Society For Promoting Chr...
The Times, 1824-12-29T00:00:00

[From W7ideaei-' Mt^ckester Clkronicle.1 A meeting of the enembexs and friends of this Society was held on _ Monday last in the Free Grammar School of this town, for the pur. pse of " taking into conideration whiat furiher measures mrhnt be expedient for rendering the exertions of tbeItinchestead Salford Disitrict Conmmliteof the .Soiety -nore ecffcent,. and espeially for more generally supplying the porer inhabi=ts .of these towns and their neighbourbood withlBlb es, Common Praver..booas, and reli- gions tratag, at reduced pric." . A lumeroust'andilghly respeci- able assemblage was pte2ent; amongE ibom were te Vyery Reverend the Warden, u considerable body of tbe Clifgy;the Bdioughreeve and Coratables of Manchester, Hugh Hlomby Di4ey, Williamnlarnert, Thomas Entwisle,ThomaslIbdaian; JamesNorzis,Jmes Bilerley, Tho=as Sharp, John Poolay,- and Willian' Towrpeod, Esqis, -with several Dissenting ltinisters. TbbeLeird Bishop of -{be diocserl- t4red the room at ten o'clock2 a=companied by Dr. Smith and the Rev.-Wiiiam Johnson, the mndefaifgalile Seaetiy. of the Distric. Asseciation, and immediately took. the chair. Tha Lnrdthfp. bsn ofsred up a suitable and impressive prayer,. the meeting kneelii. The Rev. W ILLUA JorpsomNr,haAtatement of the Oerations of the Society during the past year, and of iis experiditure and pre- sent finances; after which, The LoaD Bisulop proceeded to address the meeting. In en- tering upon the duties of his pastors office in th6i populous and extensive diocess, his Lordship observed. he felt to the tiuiest extent, he belleved, the great wei;git and responsibility wshicl had been imposed upon bits. Among the numerous objects of his solicitude, his first inquiry eas, as to the disposition felt in the a-. nafecturing districts to propagate the sacred truths of religion anong- the lower clases; and next, his inquiry r7a:c directed to the cond:.f" thin of that Society on behalf of which they were at presenat.esenz bled. He had-fondly anticipated that here be should find that thet public libtiality had been sbown, iu favour of this Societv, in a de gree fully commensurate with its wvortb-that in a townn, not tlOTe distinguished for its commercial prosperity than for its loyalty, its constitutcinal atrachmnent to the throne of theser.ealms, and for its veneration for our excellent-Church E1stablishment, he should have the happiness of finding that the S9ciety did nof lack any suppsrt. But judge of his astorilsDment when he discovered from the state- ment of the Society'.s accounts a6nd conditiorn, titat in these very towns, containing a population amoumting, he understood, to nearly 200,100, the actual number of subscribers to the Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge ias less than one hundred. Why, he 4 wvould ask, ivas it bo, when other religious societies, wthiehs to ailow them their fia shabre of meriL could noL be compared- with this So- Cety in point of usefulnes, swere is so flourisni,g a condition Why, amidst so large a xamber of religious inusthutns, should oneno valuableafthis havebem peraiLtedtolmguiash,when it ought to have been warrmly. and cordially rted P Th..caute he be- lieved he had sdiscovered, and he vas almost ashamed of mentioning It. The town did not appear to be wanting in attachment to the Es. tablished Church-the crowded cengregation which uembled in the parish church on 8undaywas a demonstrative pproof that this was not the case. No, it 'was nort a wan: ssf regard for the church that caused4he Society he~ was advocating te Languish he couli attibu te it only to an ignorance of its merits. Nor, indeed, he was boand to say, was this Ignorance cosfined to this district; for even in the neighbourhood of hiB OWn residente iis the mnetropolis, within thse very verge and sphere of the Society's exereon, he h2: rectly found that more than a huntred persons knes nothing of its existence, and that a still greater degree f ignorance prevaied as tD its objects. This might have arsen from misrepresentation; to which he would not now allude; andprobsbly the same case might have produced aimirHt effects here. der other crcumstances, le shouldnot hizve ventured to trespass upon their time by entering Into a detail of the origin, objects, and operations of the Socie.y: but, as it was, he felt it necessary to offer a few words in explaion of these points. TIhe Society was established in 169 by several dislinguished individuals, for the purpose of counteracting the evis with whicht the country was then tnreatened, by the dissmnation of infidel publications; and of promoting among the people the growth of true Cbristizs knowledge. In two years the Society had ample proof of the good which had been effected by its exertions. Shortly afterwards it was considered expedient to separate the Society into two branches, ane of which, under the title of " the Society, for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts," was incor- porated by charter. This Society bad proceeded steadi1y up to the present time, in the discharge of the sacred trust reposeA in it; and with theaidof Government (thougb not to the ssent to which he should have wished), had sent out to dafferent parts not less than two hundred Christian Ministers, to preach the saving trutbsof the Gospel in the North Americas colonies. The objects of the other Society, namely, "t he SDciety for promoting Chritian. Know- ledge," were, the propagatiori of Christian truth at home-the foundation and encouragement of Charity Schools-and the sending of missionaries to foreign prts-thedistvibution of the Holy Serlp. tures, the Book of Common Pa 'er, and other books explana. tory of the doctrines of the Established Church. For manyyears the exertions of the Society were extremely liited. Indeed, it was weU known, that the increased demand for the Scriptures com- menced only within the last fev years; and he must here tal;e leave to sav, that in a great degree the present wide diffusion of the Word of " wras attribtutable to the exertioas of this Society; in the hands of the Lord it bad been the chief instrument indireet_ ing, the minds of the people to the sacred truths of religion. This Ssc ety was also the first to etand forward in that labour of love, the reLigious education of the children of the poor. It nlid the foundation of those noble establishments which were now carrying on with so much benefit to the Bation, by the Neationl School Society-a monmuent of piety whose exertions wauld he enrolled in the annals of our country in characters of light. So that upwards of tiree hundred thousand children were even now in- directly imbibing the pure streams of knowledge at the handsof thig Society. This institution had extended considerable eupport to mis- sionaries in foreip parts. lis L-ordship said he did not feel disposA to press the claim of the Soiety as being the earliest to take the charge of ruis-sionaries abroad; their operations had been, in a degree,. limited, owing to the want of funds; but thev continued to prosecute this good work to the extent of their ability, and were still labouririg in this part of the vineyard of the Lord. It was hoped, however, that his .Majesty's Govemment would take this branch of their duty into its ownshand%. In the southern parts of India much good had been done through the instrumentality of the Society's missionaries; not fewer than 20,000 Christians ;were the fruits of their exertions; and a considerable number of schools had been es- tablished in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, which were well at- tended by the children of the natives. The chief object of this So. ciet.y, however, was, the dissemination of religious books, includ- ing the Holy Scriptures. N'ot one person in the meeting, he was sure, would call in question the grea; necessity there was of dis- tributing the Bible; but still he saw no reason why, as members of the Established Curch, the meeting should not attach its full im. portance to the Book of Comnon Prayer. Was he called upon to say, at the present time, when so much incondistency and contra- riety in discipline prevailed, that there was no need to introduce a help to the right interpretation of the Scriptures ? lVas it sufficient to acquire _ knowledge of the rudiments of Gospel truth only, and leave the superstructure unffiished? He would coatend, that it was our especial duty, as supporters of the Church of England, to use our best exertionss in disseminating such books as woull enable our feUow-men to interpret the word of God aright; and to answer this desirable purpose, andto instruct their inds, he knew of no better bool than the Common Prayer. And he was sure the candid seceder would admit the propriety and the justice of their pursuing this course, for he believed that no liberal seceder would mfaintain, that a man might not become a sincere Christian, by actig up, i al things, to the doctrines set forth in the Book of Common 1'rayer. Next to the laborious exertions of the clergy, this might be the means of bringing again within the pale of the church, those indi- viduals who had left it. NWhy not, then, stand up in defence of our mother church, and try to reclaim our seceded brethren? [His Lordship, who was much afFected, said, he hoped the meeting weuld bear with him, as he felt stronqly the importance of this subject.] He felt deeply impressed with the inconsistercy which presented itself mn this place. While the ministers of the Gospel ware officiating in the house of God, they were surrounded by hadreas of hea,rers, exhibiting every appearance of attention and zeal; and yet, to the Society for Pronoting Christian X-nowledge, whose object was the distribution of book;s, of church principles, nor a hundred subscibers were found iln these extensive and popu- lous towns ! So impressed was he with the imparrance of the sub- ject, that he could not resist further tresparsing upon their atten- tion. Ere should mention a fact, end it ought to be sufficient to in- duce the meeting to come forwvard in support of the Society. The number of books distributed during the last fourteen venrs amount- ed to Dearly fifeea m)ilions,- a great portion of which were Prayer Books. Bat, that he might not be consider.d as attaching too much importance to this fact, he would add, and lie coald state it from his owvn personal knowledge, that the demad for Prayer B4oks was cmmnensurate w ith the demanid for the foly Scriptures. The peo- pla at home and abread very loudly catlld for the Book of Common Prayer; aatd at this moment so great was the demaud for it in India, that a ceraisponding supply osuld not be procurel. This could not be called aforced distribution of t Pe l'rayer Book. It was, there. fore, the duty of the ineubersof the Established Church to come forward and endeavour to answer that demand. The blessed fruits proceeding from the distribution of tbis and other books issued by the SoDiety we had now the happiness of enjoying. The meeting well knew the mischievous effects that were attempted to be pro- duced by the circulation of i;sfidel publications, calculated to shake the zLttachment of the people to our venerable institu- tions in church and st-ite. For tie fa lure in the efforts of the great enemy to mankind, we ovwed most especially our thanks to Giod; but no inconsiderable praise vas due to the Society for Promoting Christian .nowledge, who, in this houliof threat- enedl daner, appropriated a large sum of money in the print_ iRg and circulaing of no less than 100,100 anti-infidel publications. The happy result of thia measure, under God's blessing, they all well know. Had he not, then, his Loidship said he would ask, esta_ blished the indefeasible claimis of this Society to the liberal support of the public ? Was the dissemination of tP.e Scriptures to be consi- dered as the work of the clergy exdusively; and were they to go through this duty 'without any assistancefroiU3 the laity ? This ought not to"be th case. he would, therefore, call upon themeeting to as. sist In this work; there was an ample field for theirgscrtions: be wtould entreat them) to co-operate in the zealous endeavours of the S;ciety to reclaim sinners, and to furnish them with an accurate knowrledge of the sacred truths of the Gospel-to come manfully forward, anti perform the duties of soldiers of Christ's militant 0hurch. Without casting the slightest timptitation on any Christian Asso- ciation or questioning their motives or their principles, he wouald earnestly cal upon every person possessed oF competent means, to aid this Society to the best of his ability, particularly in this district, where the people were so independent and intelligent, and where the humbler classes manifested so strong a desire to be taught the saving truths of the Bible. As the chief pastor of' his extensive atnd important diocess, he could not refrain fromn saying, that an unspeakable respensibility rested on the3se individuals who derived their profits from the labour of the persons placed under tlheir coctrol; who, by the exertions of their depen. dents, had amassed wealth, and been elevated among their fellmo men; and who, except the pittance they gave for their exertions, had no oiher dtkiy to perform in return than to watch over the nrogress of their servants' moral conduct-a duty, his Lordship ieared, not estimated as it ought to be, but for the neglect of which, if lie understood the Gospel, anl the laws of his country, ar-ght, -asters were il,eply reeporisible. By keeping a, watchful eye upoN heir conduct-ay placing in their hands moral and religious books_ by the establishment of !ending libraries;-by these mreans, mas- ters would very much contribute to the present and eternal in. rrest of their cervants; and, he would add, vould likewise be contributig, in a great degree, to their own. His Lordship said a great variety of topics pressed themnselves upon his attention* but bg entering upon thlem now, lie should be led farther than he could wish. He hoped, however, that wh.at he had advanced would harve some good effnecr.that it would have the happiest result. IMat. ever the rertoina;ieu of this day's wastisng r.lsld be, it woulA only be the laying of the B3 frst soIe Of a ia-ger building; it ereiti col Only be niop1itihed1 by the active plarsional exertlions of every one who'wished well to the cause. fie trtusted thlat evrerY subscriber would sohlct the support of his neighbmijr and that-all would co. operate withl the mninisters of' the Eitablished C-hitirch, to pzocr support to the Society. Thiey who engaked. in this Iabour of lorvree .tZoutd aiostassiiredly receive their rewaxd. Hisj Lordship observed, in correlus io-' Permit mea to thank you for the very, khid attention youa have p aid to thte observatiois, I have matde. If, fri,he course of sin' reinarks, I shouldi hiave used soill ekPresslion that may be cont- lar too strong, I hope YOU w,illtinko h r importaiace of InY 001ce, as sPiritual pmastr of tlis iop itric; in thte dis. charge of the duities of which I conlside mjfjs Ifdin speaking wcith anenergy bid- oag1thIr7iCh,5c:o lo e cain should cer- finytelsonm e relu*itwe Ini using. Sevrn rezhiioa iere,therr proposed by-JADIES BnxUtLEY, Esq., and eeCon $.?Lr_'iCtsn Eq,the J3orotgh- reeve. G1xHw s. Prevloslytoteirng ttt-othe-vote, the LorD.BsEbou6.sid, he u~ht t haei~T~~1~ ~iremarks he ha niade to. the miatlng, thatinthee iistnce fn hisdioce~ss wvithin the last few weeks, hie had win~se the ;arn~tco loern fathe sue-ceM of the Society. litthecit ofChete, bg Lrdsip oxvened a weeting, which was flulelual atondd; nd n te curse of a fewv days, upwards of ~5Ol. eresubcijcii Ne log aterads a meeting was heldI for the arnenTpoe.a WarrigrOwhr 20 weresubscribed in the YOi7 n inc ien a weigla beteld in Liverpoo, at which hisl' Lrhiprsded, when a very considerable sutm was sUbscribed fIbarWuih The resolutions were then put, a'nd unatnimously carried. OR thlemotien of the Vet3 LV thelVAPDEq, secornded byJAxsta Nonns Eq.,thecorialthanks of the meeting were voted to the Bisho-p, for the zeal and- ability with which he had ad voatedl the cause of' theSceyanfohicodcintehir ,I cnwegn hsvi,hzLrri thsaid-". return youipy ledetaksfrti iir fyu approbation, nndItrsIshl not e cnridred ashavig gne eyond the limit of my dutY. Whist amparicuarl anadvcae for the 0stablished Church, I hiuv mot snceely t ~artthespiitual wvelfare of the universal chuch f Cris." rayra!a aainfreedupbyhisLordshiip for the pt'apeityof heSocety afer hih thwneting was dissolved. I SOCIBZY FOR PROMOTIEG CHRISTfAMN fNo17. LE?DGE.