R. W. G. Hunter, G. C. Harvard, Henry Howarth, Platform.
Isaac Harding, Thomas Hill, Dr. Hill, J. H. Hill,
James Hildyard, W. A. Hawkins, J. Hill Hitchens,
Archdeacon Hunter, F. Hudson, C. Jackson, Dr.
Jobson, Isaac Jacob, W. E. Jelf, George Jones, Dr.
Innes, H. Jarvis, A. King, A. Kessen, J. Knapp, R.
J. Knight, A. G. Lawe, Samuel Lord, G. Latham,
J. Powell Lowe, R. B. Lewis, J. S. Morris, J. G.
Mills, Prof. M'All, R. Morgan, Dr. Morison, H. Mil-
ler, G. Mather, F. J. C. Moran, W. Moran, J. A.
M'Allister, J. M'Cormick, W. Mayor, C. Moon, J.
H. Murray, A. J. Manson, W. Nagle, W. Niven,
J. C. Nobles (of America), T. Orr, P. S. O'Brien,
J. Ormiston, J. G. Oncken, J. F. Osborne, C. Ough,
J. B. Pike, W. Powell, W. Peterson, P. E. Phelps,
D. Robertson, Hon. H. Rice, H. Robertshaw, Robert
Ross, H. Ralph, George Scott, J. M. Sangar, Paul
L. Sandberg, W. Stone, J. Sugden, E. J. Speck,
E. Sanderson, G. W. Straton, H. H. A. Smith, J.
Stephenson, G. Thorp, W. Thompson, J. Toulson,
R. A. Taylor, S. S. Tugwell, F. Tucker, O. J. Vig-
noles, B. West, G. F. Williamson, R. Willan, Thomas
Watts, J. Wood, W. N. Walker, J. C. Woodcock,
Dr. V. M. White, Dr. Wainwright, F. Woofenden,
B. Winthrop, W. R. Williams; Messrs. T. R. An-
drew, F. A. Bevan, R. C. L. Bevan, E. D. Bryan,
T. Percival Bunting, C. Boardman, J. W. Brook,
Z. D. Berry, J. Bruce, Henry Cope, T. W. S. Cham-

Platform. bers, G. Cruikshank, J. I. Campbell, T. Dowyard, W. D. T. Duesbury, F. G. Ekenstein, J. H. Elliott, R. Fleming, T. Fidler, W. Fidler, J. Finch, C. H. Frewen, A. E. Gayer, L. Gordon, A. H. Guinnes, J. T. Holden, E. Harper, A. C. Higgs, C. P. Higgs, L. R. Hall, R. G. Haliburton, S. Harwood, W. Handy, George Heywood, T. J. Eyre, R. Jervis, L. Jassmann, E. P. Jelf, J. Lord, C. Lucas, J. G. Monsson, I. J. Murphy, G. Moore, Fitzgerald Murray, B. Mason, H. Masters, J. Mellor, T. Moss, A. G. Mapleton, R. Nugent, J. Nasmyth, A. P. Onslow, A. Paton, W. H. Peters, C. Pass, S. E. Priddy, J. H. Skinner, C. P. Stewart, R. J. Stent, R. Steele, B. B. Sapwell, A. Steuart, C. Sanson, G. Stromeyer, A. Tindal, W. H. Torriano, J. L. Whittle, A. Waddilove, W. Wightwick (Mayor of Folkestone), A. Wilson, W. A. West.

Prayer.

Chairman.

The Chairman, who on rising was received with loud cheers, said,-Ladies, my Lords and Gentlemen, before we say a single word on the momentous subject which has brought us together, let me call upon the Rev. W. Cadman to ask a blessing from our Heavenly Father, the Lord God Almighty, for I am sure that most of you here present feel and acknowledge that without God's blessing all our best endeavours and all our works will go for naught. The Rev. W. Cadman having offered up prayer, The Chairman said, Ladies, my Lords and

Gentlemen, allow me, in the first instance, to convey a message to you from Earl Russell. (Hear, Earl Russell. hear.) He has requested me to say that it is with feelings of the deepest regret that the state of his health prevents him from having the honour of presiding on the present occasion. He also wrote, 'I beg you will assure the meeting of my entire agreement with the resolutions that are proposed, and my complete sympathy with the motives and objects they have in view.' (Cheers.) The objects which we have in view are twofold. One is to express our sympathy with the German nation in their struggle against Ultramontanism. The other is to call upon our beloved country to awake from her lethargic slumber (cheers), and to confront with boldness the subtle and dangerous enemy. (Cheers.) That noble letter from his Ma- Emperor's jesty, the German Emperor, has not only called forth expressions of admiration from the Protestants of Europe, but it has been the means of sounding a note of timely warning to the British nation, and the British nation this day speaks out. (Cheers.) Were I to read to you one out of every hundred of the letters which have been received expressing approval of the resolutions to be submitted to you this day, it would take hours. They speak the voice and conscience of thousands of our fellowcountrymen, and with thousands of tongues from

letter.

Earl Russell's letter.

foreign nations. But there is one letter amongst them which I must read. Perhaps every one here. has read that letter from Earl Russell. (Cheers.) It is a letter worthy of being read again and again. (Cheers.) It was addressed to myself a few days ago. The noble Earl says,

DEAR SIR JOHN MURRAY,-I have already informed you of the cause which will prevent me from presiding at the meeting of the 27th of January. Let us now consider what is the object of the meeting. Archbishop Manning states his doctrine very clearly and very boldly thus:

'The Church is separate and supreme. Let us, then, ascertain somewhat further what is the meaning of supreme. Any power which is independent, and can alone fix the limit of its own jurisdiction, and can thereby fix the limits of all other jurisdictions, is ipso facto, supreme. But the Church of Jesus Christ, within the sphere of revelation of faith and morals, is all this, or is nothing, or worse than nothing, an imposture and a usurpation that is, it is Christ or Antichrist.'

Archbishop Manning goes on to say,

'If it is to be Antichrist, every Cæsar, from Nero to the present day, is justified.'

So we may say, on the other side, if the Church of Rome be Christ, every Pope, from Rodrigo Borgia to this day, is justified, and must be accounted Christ. For my own part, many years of my career in Parliament were devoted to the promotion of religious liberty. From 1813 to 1829 I constantly voted for the admission of Roman Catholics to Parliament and to office. In 1828 I took the foremost part in relieving Protestant Dissenters from the disabilities of the Corporation and Test Acts. For many years afterwards I laboured for the liberation of the Jews. But neither for Roman Catholics, for

sell's letter.

Protestant Dissenters, nor for Jews, did I ask for more than Earl Rusequal privileges and equal laws. Archbishop Manning says of the Church:

'If it be Christ, it is the supreme power among men; that is to say: I. It holds its commission and authority from God; 2. It holds in custody the faith and the law of Jesus Christ; 3. It is the sole interpretation of that faith, and the sole expositor of that law; it has within the sphere of that commission a power to legislate with authority-to bind the consciences of all men born again in the baptism of Jesus Christ.'

This is not liberty, civil or religious. It is to bow the knee to a despotic and fallible priesthood. The very same principles which bound me to ask for equal freedom for the Roman Catholic, the Protestant Dissenter, and the Jew, bind me to protest against a conspiracy which aims at confining the German Empire in chains never, it is hoped, to be shaken off. I hasten to declare, with all friends of freedom, and, I trust, with the great majority of the English nation, that I could no longer call myself a lover of civil and religious liberty were I not to proclaim my sympathy with the Emperor of Germany in the noble struggle in which he is engaged. We have nothing to do with the details of the German laws; they may be just, they may be harsh; we can only leave it to the German people to decide for themselves, as we have decided for ourselves. At all events, we are able to see that the cause of the German Emperor is the cause of liberty, and the cause of the Pope is the cause of slavery.

I remain, dear Sir John Murray,
Yours very truly,

Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park,

RUSSELL.

Jan. 19, 1874.

At the conclusion of the letter, several portions of which were loudly cheered, the Chairman added,