In my two places of parochial residence, I experienced the blessed result of this mode of instruction, and it is therefore with the greater confidence that I recommend it to you. I know no means by which a clergyman can accomplish a greater good." pp. 15-18. There is evidently much to commend in this extract; and heartily glad shall we be to know that the clergy of the diocese of Chester catch a portion of his lordship's zeal for the instruction of the young. The crisis is exceedingly important. It is the first instance in which the experiment of universal education has been tried on a very large scale: and the results of the experiment must, we conceive, under the Divine blessing, depend, to a considerable extent, on the manner in which, and the persons by whom, it is conducted. Education is power; and power an instrument which may be well, or ill directed. And when fallen man is the creature with whom this instrument is to be deposited, every one must regard the consequences of the deposit with mingled feelings of fear and joy; and must, at all events, devoutly wish every security to be taken against its possible misdirection. And we know not that, on the whole, any security so good can be found, as that of allying the schools as intimately as possible, with the national establishment, and employing the national clergy as their guardians and presidents. But admitting all this, we shall, perhaps, be permitted to observe, that we do not entirely concur with the statement given in the Charge before us of the comparative claims of the two systems of national education-Dr. Bell's and Mr. Lancaster's. And as it has not happened to us to see the subject stated precisely to our satisfaction, we possibly shall be pardoned for dwelling for a few moments upon it. There is more than one point in the conduct of the parties espousing these different institu tions, of which we feel a disposition to complain. In the first place, both parties, improperly, we think, deny to the other any share in the merit either of "originating" the plan of instruction by monitors (for in this the essense of the new system resides), or of bringing it to its present state of perfection. Now, in one point of view, each may justly deny to the other the praise of originating the system, inasmuch as the inven tion, strictly speaking, belongs to neither; but, thus far each party seems to us unjust to the other inasmuch as we firmly believe that, without both Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster, it would never have been introduced, or at least largely established, in this country. Dr. Bell appears to us to have the merit (the highest to which even the most acknowledged inventors can usually aspire) of having caught at a rude hint supplied to him by the natives of India, and working it up into a system. Mr. Lancaster, on the other hand, deserves the praise of adopting this system, at its very first developement, of discerning its capabilities, and its adaptation to the wants of our own country; of perceiving many defects left in it by Dr. Bell; of supplying these defects; of contriving a basis so wide for the erection of an institution upon its principle, as to interest men of all ranks and dispositions in its welfare. But, as to Dr. Bell, it would be unjust to stop thus soon in the enumeration his claims to public gratitude, He deserves the additional praise of having rapidly availed himself of Mr. Lancaster's improvements; of having corrected many very important defects which had sprung up with them; of having added so many improvements himself, as to leave the system, we think, capable of few more; and, finally, of having, with the aid of many good and under the and wise men, especial blessing of God, so connected the society with the church of the country as to provide us the best guarantee of which the case admits, for the permanent safety and usefulness of the institution. Under these circumstances, both parties, we conceive, have sufficient honours of their own not to feel very jealous of the pretensions of the other. In the next place, both parties appear to us to be wrong, when they vehemently condemn the mode of education (setting aside religion) adopted by the other.-The Bishop of Chester says, truly and candidly, "both of them are good." In fact, now, as to discipline, and the mere machinery by which the schools are conducted, they do not materially differ: and he who has visited large numbers of both schools will generally find himself perplexed to say, on which system the scholars most rapidly improve; will admit that both are sufficiently powerful for their purpose; and will say, that the difference of results, as to the comparative advancement of the scholars, has arisen more from the character of the respective masters than from the difference of the systems. In the third place, it is highly unjust of either party to crimipate the other on the score of expense. We know not that the friends of the National School have erred upon this point; but we have seen what we do not hesitate to call a most unfair statement, issued by Mr. Lancaster or his friends, in which it was attempted to shew that a school on the plan of Dr. Bell must cost at least four times as much as one on that of Mr. Lancaster. Now, if it were allowable to argue from solitary instances, we ourselves are acquainted with a school of Dr. Bell's, supported at the small expense of about 407. per annum; and, on the contrary, we know a single schoolmaster, in Mr. Lancaster's connection, who receives a salary of 2007. per annum. Nothing, then, can be more unfair than such CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 159. charges on either side. Both systems are equally cheap and equally dear-equally dear when applied to very small numbers; equally cheap when applied to large num bers. Fourthly, both parties appear to us to have erred by magnifying the advantages of the general system, and by neglecting to state the checks essential to its safe application, and the zeal and industry necessary to its effective application.-If we listen to the warm apostles of the new system of education, we must believe that it has at once put its broad foot upon the hydras of ignorance and vice, and that they are likely to be exterminated at once and for ever. But, in our humble judgment, though mere education can de something, it cannot do very much. Education, after all, is not "grace," but a power of employing an additional means of grace: and unless those who read, also pray-unless they seek from God heavenly wisdom to direct and sanctify all their other acquirements-unless the heart share the triumphs of the head-we believe that the next age may be not only a very clever, but an unusually sceptical and profligate age; and that, therefore, the only fruit of education, to some, will be the penalty of violating principles they did understand, instead of principles they did not, That there are certain checks necessary to the safe application of the new system, may be collected from the papers of a valuable correspondent of our own on the subject of "emulation." Although, as we presume to think, he has, possibly by reasoning upon too small a number of cases, stated the actually resulting evils in these institutions a very little too strongly; yet no man, who has read these papers, will feel a doubt that he who neglects to apply a check at this point will possibly inflict an injury upon his pupils, for which mere educa, tion can offer no reparation. Thus 2 B also as to the efficient application of the system-its advocates forget to tell us, that much, very much depends upon its administration ; that the plan is, in some hands, and some parishes, a mere caput mortuum; that when left to the master, without the superintendance of visitors, it rarely effects much; that a multitude of instances are already to be found where disorder and sleep have usurped the place of discipline and vigour; where A. B. daily fades upon the eye or dies upon the lips of the somnolent master and scholars; and where the little scholastic empire presents somewhat such a spectacle as that seen, we believe, by Sinbad, the imaginary navigator, in his celebrated voyages, of a whole city, the monarch and every one of his subjects, turned to stone. Let not this assertion be considered as a mere sentence toru from the massy tomes of defamation: for in one o our own descents from the exalted chambers to which our employment chiefly confines us, it did really happen to us to look through a school-room window and see its mistress in the very inglorious state to which we have referred. In the fifth place, we think it not strictly just to affirm of Mr. Lancaster's system, as is affirmed in the Charge before us, that it "leaves the scholars to pick up their religion as they can--any where-or no where." Now, surely, this can scarcely be said of schools where the great mass of the lessons are extracted from the Bible;-where catechisms are constantly used, not indeed conveying the tenets of any particular church, but where the questions and answers are couched as nearly as possible in the language of Scripture-catechisms inculcating, perhaps, all those principles which are held by all Christians in common. It will be seen presently, that such a system by no means satisfies us; but, in the mean time, it does not appear to be the fact, that the mere aim of Mr. Lancaster is to qualify children only for this state of being. It is, we conceive, and so its advocates state it, to lay the broad basis of truth, and to leave the pupil, at a subsequent period, under the Divine blessing, to erect upon this basis what superstructure he may deem most answerable to the model of Scripture. Such a scheme may be wrong or right; but it certainly appears to be the scheme of the Lancasterian schools. Sixthly, we think it ungenerous to complain of the fundamental principle of Mr. Lancaster's sy stem, adopted by Dissenters from the Church of England.-The principle is evidently that which we have stated, to fix in the mind of the child the broad general principles of religion; leaving it either to the parents at home, or to the child itself, to choose the particular church of which it shall be come a member. Now, we will honestly say, that, far from thinking the Dissenters illiberal in the promotion of such a scheme, we think it highly creditable to their liberality. It is scarcely to be expected, that any body of men should so construct a system of public education, as to secure their children being educated in hostility to their own opinions. The utmost, perhaps, that can be required of them (if they are sincere converts to their own principles), is, that they should wave the public inculcation of these principles, and leave their children to the general influence of scriptural lessons and the blessing of God. And with this requisition the Dissenters appear to us to comply in this new scheme of education. There are, however, one or two points of their conduct, respecting the National School, on which we differ from them. For example; many, who have dissented from the Church of England, have quitted it, not on account either of its doctriue or its discipline, but from the laxity with which both appeared to them to bę and mode of worship. In short, the system appears to us to assume, that, with a certain measure of light, the child is likely to choose well; whereas we deem it the part of wisdom and orthodoxy, to assume that he is likely to choose ill. We know him to be a fallen creature, and therefore prone to errors both of the heart and head; and having, what we deem, the truth, in our own hands, both as to doctrine aud discipline, we think it wise and good to take security against the maintained by many of its members. That laxity is now much removed. A spirit of devotion has, we bless God, in very many instances revived among us. Why not, then, now educate their children in the principles of the Establishment?Again, sufficient sacrifices have not, in all cases, we think, been made to peace and union. Where the difference is so small as in many instances it is-where the National School admits, as it now does, of the children attending at the place of worship pre erred by the parent-child's probable errors; to give where great benefit was to be anticipated to the great cause of religion, by co-operation, and, on the contrary, great evils from division; we cannot but imagine, that the line of duty was to combine for the great and common cause. Finally, we think those highly unjust who condemn the members of the Establishment for most decidedly preferring the system of Dr. Bell to that of Mr. Lancaster.The distinguishing feature of Dr. Bell's system we conceive to be this, that, "deeming it insufficient to instruct a child in the broad general principles of religion, it proceeds to teach him the fundamental principles of the Gospel according to the manner in which those principles are conceived and interpreted in the formularies of our ancestors, and by nine-tenths of the existing population of the country." Now, assuming this as the basis of Dr. Bell's plan, we ourselves feel no hesitation in preferring it to the other. Mr. Lancaster's plan appears to us to proceed upon this inaccurate assumption, that if we give a child certain broad general principles, he will, of himself, erect the proper superstructure upon them; that if we give him, for instance, natural religion (and in some of the schools little more is given), he will him self follow on to revealed religion; that if we give him (which is the utmost we can suppose to be given) right doctrines, he will, of himself, adopt the best rules of discipline him the benefit of our experience; and to enlist him, as far as lies in us, in the ranks of the millions of his countrymen who have lived well and died triumphantly in the faith of the Establishment. In this view, we cannot consent to leave it, either to chance or merely to the individual judgment of the child, to fix what creed he shall adopt. We wish to throw open our schools to Dissenters; we would invite them to enter in as brethren, with many of whom we have the fastest bonds of alliance, and with all the orthodox of whom we have infinitely more points of agreement than of disagreement; and, finally, we would say to them, "we will neither compel your children to learn our catechism, nor to attend our church-we will neither ridicule the creed of their parents nor lessen their authority-but, at the same time, we will strongly and zealously teach our own children the doctrines and the discipline of our ancestors, and, should yours perchance adopt them, we do venture to conclude that they will not thereby become either worse Christians or less happy men." But we are compelled to cut short this important discussion, having no space either to pursue it, or to touch upon some other less interesting points noticed in the Charge before us. His Lordship, at the conclusion of his address, is very complimentary to his clergy; and we should be very sorry to think, that he had made any sacrifices of accuracy to politeness. At the same time, remembering the nature of man, and the awful responsibility of those who are called to stand between the living and the dead, and stay the plague of corruption and worldliness; we are a little jealous of that unmixed strain of approbation, which is rarely deserved by fallen man, and is still more rarely useful. At the same time, let it not be thought that the Charge is without any paragraph calculated to impress the hearers with the extent of their duties and responsibility. With quoting one such paragraph we conclude. “And now, my Reverend Brethren, though I have been happy to give praise, where praise is due, yet let not any thing which has been said, diminish or relax your efforts, in the due dis charge of the most solemn and arduous office which can be entrusted to man. To you is committed the care of souls. dread tribunal of Almighty God. It is not For them you must one day answer at the therefore enough to be moral, you must be exemplary. It is not enough to be blameless, you must let your light shine before men. You must endeavor by your lives and doctrines, to adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour in all things. You must strive and labor to save your selves and others. it. We have been generally and loudly "The times most imperiously demand accused of lukewarmness-of supine. ness-of neglect. Our enemies are on the watch, ready to point out, to exag. gerate, and supply, every omissionextreme to mark what is done amiss. Be zealous then, be vigilant. The cause is worthy of your utmost efforts; on the fair character of its Ministers depends in a great degree the security of the Church of England, and with it, the peace and welfare of the State." pp. 32-34. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE, &c. &c. GREAT BRITAIN. In the press, or preparing for speedy publication: A Bibliographical Description of Topographical Works on England and Wales, by Mr. W. Upcott; -Memoirs of the Empress Josephine; -Supplement to Memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds, by James Northcote, Esq.; Memoirs of the late John Tweddel, by the Rev. R. Tweddel;-Hortus Cantabrigiensis: a new edition, by the late John Donn, F. L. S. &c. ;-An abridgement of Sir Humphrey Davy's Agricultural Philosophy;-A treatise on Gas Light, by Mr. Accum;-Chemical Essays, by Mr. Parkes ;-The Dramatic Works of James Shirley;-A treatise on Female Education, by Eliz. Appleton; -A series of Engravings for the Lord of the Isles, by Westall;-A new Map of the World, by Mr. James Wyld; A Geological Essay, by Dr. Kidd;The Culloden Papers, with an Introduction, including Memoirs of Right Hon. Duncan Forbes ;-An Analysis of Universal History, by Mr. J. Aspin; Symbolical History of England, by Miss Rundall;-General Sarrazin's History of the War in Spain and Portugal;A Memorial offered to Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, by Bishop Burnet; -Debrett's Baronetage of England ;Account of the Inquisition at Goa, by Mr. Dillon;-A Memorial on Behalf of the native Irish, by Christopher Ander. son;-Marie, ou les Hollandaises, a Novel, by Louis Buonaparte: also an English Translation of the same ;-Life smooth and rough as it runs ;-The Fair Isabel, a Cornish Romance, by Mr. Polewhele;-A Novel, by Mrs. Pinchard of Taunton;-Songs and Poems, by Capt. Hall;-De Rancè, a Poem, by the Rev. J. W. Cunningham;-An Essay on the External Trade in Corn, by R. Torrens, Esq.;-The French Preacher, by the Rev. Mr. Cobbin ;-An abridgement of the True Christianity of John Arndt, by Mr. Wm. Jaques ;-The Bible, and Nothing but the Bible, the Religion of the Church of England, by the Bishop of St. David's;—An abridgment of Owen on the Hebrews, by Dr. Williams ;—Ex. tracts from the Diary, &c. of Mr. Jos. |