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Leader (1850-1860), 29th October 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 2, RELIGIOUS ASPECTS. Two religious phenome...

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      A New Step Has Beenmade In The Progress ...

      Some of the American papers speak of " a panic" in the New York market , and put forth the most gloomy prophecies as to an universal crash . It is evident that these reports are imaginary ; instigated in part , by the love of a sensation , and in part , by something like personal hostility to the present Grovernment One fact alone will make the English , reader understand how absurd is the very . theory of this fiction . American houses are represented as fearing the consequences of the demand for bread-stuffs in

      England . Now , it is quite possible that in the sharp trade which goes on across the Atlantic , individual houses may be more or Ies 3 hurt ; and occasionally it has happened so . But that danger to America should arise from a trade so substantial as that in bread-stuffs ; that the extension of the trade should occasion fears amongst the bold merchants across the Atlantic , are preposterous notions . Even the chance of , hostilities would have one advantage , in tending to increase our trade with America rather than

      Hussia . We may compare these prophecies with others , that Governor Pierce was losing ground , and that the opposite party was gaining ground . Three of the most important States , however , have returned their State officers with democratic majorities—Pennsylvania , Ohio , and Georgia . Ohio has been most frequently Whig ; Pennsylvania , sometimes one and sometimes the other ; and Georgia gives the tone very much of the South . Thsee elections , therefore , are of the first importance as indications of feeling .

      The most painful event at home is the continuance and development of the great Lancashire strike centering in Preston . The men still hold out to their ten per cent ., but at the instance of a Mr . Braliam , of Manchester , they have adopted a resolution inviting a public meeting , to be called by the Mayor , for the purpose of considering a general accommodation of the dispute . It is not likely that the dispute can be settled at public meetings ; but the men at all events show

      more disposition towards an arrangement than the masters , who remain obstinate in their " strike . " Tens of thousands—perhaps more than a hundred thousand persons—are out of work ; thousands of retail dealers are of course also out of work ; trade , manufacturing and retail , is at a stand throughout a , wide district ; nothing is produced wherewith to buy food , to pay for lodging , or to replace clothing , and both parties are incurring a swingeing debt .

      Before this great fact many other facts of the week seem small . Mr . Cobden ' s speech at Barnsley , on the occasion of the re-opening of the Lecture hall of the Mechanics' Institution of that town ; the festival at Tamworth , apparently to celebrate the non-succe 8 s of the Midland Union of Mechanics' Institutes ; Mr . Recorder Hill ' s strictures on the Birmingham gaol disclosures ; the publication of a circular describing an instrument

      of torture in Winchester gaol ; Mr . Bouverie ' a rendering an account to Iiih constituents at KiljTiarnock ; and the further narrative of the deplorable losB of the Dalhonde , drowning aixtyfowr persons ; with the drowning of thirty-seven persons inveigled to attempt the passage of a rotten bridge over the Miulway—arc traits of daily Jifc in England , ho little varying from incidents often recorded in the papera , that they invite enumeration rather than remark .

      By far the most startling and important fact at home , however , is that letter by Lord Palrnerston , which has fallen like a bombshell among the " IVenby tery of Edinburgh . The Presbytery had addresHca to the Government a letter requesting thai ;» day for prayer and humiliation jnight ho set . « . parL as a national fafit , on account of the Cholera - It was the Presbytery of the Established Church that made tho request ; the request is one according to tho sectarian routine , ami it might Lave been expected to extort , if not a compliance , at all events an i excusatory lettor

      from the Government . Instead ol that , Lord PahncrHton sends one of his brief and pithy expositions of a plain truth , which is not often plainly recognised . Jlc does not think that a national fast , would be suitable to the present moment . The Maker of tho universe , he says , has esfcablished certain laws of nature for the planet in ¦ which we live . Tho weal or woe of man depends upon the observance or neglect of those laws . One of those laws connects health with the dispersion of gaseous exhalations . And Providence \ in & placed arrangements within tho power of wiui

      to prevent or disperse these exhalations . It doeB not appear to Xiord Palmerston , therefore , that we having neglected these laws , and being afflicted with Cholera , it is a becoming mode of sig nifying our humble resignation to the Divine will , to indulge in prayerftil importunities and leave off eating food . Comte himself could not have put the truth of the matter in a more distinct light—he could not have clothed it in

      Ian-Oe more excellentl y plain and pointed . 33 ut : of answering a Presbytery with truth—with religion non-sectarian—with a more intelligent reference to the will of God , instead of the old begging expectation of a miracle , which seems to have been copied by anticipation from the expiring race of Irish cottiers . Lord Palmerston prefers other precepts and practices , higher religion , than that of the Presbytery of Scotland ; and on that score at least he is fit to be the Minister of

      this country at this day . The principles which the Leader stood always alone in advocating three years ago have found their way to the Home Office . Lord Palmerston is at least a mitigated disciple of the Positive Philosophy .

      1034 The Leader. [Saturday/

      1034 THE LEADER . [ Saturday /

      Lord Palmerston On Prayer And Fasting. T...

      LORD PALMERSTON ON PRAYER AND FASTING . The Moderator of the Edinburgh Presbytery of the Church , of Scotland addressed Lord Palmerston a few days ago , stating that the Presbytery had in view the propriety of appointing , on ecclesiastical authority , a day for prayer and humiliation , within its bounds , on account of the re-appearance of Asiatic cholera in this country . Considering , however , that it was likely that a national fast would be appointed on Royal authority , they begged respectfully to ask whether such an appointment was in contemplation . The following letter from the Home Office , in reply , was read at the monthly meeting of the Presbytery on Wednesday : — "Whitehall , Oct . 19 . *

      "Sir ,- —I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknoledge the receipt of your letter of the 15 th instant , requesting , on the behalf of the Presbytery of Edinburgh , to be informed whether it is proposed to appoint a da y of national fasting on account of the visitation of the cholera , and to state that there can be no doubt that manifestations of humble resignation to the Divine "Will and sincere acknowledgments of human unworthiness are never more appropriate than when it has pleased Providence to afflict mankind with some severe visitation ; but it does not appear to Lord Palmerston that a national fast would be suitable to the circumstances of the present moment .

      " The Maker of the Universe has established certain laws of nature for the planet in wliich we live , and the weal or woe of mankind depends upon the observance or the neglect of those laws . One of those laws connects health with the absence of those gaseous exhalations wliich proceed from overcrowded human beings , or from decomposed substances , whether animal or vegetable ; and these same laws render sickness the almost inevitable consequence of exposure to those noxious iniluences . But it lias , at the same time , pleased Providence to put it within the power of man to make such arrangements as will prevent or disperse such exhalations so as to render them harmless , and it is the duty of man to attend to those laws of nature , and to exert the faculties which Providence lias thus given to man for his own welfare .

      " Tho recent visitation of cholera , which has for tho moment been mercifully checked , is an awful warning given to the people of this realm that they have too much neglected their duty in this respect , and that those persona with whom it rested to purify towns and cities and to prevent or to remove the causes of disease , have not beensuuiciontly active in regard to such matters . Lord Palmerston would therefore suggest that the best course which tho people of this country can pursue to doservo that the further progress of the cholera should bo Htayed , will bo to employ tho interval that will elapse between the present

      tune and tho beginning of next spring in planning and executing measures by which thono portions of their towns and cities which are inhabited by tho poorest classes , and which , from the naturo of tilings , must most need purilioation and improvement , maybe freed from those causes and sources of contagion which , if allowed to remain , will infallibly breed pestilence , and be fruitful in < loal . li , in spite of all the prayers and liiatingH of an unit cd but inactive nation , when man ban done bin utmost for bin own safety , then in the time to invoke tho blessing of J Leaven to give effect to bin exertions .

      " X am , Sir , your obedient , servant , "JllONIlY FlTZHOV . " To tho Ifev . W . H . Gray , Moderator of tho Presbytery of Edinburgh . " On tho reading ol' tho letter , Tho Reverend Dr . Clark expressed his total dissent from the sentiments expressed in tho letter , and said he would not wish to be ji sharer in tho responsibilit y of those who refused or declined to give her Majesty ' s HubjeetH an opportunity of meeting for prayer in regard to so fearful a visitation . The Reverend Dr . Muir said , bethought there could be but ono uniningled feeling of pity entertained by them that sueh a document should emanate from a profeHHedly Christian Government .

      Several members expressed concurrence in them ; HentimentH . It whh agreed to refer the appointment ol n day oi humitiiOiou and prayer to tho approaching

      meeting of the provincial Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale , that the s & me day / might be fixed for the whole Synod . The question was put whether the answer of Mr . Fitzroy \ should be engrossed in the minutes and it was unanimously carried in / the negative .

      Religious Aspects. Two Religious Phenome...

      RELIGIOUS ASPECTS . Two religious phenomena come before us : the British and Foreign Bible Society in its year of Jubilee and Methodism in its decline . ' ' Lord Mayor jDhallis presided over a meeting of the society in the Egyptian . Hall of the Mansion House on Tuesday , and measures were adopted for making the year of Jubilee specially memorable . Mr . Challis declared that the society had been eminently successful : — " ¦ First established in 1804 , the society now numbered in connexion with it not less than 8332 branches . When the society was first established , the translations of the Bible were not more than fifty ; there were now one hundred and fifty languages in which the society had promoted the distribution , printing , and translation of th e Scriptures . By the means of the society also an immense increase had taken place in the circulation of the Bible , not less than 46 , 000 , 000 copies having been distributed by means of the combined action of the branch and parent societies , a number equal to eleven times the whole quantity which were supposed to be in existence at the time of the formation of the society . After alluding to the vast opening which the present revolution in China promised to afford for the spread of the Holy Scriptures , his lordship called upon the meeting zealously and liberally to co-operate with the Bible Society in its magnificent design of a free distribution of a million of New Testaments in the native language of China . "

      The Reverend Mr . Frost read a statement showing the " progress" of the society : — " Prom this it appeared that the total sum expended by the society since its formation had been 3 , 950 , 9532 ., and that nearly 45 , 000 , 000 copies of the Scriptures had been circulated , of which number 18 , 000 , 000 had been distributed in Great Britain and Ireland , 17 , 000 , 000 in Europe , 8 , 000 , 000 in America , and 2 , 000 , 000 among Jews , Mahometans , and heathens in other parts of the world . The society proposed to establish a ' Jubilee Fund' for special objects , towards which an aggregate sum of 32 , 000 ? . had been already subscribed . The objects contemplated by this fund were , the adoption , as far as practicable , of an extensive and efficient system of colportage throughout Great

      Britain , in the year of jubilee ; the supply of emigrants , together with special grants of Bibles and Testaments to prisons , schools , missions , and other charitable and benevolent institutions in this country ; and special grants to Ireland , in such ways as might hereafter be determined upon . They also proposed to make special efforts in India , Australia , and other British colonies , by agencies , grants , or otherwise ; and special grants to China , and such other parts of the world as might appear open to special operations . Lastly , they proposed the establishment of a special and separate fund , from the annual produce of which pecuniary aid may be granted , at the discretion of tho committee , to persons in the employ of tho society , including the colporteurs abroad , and to their widows and children when in circumstances to require such aids .

      The Earl of Shaftesbury said that it was a great thing to have invented the electric telegraph , but the circulation of the Bible was a grander conception ; and it might also be said that the Bible is " the cheap defence of nations . " Mr . Samuel Gurney , Mr . Alderman Wire , and other gentlemen spoke , and resolutions were adopted declaring the right of every man to possess and read tho Bible , and the especial duty of Great Britain to eiroulate it . We borrow from the Morning Post a statement ot th e present condition and prospects of the followers oi John Wesley . , " The minutes of the lost WcHloyan Conference have just fallen into our hands , and we learn from them tun .. Methodism is now a failing cause . Year by your 1 >» ^ seems to have been a gradual decrease in the number ili ' WhuuV mmnliim . imrl thin vear it is more markwl "

      ever . It ia erroneously supposed by many that the M <> dints are a large body , but it appears from the « t '' llJH"V before uh that ; they are much smaller in number " " in commonly imagined . The total number in (» reiil . J '" ftn ( l is two hundred and seventy thousand nine hun ( lr ( M on ( , si-xty-fivo . Last year it was two hundred and Mf $ > llJ thousand two hundred and sixty-three , showing udou upon the present year of ten thousand two hunami mnoty-eipfht . m In Ireland , last year io (|() B „ this year ' i-w , i 432 . Decrease on the year In Europe , last year 11 ( 17 „ this year ^ J——711 * 1 Decrease ••• , i , x jA ' m , "In . India , Ceylon , and China , and tlio S » " «»^ Hions , there has been a plig ht increase , an follows . ^^ Thwyear g ' <) Last year ^ J- — ' _ 113 IncronBO " . " "In Australia and tho islands of I '<> ly »<>» ltt : 1 {) 1 !? 5 Thin year 1 « * »! $ » liiiHt year _____ — - 107 Increase '' ^ yest " " Southern Africa nhows an increase of ^^" i j ^ T / lM orn Africa of sovon hundred and fchirty-8 « vo » .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 29, 1853, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29101853/page/2/