Denton Examiner, Audenshaw, Hooley Hill and Dukinfield Advertiser. — 1876-02-12 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

UNITARIAN LECTURE IN THE COOPERATIVE HALL, DENTON. _ _  --•- ---• On Tuesday evening last, a very able and instructive Lecture was delivered in the above ball, under the auspices of the Uniterian Mission, by the Rev Douglass Walmsley, an., of Bury, his subject being "the Devil." Re commenced his lecture by a reference to the first chapters of the book of Genesis' in which 1 the account of the fall was given, be denied the • assertion of the orthodox doctrines that the serpent, which according to the passages quoted.. is said to have tempted our first parents in the Garden ef Eden, was, or had any connection , with our modern idea of a Devil, and he asserted and challenged contradiction, that, according to the account of scripture, the tempter of Eve was a serpent and nothing hut a serpent, and that the author from his account, found in the bible, never had any idea of a devil such as we are in the habit of being taught, the existence of. He went through the scriptures, to Ole end of Revelatione and claimed to have proved that the Doctrine of a devil was not in accordance with the highest and purest ideas we entertain, of a just and merciful God. He said the doctrinal was a relic of an Ascetic Paganism, and that prior to the captivity, the doctrine of a devil was unknown among the Jewish people. He characterised the popuiar idea of Satan, as an ignorant, God-dishonouring superstition which hail percolated the thoughts and notions' of the vulgar, cud superstitious people of the middle ages, awl culminated at that time in the murder of nine millions of tiod's ereatures; for what the people in their woful ignorance and superstition desiguated witchcraft. He sail that the popular idea of christianity, was a somewhat shuffling thing, that charged the wrong that we ourselves were guilty of, to the aceount of a diabolical agency, that God had created as powerful for evil as He himself was for good, and then after the sin and wren.' WAR committed, we sought to free ourselves 'from the Main by appealing to an innocent being I that is said to have suffered the punishment in our stead. He said that every individual was responsible to himeelf and to God for every sin I that lie committed, that according to the words of the Epistle General of St James. But evely man is tempted when be is drawn away of his ' own lusts and entbsid. Then when lust bath conceived it briugeth ferth sin, is finished, heiugetli forth dew I.•• which occupied upwards of an o ing, was listened to with marked a., . • numerous and respectable audio,,.. close the chairman, (the Rev .J. K. nouuced that questions on the lecture weal allowed and the lecturer wool I a the best of MR ability A un•I.I. having been pm. awl r. pus- , was Moved by Hr. R. Kenyan, that the Last Banks of the meeting !should be given to Mr. Walmsley for his very able logical and instruct lye lecture. A gentleman to the b.. ly of the room, moved as au amendment. That inasmuch as the views enuunciated by the lecturer, are at variance with the truths of christianity, we ale of opinion, that those views should not be coun• tenaueed by this meeting. The amendment was. put when three hands were held up in favour, the original motion was then put to the meeting when the whole of the audience with the above exception, voted to its favour, the motion was theref ore carried. After a vote of thanks was accorded to the Rev Mr Smith, for his impartial cOhduct in the chair, the meeting separated BRADFORD COMMERCIAL BANKING CoMPANY The forty-third annual meeting of the Brad ford Commercial Banking Company was field on mouday morning. The report presented to the Shareholders stated that the set profit for the year 1875 amounted to £43,678.44 9.1, which, with the sum of £3,358, 2a 7d. brought forward from the previous year, gave a total of £47,036. 7s. 4d. to be appropriated. At the directors' recommendatiou, a divintlend of 18 per cent- or £4. Is 6.i. per share, free of income tax, was declared; £.2,000 was passed to the credit of the bank premises account, cud £3,675. lie. 101. was carried forward to the profit loss account for this year.