy- more than three times in the year. They project religious
men myself. So much for Mr. Pollock's facility in mis- works in connection with their pastoral office, with the
quotation. assumption that current practice presents a complete plat-
-- It' talents. Hp crs— -4- of their

us now examine his paraphrastic He form of practical Christianity. They boas,
.iarges Mr. Wray with asserting, "that there is, in fact, influence on the popular mind in this town;
only one church where things are done with common that they have eot a " stand" which such sehem

decency." - What Mr. W. really says is, that there is in vain attempt to disturb, and sin..' Io Pceans over the
only one church in which there are daily Prayers, weekly triumph of Puritanism in Liverpool. The neglect, then,
Communion, &c. The above quotation is, therefore, so far we are offering to oppose is a system, and it is in vindi-
as regards the portion which I have underlined, not what cation of a system that your Lordship refuses us the
Mr. W. wrote, but Mr. Pollock's paraphrase of it. Now, liberty of a more apostolic way. The choice is actually
when a man paraphrases a text, he is supposed to give between apostolic practice and its neglect, and, in obedience
in other words what he believes to be the true force of it ; to the charaeterof the age, your Lordship imposes the latter
and hence this paraphrase by Mr. Pollock is tantamount on us. Whereas the zeal of early days ever characterised
to an admission, on his part, that daily Prayer, weakly itself by an assiduous devotion to the foremost rite of
Communion, &c., are necessary to common decency. lam Christianity. the zeal your Lordship confidently presents

glad that he thinks so. to our awakened sense of duty results in total ind .erenc
As regards the sacrament of matrimony, I repeat that, to the Scripture model; and what would have ~en in '
by his own admission, his " most intelligent and dear purest ages universally looked upon as the extreme of
friend" had not even charged me with uttering the non- unfaithfulness, bustles itself forward as the highest reach
sense which he put into my mouth about two clergymen of, Christian fidelity. How is it, my Lord, that you can
taking part in the celebration of a marriage ; and that I behold as " one of the happinesses connected with your
never asserted to the friend in question that the Prayer- diocese," the working of a system over whose partial
Book calls matrimony a sacrament. ThcojTectissof success your pious forefathers shed tear-

e conversa

ion can be

veen in the

were present ; though, for fear of being charge with your Lordship ever consider one of the happine,sses
untruth, I should mention that lam not certain as regards connected with this part of your diocese, that there is one
one individual, who was present during part of the even- Church in Liverpool where a Weekly Eucharist is cele-
ing, whether she was present at the time in question, or, brated ? or, is our religion not the same as that which
if present, whether she attended to what passed. What I brought together the disciples on the first day of the weak
asserted I assert again—that the Church does not deny to break bread ? Has Apostolic Christianity lost its
matrimony to be a sacrament, while the Homilies call it power ? What, are these vast sensibk effects shown in
so ; and, not unguardedly, but deliberately, so do I. This, the hebdomadal excitements of novelty-seeking Chris-
it seems, is "the gravamen" of the charge—viz., that 1 tians; and is the altar, week after week, hare of the Holy
adhere to and approve the Church's language, and this Gifts, to be accounted no sign of love waxing cold, and a
i plead guiltY- decaying allegiance ? These men whcau your Lordship
moat now leaY4 the eorresPoPdouce to sPctai the itself. congratulates yourself OA huins "got pospession" of your