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the town of Liverpool has been so honourably distinguished , always found in Mr . " Yates a warm , judicious and liberal coadjutor . He was among the earliest contributors to the London Unitarian Society , and to the Manchester New College , arid the exertions which he made very recently on behalf of the Widows ' Fund in Lancashire , and in which he was eminently successful , are fresh in the recollection of his brethren in the
ministry . The African Slave Trade , principally carried on from the port of Liverpool , could not fail to engage very deeply the thoughts and feelings of a man and a minister such as Mr , Yates . Upon this subject he always spoke as became a
Christian patriot arid philanthropist . But he was not satisfied with the expression of his sentiments in private conversation . In January , 1788 , he preached an eloquent and argumentative discourse upon the inconsistency of the traffic in slaves with the rights of humanity and with the principles of the gospel . This measure excited the violent and
disdainful anger of many of Mr . Yates ' s townsmen , arid by taking this step he incurred the risk of estranging some of the leading members of his own congregation . Some individuals , however , * aware of the conscientious motives which alone prompted his language and conduct , requested a transcript of the sermon , with a view to the serious examination of his
arguments , and were induced to relinquish that lucrative , though iniquitous traffic . The transcript in question seems to have been widely circulated , as it fell into the hands of the late Dr . Kippis , who spoke of it in terms of high admiration , observing that the preaching of it in Liverpool was an indication of moral courage , and of a sense of duty highly creditable to the writer .
Mr . Yates ' s assiduous attention to his pastoral duties and his increasing acceptableness as a preacher , induced his congregation to erect a larger place of worship , the present commodious and elegant chapel in Paradise Street . He preached at the opening of this place to a crowded audience , on Sunday ,
September 11 , 1791 . In his sermon he insisted upon the great practical purposes of religious associations , and he endeavoured to communicate the temper of universal charity by pointing out to his flock some circumstances worthy of their imitation in the practices and modes of worship of all the principal denominations of Christians . Through Mr . Yates ' s efforts , aided by
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the friendly and laudable zeal of his auditors , a charity-school for boys and girls was , in the course of a few years , attached to the Paradise-street Chapel ; and in compliance with his advice , it was regularly attended by some of the young iadies and gentlemen of the congregation in the capacity of visitors , and rose to
the highest degree of estimation with the public . Several persons , who in afterlife have attained to much respectability in society , have expressed in the highest terms of gratitude the sense of obligation which they entertained for the steady and effective system of instruction which was there pursued , and have themselves become annual subscribers to the school .
In the ' year 1812 , Mr . Yates judged it expedient to resign his ministerial charge ; but his congregation were so warmly attached to him , and so desirous of the continuance of his services , that he agreed to continue them with the aid of a copastor , and his hearers made choice of the late amiable and eloquent Pendlebury Houghton , who was one of his earliest
friends , having been his fellow-student at Warrington Academy . At length Mr . Yates and Mr . Houghton , as increasing years brought with them increased infirmity , simultaneously relinquished the pastoral office in the spring of 1823 . The following entry in a book , which Mr . Yates kept as a record of the particulars of his public services , expresses his emotions on this termination of his
ministerial duties : " April 20 th . Tins was the first Sunday after I had resigned the office of Pastor of the Congregation at Paradise Street . A day of many serious and affecting recollections . " Soon after his resignation he received from the congregation a handsome piece of plate , as a mark of their gratitude for his long-continued services , and of their esteem for his private virtues .
In his latter years he was enabled to manifest his regard to his congregation and to promote their friendly intercourse in a way which gave them much pleasure . Persuaded that those who assemble under one roof to worship the same bountiful Parent , in the name of the benevolent Saviour of mankind , ought to regard one another as friends and brothers , he
invited the members of his congregation , from the richest to the poorest individual , to meet in large parties at his house . There , in the tranquil summer evenings , they had opportunities of becoming more intimately acquainted with each other , of learning how they might render mutual services , and of cultivating their social affections under the influence of Chris-
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Obituary . ~ rRev . John Yates . 69
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1827, page 69, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1792/page/69/
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