DOMESTIC.

Soirée in celebration of the Opening of the Unitarian Church, Hope Street, Liverpool.

On the evening of Thursday, October 18, the opening of the new church belonging to the congregation lately worshiping in Paradise-Street chapel, was celebrated by a very brilliant Soirée. The splendid concert-room, called the Philharmonic Hall, capable of holding between two and three thousand persons, was (at considerable cost) engaged for the occasion. The assemblage of friends of both sexes was numerous and brilliant. The body of the Hall was set out with tables, which were liberally supplied with tea, coffee, fruit, and other refreshments. In the course of the evening the powerful organ-specially constructed for the Hall-was played on by Mr. Russell Martineau. For music the Hall seems better fitted than for speaking. Few, if any, of the speakers were heard by all the company; and some were very indistinctly heard even by the reporters, who were placed in the extensive orchestra. This circumstance may, perhaps, account for the very inadequate reports which have hitherto appeared of this interesting meeting. We have taken some pains to provide a full report, but have not succeeded in the case of every speaker. The chair was taken by Thomas Bolton, Esq. There were present, in addition to most of the ministers named in our former report, Messrs. Thos. Thornely, M. P., James Heywood, M. P., H. Č. Robinson, J. B. Yates, W. Rathbone, and all the principal members of the Liverpool congregations.

Tea being over,

The CHAIRMAN rose amidst loud cheering, and said that by the kindness of the committee he had been placed in the situation he then filled. He felt his inability to discharge the duties of the office as efficiently as they ought to be performed, but he would endeavour to discharge the duties which had fallen upon him as well as he could. The immediate object of their assembling there that evening was to celebrate the opening of their new church in Hope Street, which had been registered as a place of meeting for Protestant Dissenters, for the public worship of

Almighty God and instruction in the tion, they claimed and exercised, in its Christian Religion. As a denominafullest extent, the right of private judgment in the interpretation of Scripture. That evening they were favoured with the company of many friends from a distance, and several of them would have the honour of addressing them; and he was sure it was not necessary for him to bespeak for them a respectful attention to the sentiments they would propose, and to the observations they might make upon them. The first sentiment he had to propose to them was one which he was sure would be responded to with feelings of gratification by all present. It was their happiness-a grateful and happy circumstance-now to be enjoying those liberties for which their ancestors for a long period of time had fought, and to live under a Queen who enjoyed the confidence of all her subjects-a confidence which no monarch in past times ever enjoyed before her. During her reign she had, in times of difficulty and of danger, ever been found to unite discretion with the exercise of power, which might well challenge competition and excite the admiration of the world. She had performed, in a most exemplary manner, her duties as a Queen and as a Mother. He need not further enlarge on her good qualities, and would, therefore, at once propose to them "The health of her Majesty Queen Victoria, and long might she reign."

The toast was received with loud cheering. "God save the Queen" was then sung by the company, all standing, accompanied by the organ.

The CHAIRMAN, on again rising, said, that it was not unfrequently a charge against Dissenters that they were disaffected against the government of the country. But he (the Chairman) there openly avowed that no class of her Majesty's subjects were more sincerely attached to the Crown and the Constitution of this country than were the descendants of the old Presbyterians. He had, therefore, to propose, as an acknowledgment of their loyalty," "The Duchess of Kent, the Prince Albert, Albert, Prince of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family."

The CHAIRMAN then, in eulogistic terms, proposed "The Rev. Thomas

Madge, with our best thanks for his interesting and powerful sermon of to-day. Let perfect harmony and mutual trust pervade and animate the various congregations in our body." The sentiment was received with loud applause.

The Rev. Mr. MADGE said-I rise chiefly for the purpose of thanking you for the kind and cordial manner in which you have been pleased to notice me and my humble services upon the present most interesting occasion. If, in the discourse delivered by me this morning, it has been my good fortune to have said anything which rightly interpreted your own views, and was in unison with your own feelings, it is to me a source of sincere gratification. In accepting the invitation with which you honoured me to preach the first sermon in your new church, I confess I did it with many doubts and misgivings as to the fitness of your choice. And if, therefore, I have not altogether disappointed your expectations, I shall, indeed, be glad that to those doubts and misgivings I did not give way, but that I came hither to take the part which I have done, and to welcome my friend and brother to the new scene of his public labours. I am sure that both to you and to him this must be a day of complacency and satisfaction, You, the members of the Hope-Street congregation, cannot but feel happy in having had the will and the power to erect so fair and elegant a structure for your future house of prayer; and your minister cannot but feel equally happy in the thought that he has come back to renew his ministry among a people who are fully sensible of the value of his services, and who have given this proof, not only of the zeal and interest which they feel in the cause of rational religion, but of their attachment to him by whom its outward ministrations on their behalf are conducted. Allow me to say also that I think you have done well in departing from the style of architecture so much in vogue with our Presbyterian forefathers, and in aiming at something more graceful and becoming than the red-brick parallelograms to which they so generally adhered. They saw that religion was too often buried under a load of ceremony and outward show; and, in their indignation at this, they were led into the other extreme, and stripped it bare of almost every thing that appeared ornamental and beautiful. While I say,

however, that, in this respect, you have done well in departing from the fashion of our Nonconformist ancestors, I must, at the same time, add that we shall do any thing but well if we depart from that spirit of honesty and independence, of superiority to the world and the world's laws, of which they have left us such memorable examples. True-they may have entertained opinions which to us appear exceedingly erroneous, and they may have felt scruples about many things which to us appear insignificant and trifling. These, however, are small matters compared with that pure spirit of integrity— that indomitable love of Truth and confidence in the God of Truth, which sustained and cheered them in the midst of the many painful and costly sacrifices which, for conscience' sake, they so readily and courageously made. It was this-the devotion of their minds and hearts to what they thought right and good, that constituted the solid and enduring fabric of their fame. And if we value the freedom which we now possess-if the rights of conscience are now more generally admitted-if we can sit under our own vine and under our own fig-tree, without let or hindrance, thinking freely, and freely professing what we think,it becomes us to bear in mind that for these great blessings we are largely indebted to the integrity and firmness of that illustrious race of men to whom I am now referring. Justly proud may we be of possessing so virtuous and noble an ancestry; nor can I breathe a better prayer for us all than that the spirit which prompted and guided them may still live in and animate the breasts of their descendants. Having made these few observations, which I trust will not be deemed altogether inappropriate at this time, I beg again to express my admiration of the beautiful building in which we have this day worshiped, as well as of the generous and earnest spirit to which it owes its existence. May you, my friends, long live to assemble, as humble and devout worshipers, within its walls, and derive from its various services all the support and comfort which they are designed and calculated to impart. And may my friend, your valued minister, be blessed with health and strength to continue his devoted labours among you, to instruct you by his wisdom, and to charm you with his eloquence. I say this in all sincerity, notwithstanding the differences of opi

nion which may exist between usdifferences which I would fain believe affect only the outworks of our faith, and not the sacred truths enshrined within. I should, indeed, be ashamed of myself if I suffered those differences, were they even greater than they are, to render me less sensible of his great powers and endowments,—of the riches and graces of his mind, or of the fidelity which he carries with him into all his studies and pursuits. You may well suppose that it is with feelings of no common interest that I have witnessed and shared in the proceedings of this day, when I tell you that my acquaintance with him and my regard for him is now of very long standinggoing back to the very first years of my own ministerial life, and that with the family, of which he is so honoured a member, are associated many of the dearest and tenderest memories that are lodged in my bosom. I shall detain you no longer from the feast, the intellectual feast that awaits you, and shall therefore sit down with again thanking you for your kind attention to me on this occasion. Mr. Madge concluded by proposing "The Congregation of Hope-street Church; may their highest hopes and best interests be effectually served by the erection of the House of Prayer which has this day been dedicated to the public worship of God."

The CHAIRMAN acknowledged the sentiment, and, in doing so, referred to the body to which he belonged as exercising the right of private judgment in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, not being fettered, as were many religious denominations, by requirements connected with the church and the ministerial duties. All inquiries were deemed necessary which had for their object the elucidation of the truth. They proceeded fearlessly and freely, notwithstanding what the consequences might be. If such a principle were carried out, he believed it would contribute to the advantage of Christian churches generally.

The CHAIRMAN again rose, and proposed the next sentiment-"The Rev. James Martineau, our highly respected and esteemed Friend and Minister; may the truth and warmth of our welcome on his return home be the measure of the benefit conferred by his absence upon him and his; and may our appreciation of the deep fervour of his religious services, and our admiration of the ability, fearlessness, elo

quence and usefulness of his most able discourses, be to him an abiding assurance that his labours amongst us are not in vain." To those who, like himself, for a number of years had had the benefit of his instruction, comments would be altogether superfluous. He was sure they would all join most fervently in responding to the toast which he had proposed. It was their hope and prayer that they might long have the benefit of his instruction and advice, and he felt that he was but expressing the feelings of all present, that from the way in which he had watched over them, he was well entitled to the respect and esteem of all right-minded men. From the knowledge they had of Mr. Martineau's character, they must all feel the high honour they enjoyed at having such a minister to be amongst them.

The Rev. Mr. MARTINEAU rose to return thanks, and was again warmly greeted. He spoke nearly as follows:Mr. Chairman, my Christian friends, you certainly have given me one of the most overpowering and least favourable preparations for a speech with which an assembly could possibly greet any one who presents himself before them. Many of you I have had the delight of meeting in private since my return to this country; but this day-a day which, if it were not inconsistent with Christian humility, I would call a proud day amongst us-is the first one in which I have had the happiness of seeing you in your own capacity of a Christian and worshiping society; and this evening is the first opportunity since I have been in Liverpool of meeting you upon an occasion like this, where the solemnities of worship, indeed, are not observed, but where they are displaced by the lighter, but not less delightful, intercourse of social life (applause). I cannot, and I would not, enumerate the thousand things which have crowded upon my mind and heart, this day, to make it one which must be inscribed, indeed, with a bright joy in the annals of my life. One of the most marked features in it has been the opportunity of again meeting my old friends, and my earnest coadjutor in matters of religion whose persuasive tongue has this day charmed and delighted you. I cannot describe to any one who is not keenly alive to the recollections of early life, the kind of emotions which the tones of that dear voice awaken in me (applause); and I cannot, therefore, expect that others should share all the delight and interest with which I have listened

change of scene, and that I might return from it with renovated vigour, I felt it my duty to cease to be an Englishman for the time; to turn my back upon the old scenes; especially as I had left the charge most sacred to me, the charge of your spiritual interests, in the hands of one with whom I knew they would be safe (applause)—that I might lay them safely down, and find them, instead of injured, promoted, with suggestions for my own future guidance, and that I might resume my race with a cheerfulness which, under less favourable circumstances, would be impossible (applause). You will not expect, my friends, to hear from me now any details, any considerable details, of the scenes through which I have passed, or of the impressions which I have derived from those scenes-these are matters of too large compass, and too naturally drop out in the more intimate intercourse of life, to be fit for an occasion of this nature (applause). But I may say one thing,I went to Germany with a full expectation that I should bring home with me some valuable and elevated lessons in relation to the state and prospect of Christianity. How was it possible that I could enter the country of Luther and the early Reformers, which first distinguished itself in the struggle with ecclesiastical corruption in modern Europea country so rich in literature,—without an expectation of this kind; and it is not unnatural that you should ask me on my return, whether I found the country in which our reformed Christianity was born, is the country which has now the fullest hope of vigorous religious maturity. I must confess that my expectations in this respect have been bitterly disappointed. I speak not now of the theological and critical literature of Germany, but I speak of that practical religion of the people which influences the heart, determines the national character, and which hitherto, through periods of German history, has determined the fortunes of the nation. I do not hesitate to say that I believe that the influence of Christianity upon the political future and the social condition of Germany, is now extinct; that the great changes which are going on there are going on independent of it, growing out of new sources, and arising from classes where the old church influences have almost ceased (hear, hear). I believe, too, that this is the case in our own country, and even the Protestant religion of the middle classes is becoming more a middle-class affair than it was, and mighty political

to his sermon to-day. I have, indeed, only one complaint to make against him, and that is the complaint which is unfortunately made with so much justice against speakers on these occasions ;each promises for his successor some delightful intellectual treat which is to charm the hearers and excuse himself (laughter and applause). Sir, this is, indeed, a sort of vicarious speaking of which I can by no means approve; or at least, if I am obliged to approve of it, I must be allowed to hand down the vicarious speaking to those who shall come after me (laughter). I shall have other opportunities soon-frequent and constant opportunities-of opening to you my mind and heart on the subjects which naturally press upon it; and a few minutes of lighter converse may not be altogether misplaced on an evening like the present. My friend, Mr. Rathbone, met me just now with an equivocal expression of his congratulation. He said he hoped I had returned quite a different man (laughter), which, I assure you, was the most distinct intimation of discontent with the old man which he could well make in delicate words (laughter). In some respect, sir, though I am not experienced in shewing others that this remark is true-in some respects I have not returned a new man (applause). There is nothing like absence from country and friends, and the dear scenes of one's duty-there is nothing which tends to make one so conservative of old interests, and glad to come back to old scenes and enter new paths with renewed spirit. In many respects, too, I find that I have come back not only to old scenes, but that I have come back, in some respects, an antiquated and obsolete man (laughter). I have been out of this country so long, (and this country is, with one exception, I suppose, the most go-a-head country in the world), that I feel behind in the race of thought and action which has been going on in this bustling England. I find my friends conversing about books, whose very backs I have never seen-I find them discussing questions, the very origin of which is unknown to me-I find, in fact, that I return very much in the condition of the hero in the old Dutch story, Rip Van Winkle (laughter), whose neighbours did not know him when he returned home. I cannot say that I complain of that; at all events I know my neighbours; but the world of thought is changed. In fact, sir, I confess this, though I believe I have not a forgetful memory or a forgetful heart, as you sent me abroad for