The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-09-26 00:00:00

IHE

LIN 124i1,,_

;hough only in some measure pr

nary and the

?, would eventually lead to far greater improve-
ments in the whole system of the university than those
which had yet been carried, and particularly that the uni-
versity would now be distinguished in those branches of
learning which it had hitherto neglected. He did not
with any undue bias as regarded the physical
s, but the perfection of the unversity certainly
consisted in giving a due share of attention to every one
of the great branches of instruction. There should be a
thorough cultivation of classical literature, a thorough
initiation into the principals of mathematical and physical
science, and, at the same time, modern literature and lan-
guages should receive a proper degree of attention. The
applause which continuously greeted these observations
was mingled with some marks of dissent when the aboli-
tion of religious tests was approvingly alluded to, but the
subject of university reform was evidently a popular one
with the ravens generally.
"The Health of the Chairman" and other toasts,
briefly proposed and responded to, followed in rapid suc-
cession, and the majority of the company then adjourned
to partake of the Mayor's hospitality at the Town-hall.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE
GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS.

Tug annual meeting of the above society was held last

night, in the Hall of tile Collegiate Institution, which was
crowded in every part. The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop
of Chester was in the chair ; and among those on the
platform were the Most Rev. the Lord Archbishop of
Dublin, the Right Rev. the Bishop of New Zealand, the
Rev. F. Barker, M.A., Bishop Designate of Sydney; the

Rev. V. W. Ryan, Bishop Designate of Mauritius; 'Rev.
Dr. Baylee, M. Gregson, Esq., T. D. Anderson, Rev. G.
Howson, Rev. Calder, Rev. Vallency, J. H. Harden,

Esq., Charles Turner, Esq., J. K. RounthWaite, Esq., Pro-
fessor Faraday, Rev. H. Carpenter, Hilton Halhead, Esq.,
Rev. W. F. Taylor, Rev. W. Pollock, Henry Torr, Esq.,
Rev. A. Knox, Rev. W. Rawson, G. Booker, Esq., Rev. Jas.

North, Rev. A. J. Tomlin, Selwyn, Esq., M. W. Collett,
Esq., Rev. Banner, Rev. Craven, Rev. Jas. Hassell,
Rev. H. Jones, Rev. C. P. Hobbs, Rev. Chas. Lawrence,
Rev. J. Stewart, Rev. Evans, Rev. D. Anderson, Rev

r. H. Burton, Rev. J. R. Conor, &c.
The Right Rev. CrunniAN,in opening the proceedings,

apologised for the
.delaywhiCh had taken place, it being

then ..,bout half an hour- beyond the appointed time; but
it was chiefly owing to the unexpected absence of Lord
Harrowby. There was also the very crowded attendance,

the disposal of which had involved same additional trouble:
Ilweoptehnent nceakd onsmess flivpiteppcatye_arr7 Aber" witreChis"lor'd"shiP
proceeded to remark on the importance of the occa-
sion for which they were assembled. It was rarely that
they had been favoured with tip presence of such distin-
guished individuals as on that occasion, and the first who
would address them was his Grace the Lord Archbishop
_ .

of Dublin, a man who had devoted his distinguished
abilities to the intellectual and moral advancement of his

fellow-creatures, and had enjoyed the singular felicity of
all his works becoming widely popular. The next who
would address them was his right rev, friend the Bishop
of New Zealand. At college he had gained great dis-
tinction, and he was content to leave all his promise of
advancement here to undertake the arduous duty, the
laborious task, of carrying the gospel to the antipodes, to
the distant colony of New Zealand, which, but a few years
since, was a barbarous land, peopled by a race of savages.
They had also there two of his Liverpool friends, the Rev.
Mr. Barker, who had been called to go out to Sydney,
and the Rev. Mr. Ryan, who had also been called to the
colonial episcopate. His lordship highly eulogised both
rev. gentlemen for their great talents, their Christian
piety, their humility and zeal, of which he entertained
the highest opinion. They had now been designated to
two important colonies, and he was sure they carried with
them the good wishes of every one. His lordship pro-
ceeded to remark on the claims to support of the society
which they were met to advocate. It had received some
opposition, but they were open to conviction, and had
no wish to shrink from it. He might show them, how-
ever, one practical guarantee for the operations of the
society in those who were there that evening. He
would, in conclusion, give them the following particulars,
with reference to their proceedings. The income of the
society for the year ended 31st December, 1853, amounted
to £59,441. Of this sum no less than £46,886 was de-
rived from subscriptions and collections, which was an
increase of nearly £4,500 over the previous year. There
was also £9,334 derived from legacies, which was an in-
crease of £4,443 over the previous year, but legacies were
at all times a very uncertain source of revenue. He
might also state, that the special fund amounted to
£27,520 ; and it was extremely gratifying to him to be
able to state, that in his own diocese of Chester the
amount raised was larger than in former years. One in-
teresting fact he had almost omitted to mention was, that
upwards of £40,000 had been raised in the colonies to
meet the grants made by the society. He might also
remark, that although the especial object of the society
was the evangelisation of the colonies, no less than
£23,000 had been voted to missions amongst the heathen.
Last year there were 31 missionaries ordained, and they
had now 478 clergy. and 700 catechists and schoolmasters,
making a total of 1,138 persons employed by the society.
His lordship on resuming his seat was warmly cheered.
His Grace the ARCHBISHOP of DUBLIN, who was
received with loud applause, moved the first resolution as
follows:

" That it is the solemn duty of the members of the Church
of England to aid, both by their prayers and alms, the efforts
which are now being made, through the missions of the
Church, to publish the glad tidings of salvation throughout
the vast colonial possessions of this realm, and from them to
the ends of the earth."

If any person present (his Grace said)—which he was
fully convinced there was not—had any doubt as to the
worth of what he had read, he should despair of finding
any argument to convince him, because, although much
might be, and had ably been said upon the subject, by
the Bishop—he should think such a person must have
something wrong either in his head or in his heart.
(Hear, hear.) It might be worth while to advert to one
circumstance which might perhaps cause some misappre-
hension as to the aim and object of the Society by those
not altogether conversant with its details. It was called
the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts." Some might be apt to say that foreigners, after
all, were of subordinate importance. But he thought by
"foreign parts" they meant parts beyond the seas ; they
did not mean parts inhabited by foreigners. Their object
was to provide spiritual instruction and the means of
grace to their fellow-subjects in the colonies, of whom
there were vast numbers in need of this provision.
Our Sovereign had more Pagan and Mahomedan subjects
than professed Christians—many times more black subjects
than white. But these were all our fellow-subjects, though
not all our fellow-countrymen. Besides these, however,
there were vast multitudes of our countrymen and their
descendants inhabiting the various colonies. Not above
three hours after the sun had ceased to gild the pinnacles
of Montreal and Quebec, it began to gild the temples and
buildings of Delhi and our other possessions in the East.
Our colonies went almost all round the world. Some of
our fellow-countrymen were celebrating services amid the
snows and icebergs of the remotest northern regions,
while others were in the midst of the summer's heat at
the antipodes. Our clergymen were to be found in all the
four quarters of the globe, and the primary object of the
Society was to provide spiritual instruction for them. Let
them not, then, be considered as foreigners because of the
designation of the society. It was not primarily among
foreigners, but among our own countrymen and fellow-
subjects that the society aimed to propagate the Gospel.
The home of the British empire was to be found in all
parts of the world. (Hear, hear.) But some might say :
These colonies ought to provide for their own spiritual
wants. Well, the more that was done for them by the
Society, the more were they likely to do for themselves•
(Hear, hear, and applause.) But, if neglected,
the peculiar nature of the inestimable treasure that it was
the business of theloeiety to furnish, that the more it was
withheld, the leis was its value cared for—the more it
was bestowed, the greater was the hunger and thirst after
it. (Applause.) But they were now raising large sums
for their own support ; and the society's object was, as far
as possible, to lead them to supply their own wants, and
apply their funds to other places which were just begin-
ning in their temporal and spiritual course. Far be it
from him to disparage the great object of the conversion
of the heathen all over the world. All mankind were
God's creatures, and intended to be collected under one
fold and one shepherd; but the first object certainly
ought to be,—as it was the object of the: society,—to pro-
vide for the spiritual wants of their own people ; and in
doing this they would most effectually promote the con-
version of the heathen. It was in vain for missionaries
to get money, so long as the heathen saw the European
settlers neglectful of the religion which the mis-
sionaries advocated. Let the colonists be taught re-
ligion, and they would become by far the most eflbctual
missionaries. (Loud applause). It was from a strong and
well-settled conviction of the importance of promoting re-
ligion extensively amongst the European settlers, and of
the high claims of this society, that, on being appointed
to the see of Dublin, he exerted himself to establish and
encourage, as far as possible, a diocesan branch of the
society. He found that the fault of its non-encourage-
ment in Ireland did not lie with the society itself, or the
great part of the Irish people, but because they had
been left almost entirely ignorant of its existence ; and, as
an instance, he mentioned the refusal of a dignitary of
the Church, who was applied to for aid, on the ground
that he did not approve of new societies, and that there
was no need for them. (Laughter.) He was indeed
ignorant that the society had actually been in existence
for nearly a century and a-half. Very different,
however, was the feeling and conduct when the
public were duly informed of the true character and
claims of the society. There had been a strong disposi-
tion amongst some persons in Ireland to raise calumnious
charges against the society ; he was thankful to say,
however, that, under Providence, they had turned to the
society's advantage. Investigation of the charges had
proved them to be unfounded, and this produced such a
re-action that the suspicions had not only been quieted,
but had been turned into a strong recommendation of the
society (applause); because among honest and fair-minded
men there was always a tendency to sympathize strongly
with and to favour those who had been calumniated.
(Renewed cheering.) He (the speaker) concurred with
his lordship that neither this society, nor any of its indi-
vidual members, pretended to perfection. But it aimed
taht
epererfofercet,iothne;ythhaatd wtasakeanboeuvterywhoaptpiovrte suhnoitalyd all do
ofenciu;
enquiring
into every point whether any evil could be remedied, any
objection obviated, or any improvement introduced into
the working of the society. In some details improve-
ments had recently been made ; but no change had taken
place in its timdamental principles, which were tn promote
what they considered to be true religion, according to the
principles of their own Church. They did not profess
to condemn —on the contrary, they emulated those
who aimed to spread and inculcate their own
peculiar religious views ; but if these persons were
to be commended for acting according to their own
views, they (the society) were also to be commended for
acting according to theirs (cheers). They ought to hold
to the religion which they believed to be true; and that
was the religion which they should endeavour to propagate
in other countries. With respect to those who were dis-
posed to hold back, under the plea of having enough to do
at home, he could only say that he had always found that
those who were the most backward to promote foreign oh-
, Jegtoi were far foul Ning the pngt Peral 04 ;IMO iu

such was

'POOL STXNDARD,

AND G

who lc

come objects. (Appl
it home, were apt to look too much at home to their

dvancement,

own profit, interest
to the benefit of their neighbours ; while those
who went about seeking what good they could do to
their own countrymen and fellow-creatures throughout
the world, were the persons upon whom he could
always rely for promoting any beneficial object at home.
Such was his experience in
_lreland. He had always

found that object; beneficial for Ireland were the most
promoted by those who sought for the welfare of the
whole empire, all the Colonies, and all mankind. Such
were the persons he could always rely upon ; and he
trusted that all who heard him would lay to heart the very
great and important duty recommended in the resolution,
and would not be content with wishing well to the society,
nor even with contributing according to their means to its

funds, but should endeavour to make known, as far as
practicable, what its claims and services ?Jere, and ho'W
very much it stood in need of more actixe support than it
had yet received. (Applause.)
The Rev. F. BARKER, 8i5h07,..-Designateof Sydnc
seconding exi&ined the circumstances
under
which
he resolution
e had,
peen indueed to take part in the pro-
ceedings of 0-
..4e society, to some of the operations of
which bq nad, in common with many others, felt ob-
-1:.,;.1n0n, especially to some statements put forth on the oc-

cation of two sermons two years ago, of which, however,

sufficient had been said by his friend and felloW-labourer,

the Rev. Mr. Pollock. It he now called upon them to
support a society in which he had previously publicly in-