APP 12 1971 BV 1471 .W37 1869 Watson, William Henry, d 1868. The Sunday School Union Riddle &Couchman, 10, Arthur S* West.E.C. f\^^' (^h.i i'r THE %U.,LvU.,A^ ^^. SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION: ITS HISTORY AND WORK. V WILLIAM HENRY WATSON, LATE SKNIOH SECKETAKr OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, Wiiilx a St^uiDrial ^tietdlt of ihe ^utlioi;, BY W. H. GROSER, B.Sc, F.G.S. LONDON: SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, 56, OLD BAILEY, E.G. ; AND THOMAS NELSON & SONS, 52, BLEECKER STREET, NEW YORK. 18 69. LONDON.: JAMES SEARS, PRINTEE, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET, E.G. PREFACE. Those readers of the present volume who may take the trouble to compare it with the Author's former work, wi]l find ^ difference in the following particulars : — The circumstances connected with the rise and progress of the Sunday school system have generally been omitted, having found a more appropriate place in "The First Fifty Years of the Sunday School," a volume already published by the Union. Instead of the narrative being carried through in a chronological series, the various operations of the Union have been grouped together in distinct chapters, so that the description of each department of work is rendered perfect in itself. The History was intended to close with the Jubilee of the Sunday School Union, and its immediate results, but it has been found impossible to refrain from bringing in some subsequent facts, the record of IV PREFACE. which, ik is trusted, will add to the interest and value of the volume. The writer indulges the hope that this and the preceding work, to which reference has been made, will gratify and instruct all who are concerned for the religious instruction of the young on the Lord's day. They have been compiled under an impression that this great work would be promoted by the principal facts connected with its rise and progress being thus gathered together, while it coald be done with little difficulty. The attempt is prayerfully commended to the blessing of that Holy Spirit, whom the Saviour has ]~)romised shall guide His disciples into all truth. August, 1868. MEMORIAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR, By WILLIAM H. GROSER, B.Sc, &c. Christian earnestness is a grace wliicli presents itself under different aspects in different individuals. In one man it takes the form of outbursts of emotion ; his whole soul is on fire, and his tongue utters burning words ; but his energy soon expends itself and is followed by a period of comparative inaction. His neighbour is, perhaps, of a completely opposite type. He is never roused into enthusiasm ; compared with the other he seems impassive and spiritless, almost unfeeling; yet he is never inactive, never indolent. These are extreme forms of earnestness. As in nature so in grace — there are the convulsive and the continuous modes of action ; and between the extremes lie many gradations, which it would be foreign to our purpose to trace. What all Christians are concerned with is, to know and to aim at that type of earnest- ness which is the most Christ-like, and therefore the most com- mendable and influential. Doubtless it occupies an intermediate place. If our earnestness be spasmodic it may lead us into extravagance and imprudence, which in the quieter movements which succeed we shall bitterly regret and severely condemn ; while the influence of our seasons of energetic action will be neutralized by the uncertainty of their recurrence. On the other hand, we may be too impassive, chilling more ardent co-workers h VI MEMORIAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR: by our seeming coldness, and repelling those whom a more demonstrative hearing would have gathered to our side. Of those with whom the writer has been privileged to associate few have seemed to him more nearly to approach the true type ■of earnest devotedness than he whose character and career it is now a mournful pleasure to recall. The earnestness of William Henry Watson was a quality which neither effervesced into mere excitement, nor degenerated into inaction; it never ex- ploded, nor did it ever collapse. It was tested during half -a centmy, and under that test it never changed. Mr. Watson's own estimate was somewhat different. A few hours before he died he remarked to his fiiend and pastor, the Rev. W. Howieson, "In looking back on my past life I regret ihat my religion has been one of principle almost exclusively, and that there has been in it so little of emotion." The sentiment was characteristic of the man, and betokened an accurate acquaintance with his own mental tendencies. Yet those who were privileged to know him, however slightly, could assuredly declare that the evidences of deep and genuine earnestness of spirit in all that he did were too obvious and too ample to need other enforcement. The sight of a noble river often awakens a desire to trace it to its source ; and when our admiration is excited by a work of art, or literary composition, curiosity is stimulated to learn some- thing of its author. The birth and development of high moral and spiritual character, form, in like manner, a theme of interest- ing inquiry to the religious educator. We see and admire the result, and we naturally wish to know what causes combined to produce it, and to what past circumstances present facts are due. In the case of our late fiiend and coadjutor, enough is ascer- tainable from the scanty records of his earlier life to show that, in his case, parental training combined with peculiarly favour- able church privileges to educate, in the highest sense of the word, both intellect and heart. The home circle became a large one, William Henry being the eldest of twelve children, of whom but two have survived him. The date of his birth was June 15th, 1798, so that he was spared to enter on his seventy -first year. MEMORIAL SKETCH OF THE AUTin?w vi[ His health was dcb'cate in childliood, and lie accordingly spent some considerable time under the care of a worthy matron at Eynsford, in Kent — a place in which he evcrfelta lively interest. We well remember returning with Mr. Watson from an excur- sion to Sevenoaks in the summer of 1866, and how he pointed with empliatic earnestness to the little village as one of the chief scenes of his early history. Phj^sically, he seems to have been under no small obligations to his country life, and many beside himself have cause for thankfulness that both bodily and mental nurture proved so judicious and so successful, and that the possession of a sound mind in a sound body was IMr, Watson's unviable privilege for so large a portion of his life. As a youth he seems to have been singularly free from inor- dinate self-esteem. He was eminently " sober-minded " at an age when too many young people lose sight of the apostolic, •exhortation. To natural talents of a superior order was added a soundness of judgment which must have rendered him fully conscious of his abilities ; yet his caution and modesty preserved him fi-om forwardness, while his accurate self-knowledge enabled him to direct his efforts into suitable channels, to discern hi.s- own intellectual and moral wants, and to adopt fitting methods for meeting them. Mr. Watson's powers and acquirements were early consecrated to the Saviour's service. Mention is made in his diary, under date July 27, 1820, of a lecture on "Self-deception," which had greatly impressed him, and which led to close and faithful examination. With much diffidence he explored his own character and motives, but he added," I can say, ' Lord, search me and try me, and see if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' " A month later he records a profitable conversation with a young friend on religious subjects, and laments the " pride of his heart," which " gives him muck pain " and is " greater than he could have believed." How complete was the triumph over such a tendency those who best knew Mr. Watson could best testify. In October of the same year his diary notes an event of much interest. His early friend, Mr. William Gover, brought Viii SIEilORlAL SKETCH OF THE AUTIIOll. liim tlie " copy " of the first number of a penny magazine for Sunday scholars, Avhich lie was aT)out to publish, and whicli appeared on the first of the following month, under the title of The Sunday Scholar s Magazine. It claims special notice as the first, or nearly the first, of " that series of cheap religions publications for the young (to quote Mr. Watson's own words) by which such great blessings have been and still are conferred on tlie rising population of this and other lands." * Little did the two young men imagine what l)rogress in Simday school literature they would be permitted to fsee and promote, in connection with the then comparatively feeble Society which now mourns their loss. Little could they have imagined that it Avould be their privilege to stand side by .side in the field of Cliristian labour for nearly half-a-century longer, and then to close an honoured career at the same age and within a few weeks of each otlicr. "They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their deatli they were not divided." The circumstance on whicli we have thus dwelt seems to have much impressed Mr. Watson. " It excited," he wrote, " a pain- ful reflection, that I am only learning icord.s, while others are studying //a"?2 recommended the forming classes, or associations for singing in Sunday Schools, as a subject of considerable interest and impor- tance to teachers generally; and in various "ways sought to render their fellow teachers aid in these attempts. In illustration of this, it may be mentioned that upon an application from the Manchester Union to provide cheap music for the singing classes established among the scholars, the Committee promptly published in penny numbers the Scholars' Hymn Book, with a tune adapted to each hymn. The attention of the Committee was directed, in the year 1841, to the Union Hymn Book for Scholars, and a Sub-committee was appointed to revise it. The result of that examination was the publication of a hymn book, which, from the extensive alterations and additions made, might be considered a new work; 110 hymns, which appeared unsuitable for children^ having been omitted ; and 156 new ones inserted, including several composed by Mr. Montgomery and other friends, expressly for this work, and making a total in the work as com- pleted, of 291 hymns. Scripture mottoes, and the names of appro- priate tunes were also prefixed to the hymns. It was thought desirable not to confine the selection exclusively to hymns of a devotional character; a few were therefore introduced, intended to be committed to memory, and a few others were retained, rather on account of their frequency of use, than for their intrinsic merit. Of this work 427,000 copies had been sold up to the year 1853. At a subsequent period, many hymns adapted for infant scholars have been added, and it now contains 361 hymns.. The Infant Scholars' Hymn Book, containing 84 hymns ; and The Little Hymn Book, selections of hymns for infant scholars, &c., have also been published. At a more recent period, it was thought that a large number of hymns and sacred pieces which had been composed for use in Sunday Schools since the publication of *'The Union Hymn Book for Scholars " rendered the preparation of a new work desirable.. Nearly 200 hymns in " The Union Hymn Book for Scholars," were retained ; and a few of the more popular from the Infant Scholar's Hymn Book. The remainder of the 353 of which the €0 HYJIN BOOKS, TUNE BOOKS, AND PERIODICALS work consists, were chosen from the best sources, English and American. The work thus compiled, was published under the title of The Sunday Scholars' Hymn Book. The Committee observed with great interest the exertions made to cultivate a taste for vocal music, by the formation ot classes at Exeter Hall, under the direction of Mr. John Hullah ; and gave every facility in their power to the making those exertions known to teachers, many of whom availed themselves of the advantages thus afforded, and the Committee cheerfully voted twenty guineas in aid of the expenses then incurred. They were also induced to print the hymns and music to be sung at the Annual Meeting of the year 1842. The efEect pro- duced by this combination of several thousand voices has induced subsequent committees to continue the practice. AVhile so much attention has been bestowed on the providing the scholars with a suitable hymnology, the teachers have not been neglected. In the year 1844, a new edition of The Union Hymn Book for Teachers was prepared, and it will afford an illustration of the labour connected with the publications of the Union, to mention that, besides examining various collections of hymns at their own homes, the Sub-Committee appointed for the purpose held 36 meetings, and after perusing more than 10,000 hymns, they selected 181 (including 49 from the former edition) as being the most suitable to constitute The Union Hymn Book for Teachers. It was thought desirable that the general form and arrangement of the collection should resemble that of the Hymn Book for Scholars, which had given general satisfaction. Texts and the names of tunes were prefixed to the hymns. While the various publications of the Union have been mostly prepared by the Committee themselves, who as teachers actively engaged in the work were better acquainted with the necessities of their fellow teachers, and with the provision that was most adapted to the circumstances of the scholars, they have frequently availed themselves of the services of others. On some occasions they have sought to gain the benefit of the experience of their fellow teachers by offering prizes for the PUBLISHED BY THE UNION. 61 "best essay son practical subjects connected with the schools. The introduction of the Box of Letters facilitated the establishment of infant classes, and the Committee, feeling their importance, offered prizes for the best essays on the mode of conducting them. That which appeared to the adjudicators to be the best, was written by Mr. Charles Eeed, and has been published under the title of " The Infant Class in the Sunday School." In the year 1847, the Committee received an application fi'om the Manchester Union, urging the desirableness of providing a book of instruction for teachers. They thought the best mode of securing the object aimed at, was to offer the sum of £100 for the best book of practical instructions for Sunday School Teachers. The work was intended to comprehend a careful review of the qualifications, — mental, moral, and religious, — which should be found in the teacher, and of his duties to himself, his class, and society ; descriptions of the best mode of conducting infant, elementary , Scripture and senior classes ; with the peculiar qualifications requisite in the teachers of each ; general govern- ment of the school ; directions for conducting the various meetings of teachers ; an examination of the religious services connected with the schools ; instructions for establishment of schools ; and a concise view of their important relations to the scholars, the teachers, the church, and society In general. These various subjects were to be accompanied with numerous illustrations, taken, as far as practical, fi'om actual obsen^ation and experience. When the various essays, sent in by the competitors, had been read by the adjudicators, they had not any hesitation in awarding the prize to one, which proved to have been written by Mrs. Davids, the wife of the Eev. T. "W. Davids, of Colchester. The Essay was published under the title of "The Sunday School," and it is not too much to say, that while exceptions will be taken to some statements in it, yet no other work will be found to present an equally ample develop- ment of the Sunday school, in all its various relations ; and that no library of such an institution can be complete without possessing a copy. Two subsequent editions of the essay have been required; and while it has been thought desirable to retain <32 HYMN BOOKS, TUNE BOOKS, AND BERIODICALS the text in its integrity, opportunity has been taken of these republications, to add some notes, by which it is hoped its usefulness may be increased. In the year 1849, two prizes of £10 and £5, having been offered for Essays on Senior Classes, the first prize was awarded to Mr. J. A. Cooper, Secretary to the Birmingham Union, and the second to Mr. Henry Hall, now the Trade Manager of the Sunday School Union. Mr. Cooper's Essay now forms one of the standard publications of the Union. This narrative of the publications of the Union would be very deficient, if distinct notice was not taken of one class of them, which has gradually assumed a great degree of importance. It will have been perceived that one of the first undertakings of the Union was to prepare some of the simplest materials for the instruction of the scholars. At that period, periodical pub- lications, either for the instruction of teachers, or the entertainment of scholars, were alike unknown ; and few of those who now weekly and monthly enjoy this advantage, are sensible of the source from whence it sprang. In bringing to a close, therefore, this detail of the manner in which the Union has sought, by its publications, to serve the interests of both teachers and scholars, it is necessary to give some account of the periodicals which have issued from it, and which have for many years exercised so great an influence. The first periodical which will be mentioned was designed for the young, and was entitled The Youth's Magazine. It originated in the Committee of the Union, shortlj'' after its establishment ; but they did not feel it prudent to undertake the responsibility, as they had no funds to meet the loss in case it should not suc- ceed. It was therefore undertaken by Mr. Gurney and some members of the Committee. And the first number commenced with the j'-ear 1805. Mr. Gurney took the principal part in con- ducting it. The price charged for it was high, but there being no other publication of a similar description, it speedily attained a large circulation, as many as 60 copies being purchased monthly by the scholars in one school.* Miss Jane Taylor, Mrs. Sherwood, and other talented writers of the young, became regular » Sunday School Uepository, 1831, p. 131. PUBLISHED BY THE UNION. G3 Avriters in the magazine. The report of the Union for 1812, stated that the publication had met with distinguished patronage, and had continued to acquire an increasing circulation; out of the profits arising from its sale its conductors had been enabled to make the following grants, — to the British and Foreign Bible Societ}'-, £50 ; to the Religious Tract Society, £50 ; to the Hibernian School Society, £50. And for many years, it yielded considerable profits to its conductors amounting in the whole, to £4000. They devoted the whole of those profits to objects connected with the diffusion of Scriptural truth ; and in these donations the Union largely shared. On the first of January, 1813, appeared the first number of a quarterly publication, afterwards converted into a monthly one entitled, The Sunday School Repository, or Teachers' ^Magazine, a work which was originated and carried on, for many years, by Mr. Lloyd, the Secretary to the Union, with much arduous labour. He submitted a prospectus of the proposed pub- lications, to the Committee of the Union, in the previous April, under the title of " The Sunday School Teachers' Magazine." That prospectus was examined by ?ilr. Stephen Warner, and Mr. Edward Thom^as, members of the Committee, in conjunction with Mr. Lloyd ; and 500 copies of it were ordered to be printed and circulated at the first public meeting of the Union. This appears to have been the only official notice the Committee took of the work at that time, but they afterwards aided the conductors ■of it by making some donations towards the expense of carrying it on. Some other members of the Committee joined Mr. Lloyd in the conducting the work, which afterwards took the title which had been originally proposed. It obtained a large circulation, and part of the profits were applied in grants to the Union. While other perodicals on the subject of education, appeared and dis- appeared in rapid succession, it held on its way, conferring great good on the Sunday School cause ; but gradually other periodicals of a similar discription arose, materially affecting its circulation. The attention of the Committee was occupied in the year 1820, by a proposal submitted to them for publishing a penny Magazine for children. They determined in favour of the undertaking, but G4 HYMN BOOKS, TUNE BOOKS, AND PERIODICALS do not appear to have been sufficiently prompt. Mr. W. Gover^ then a teacher in the south of London ; and who has since been for many years an active and useful member of the Union,* commenced and carried on, for two years, such a magazine, on his own reponsibility; and the Religious Tract Society in 1824: followed the example thus set, by the publication of " The Child's Companion," As it was always the aim of the Union ^ rather to undertake the publication of works which other parties declined, but the necessity for which appeared evident, than to enter into competition with them, they gladly withdrew, and left the held open for those who were able and willing to occupy it. But the facts are recorded, that it may be known where those periodicals, which now exert so beneficial influence on our youthful population, had their origin. In the year 1843, the Committee were urged to publish a cheap magazine for teachers. The high price (6d.) charged for "The Teachers' Magazine," necessarily limited its circulation, which was practically confined to the taking one or two numbers for the whole of the teachers in a school ; and it was thought that great benefit would result, if the Committee could keep up a constant communication with the teachers. One difficulty which presented itself, was the fear that such a proceeding might injure " The Teachers' Magazine," in whose welfare the Committee felt deeply interested. After fi'cquent deliberations, the Committee came to the conclusion that it would be possible to establish a new work without seriously, if at all, injuring the existing one, and with this conviction, The Union Magazine for Sunday School Teachers was commenced on 1st January, 1844. The price was fixed at two pence monthly, to enable every teacher to possess a copy. Every endeavour was made to render the work useful to teachers, which necessarily prevented it fi.-om being interest- ing to general readers, but enhanced its value in the estimation of thoughtful pains-taking labourers in the Sunday School work. With the year 1848, commenced the publication of the The Bible Class Magazine, a penny religious miscellany, designed * Mr. Cover entered into hi^ rest on November 34, 1868, he having survived his intimate friend, Mr. Watson only one month. PUBLISHED EY THE UNI025". 65 especially for senior scholars and junior teachers, with the rising youth in Christian congregations generall3^ The Committee were induced to undertake this work fi-om a conviction of the importance of providing a periodical adapted to these classes- Yvliile every religious community, and almost every class of every community, had its appropriate monthly magazine for them, no adequate periodical had been established. A few- excellent works which might appear suitable had been sent forth; but the price of most, the denominational features of many, and the absence from all of the exact character required, still lef the large body of senior scholars and junior teachers, as a class, without a magazine. The Committee determined that the periodical should not fall below any of its competitors in its size or general arrangements. At the Conference held on the morning of the Anniversary, in 1852, a suggestion was made, and appeared to receive general support, that a cheap periodical was needed for the youngest scholars. The Committee, immediately after their appointment, took this matter into consideration, and thought that such a work might be useful. They, therefore, determined to commence it at once, and the first number of The Child's Own ]Magazixe, price one half-penny, appeared in July. The anticipations formed as to the necessity for such a periodical have been fully realised. It has been welcomed with general acceptance, and has secured a very large circulation amongst the little folks, for whose especial use it is designed. The Committee announced in the year 1861, a monthly periodical, entitled The Biblical Treasury, price one penny, devoted exclusively to Biblical Illustration and Criticism, gathered from Oriental Customs, Natural History, and Philo- sophy, Toi^ography, Historic Events, Missionary Incidents, Idolatrous Usages, and the facts of every day life. The eight volumes already published form an Encyclopaedia of ready- reference to nearly two thousand texts of Scripture. The illus- trations are made readily accessible by an Index of subjects and texts added to each volume ; and a complete index to the first six volumes has been published separately. F 66 HYMN BOOKS, TUNE BOOKS, AND BERIODICALS At a more recent period an attempt has been made to bring an interesting and nsefiil periodical within the reach of that very numerous class of the young, who are unhappily indisposed for religious instruction, and who gratify their tastes for reading by the purchase of weekly publications, which are more calcu- lated to injure than improve their minds. In order to interest while seeking to instruct them. Kind Words for Boys and •Girls, was commenced with the year 1866. It does not profess to be a religious publication, although conducted on Christian I^rinciples, but its contents are intended to attract the attention of those who will have something to read calculated to excite their imaginations. It is well supplied with pictorial illustrations, is published weekly, at the price of one half -penny, and great pains have been taken to secure its sale in the crowded population of London, as well as throughout the country. The labour and expense involved in this attempt to benefit the lower class of the youthful population of the land, have been con- siderable, but have been cheerfully yielded, under a conviction of the importance of the object sought to be obtained. The Sunday School Teachers' Magazine, and the Youths' Magazine, had for some few years become the property of the Union, and had been conducted by members of the Committee. During the year 1867, both the Editors* were compelled to resign their offices, and thus forced on the serious consideration of a question which had before occupied attention, whether there was the prospect of an adequate benefit being realised from the publi- cation of two periodicals, so much resembling others issued by the Union at a much lower price, as to justify the Committee in undertaking to procure new editors. It was painful to contemplate their extinction, after an honourable and useful existence of considerably more than fifty years. The result of much consideration was, that it was resolved to discontinue both the Teachers' Magazine^ and the Union Magazine for Sunday School Teachers ; and that instead of them. The Sunday School Teacher, combining the distinctive merits of * Mr Watson was the Editor of the " Sunday School Teachers' Magazine," and his failing health caused his resignation. PUBLISHED BY THE UNION. 67 both its predecessors, should be commenced at the low price of two pence monthly. The propriety of the course adopted appears from the fact, that the circulation of the new periodical already amounts to double that of both its predecessors. A somewhat similar course was adopted with respect to the Youth's Magazine, which was amalgamated with the Bible Class Magazine, under the title of The Bible Class and Youth's Magazine, and from the increase in the circulation, it is believed, that the larger number of the readers of the Youth's Magazine have become subscribers to its successor. It would be tedious to notice in detail all the other various publication of the Union. Some of the principal and most influential of them have been recorded in this and the three preceding chapters, and when it is remembered, that during the first nine years of the Union's existence, its publications only amounted to six in number, of which, during that period, about 273,000 copies had been sold, while at the present time, inde- pendently of all its other publications, the Union is publishing three periodicals for scholars, and three for teachers, the united monthly circulation of which amounts to about 250,000, or an annual circulation of three million copies, it is impossible to refrain from saying, " What hath God wrought ?" and from pray- ing that so mighty an instrument for good may be energetically and usefully employed. Four of these periodicals are edited gratuitously by members of the Committee, while the two others, for which it has seemed desirable to obtain aid outside the Committee, are subject to their careful revision. 68 CHAPTER YL EFFORTS OF THE UNION TO STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THEIR WORK. CONTENTS :— The Union Prompting Similar Publications to its own— FIRST AND Second Objects op Union— Quarterly Meetings— Increase in Number of Scliools— First Annual Public Breakfast, 1812— Legb. Richmond on Christian Union— Attendance at the Breakfast— Committee's want of Gallantry— Sunday School Missionary, Mr. J. R. Wilson— Deputations to Provinces— Jubilee op Sunday Schools- Mr. James Montgomery- Plans for Celebration- Publications connected with— Evangelical Magazine for August, 1831- Meetings Connected with Jubilee— Results- Alteration of Time and Character of Annual Meeting— Mr. Wilson's Efforts. Had the Union done notliing more for Sunday Scliools than to provide the literature, of some of which an account has been given in the four preceding chapters, it would not have existed in vain. But it has done much more. There are many who so far disapprove of the catholic principles on which the publications of the Union have always been prepared, as to prefer that the works put into the hands of the young should be embued with their own peculiar doctrinal and eccle- siastical sentiments. By them, accordingly, the publications of which an account has been given, and others that have not been mentioned, have been taken as models on which they have constructed a literature which they think more desir- able to place in the hands of the teachers and scholars of the schools conducted by them. The indirect results of the labours of the Union would vastly increase the aggregate amount of good it has been permitted to accomplish. But it now becomes necessary to return to the early days of the Union, and to trace the manner in v/hich it has sought to EFFORTS TO STIMULATE TEACHERS. G9 carry out the first and second objects of its formation, namely, the stimulating and encouraging eacli other in the religious instruction of the young, and by mutual communication improving the methods of instruction. These objects were sought to be carried out by holding quarterly meetings, open to all Sunday School teachers, when the reports of the schools connected with the Union, and the proceedings of the Com- mittee were read ; interesting instances of usefulness, improved plans of instruction, and any information calculated to promote the objects of the Union were mentioned, and occasionally questions previously appointed relative to Sunday Schools were considered and discussed. The meeting in July was also considered the Annual Meeting of the Union, at which the Committee and Officers were elected. These proceedings were very much of a private character. The meetings were not calculated to excite public attention. Great good had, however, attended them. They Avere held in various parts of London : — at Surrey Chapel, City Road Chapel, Sion Chapel, and Chapel Street, Soho, and occasionally at other places. The report read, and the discussions conducted at these meetings, excited attention, encouraged and instructed teachers, and led to the establishment of many new schools, as well as to the improve- ment of existing ones. Previously to the formation of the Union one school in a district for several congregations was thought sufficient ; but subsequently the feeling was diffuse d that each congregation should have a school for itself, thus creating a demand for teachers which the proceedings of the Union greatly assisted in meeting. The Union having quietly pursued its course for a period of nine years, it was in the year 1812, thought by the Committee, that the time had arrived for making its proceedings more public. Accordingly, it was determined to invite the teachers and j&.'iends of Sunday Schools to a public breakfast, on the morning of Wednesday, May 13th, at the New London Tavern, Cheapside. Breakfast was provided at seven o'clock for two hundred, and the meeting excited gi-eat interest. Mr. Marriott,, the treasurer, presided ; and after the Eev. Eichard Watson 70 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE had implored the Divine blessing, a report of the proceedings of the Union from its formation was read. The first resolution submitted to the meeting was moved by- Mr. T. H. Horne, author of " The Introduction to the Critical Studj'- of the Scriptures," who afterwards became the Rector of St. Edmund's the King, and Prebendary of St. Paul's ; and seconded by the Rev. Legh Richmond, the author of "The Dairyman's Daughter." There were some sentiments in the address of this devoted minister of Christ which deserve to be recorded, as showing the principles upon which the Union was founded, and upon which its successive Committees had endeavoured to carry on its operations. He said : — " I confess it to be no small inducement to me, in delivering my sentiments •on this occasion, that I see the word ' Union' in the title of the Society. Union, in all those points wherein we can con- scientiously and consistently agree, appears to be the great secret, now at length happily discovered, for bringing into effect, and into prosperous co-operation, the hearts, the hands, ■and all the combined energies of the men of God. I feel particularly thankful that a plan has been discovered by which ministers and other Christians may labour together with so much affectionate exertions, and that, frequently, with prospects ■of the greatest success, in the first of national objects, the introduction of our British youth to the knowledge of the Teligion of Christ. My dear brethren, unite earnestly in the work. May the Sunday School Union prove a union of affection, and a union of opinions, as far as you can possibly unite (and God forbid that we should endeavour to find out how much we can possibly differ). May there be a union of those general principles which shall make the Church of God strong and united in the exertions of its most enlightened and zealous members. It is my firm belief— or I would never wish to address a meeting, consisting as this does, of persons of different denominations— that the happiest event of the century ■which has now commenced is the growing ' disposition among Christians of various names and denominations to unite in great and glorious undertakings. I have heard the arguments AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 71 of tho prejudiced on this question, I have read the observations of the worldly wise upon it ; but the more I have heard and read them, the more I have seen that the foolishness, as it may- be called, of Christian charity is confounding the policy of the wise men of this world. There must be some circumstances take place, as forerunners of the latter-day glory ; there must be something come to pass, by which the divisions, heart- burnings, and jealousies, which have too long prevailed among us, may be brought to a cl«se. A miracle to effect this we have no reason to expect ; it must advance gradually : nor do I think there is anything fanciful in believing that that work is now accomplishing ; not by the nominal, but by the real union of hearts, engaged in so many gi-and and beneficial undertakings. I have happily experienced some of the most delightful moments of life in the enjoyment of that brotherly communication with fellow Christians of other denominations, which though at a former period of life I thought highly desirable, yet I confess I did not expect to sec so speedily brought into frequent and cordial existence. I can speak for myself, and I am sure I can speak in the name of many of my brethren in the Church of England, in testimony of the })leasure which we have derived, from finding that those who had been accustomed to think themselves at a great distance from each other, are at length, through the influence of a sort of spiritual central attraction, if I may call it so, brought to love one another, and almost to wonder that they feel so affectionately and so nearly allied. We compromise no principles of con- scientious attachment to our own views of Clnn-ch doctrine or discipline ourselves ; neither do we expect this from others. But there is something in union, for Christian and benevolent purposes, which acts like a talisman on the heart, and elicits its best and noblest affections, that they may be consecrated ^t the foot of the cross of Christ. By this means a thousand half explained, or ill-explained sources of difference and disputation among us gradually lose their former importance, and we are mutually become willing to consign them to oblivion." 72 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE The second resolution was moved by Mr. Thomas James, who had been Secretar}^ of an Union formed in Hampshire, and who afterwards entered into the ministry, and having become the Secretary of the Colonial Missionary Society, still survives at a very advanced age ; and was seconded by the Eev. G. Thorn. The remaining speakers were Mr. Benjamin JSTeale, the Superintendent of Surrey Chapel School ; the Kev. Mr. Frey, Mr. Gurney, and the Eev. Alexander Fletcher. It will thus be seen, that this first public meeting of the Union exhibited a delightful exemplilication of Christian love, and it has been the desire of the various Committees, that each succeeding meeting should preserve the same character. It is to be feared, however, that the anticipations indulged in by Mr. Eichmond, and arising from the warm affections of his heart, were too sanguine, and that Christian ' union has not made the progress he desired or expected. The difficulty of conducting a united Society has been found recently to increase, in consequence of the eagerness with which all religious parties seek the promotion of their peculiar views. In the conflict thus created, Christian union is necessarily endangered : but should not every effort be made " to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ?" The Annual Breakfast was removed in 1815, to the City of London Tavern, in Bishopsgate Street, now the Wesleyan Methodist Centenary Hall, where it continued to be held until the year 1832. The attendance largely increased, until at length it exceeded 1,200. The hour for breakfast was altered to six ; l)ut the anxiety to be present rendered it necessary to anticipate the hour, and between four and five in the morning, east, west, north and south, groups of young light-hearted youths and maidens were seen bending their way to Bishopsgate street, to the wonderment of the frequenters of the London Markets, who could not imagine why such an unwonted addition was so suddenly made to the early London population. Before five o'clock, so great a crowd had assembled round the doors of the Tavern, that it became necessary to throw them open for the admission of the people ; and by the time stated for the com- AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 73 mencement of breakfast, that meal had been disposed of. The large room was crammed with an audience not over patient, and as soon as the chairman had arrived, and had taken some refreshment, the proceedings commenced. No doubt the recol- lection of the few survivors of those who used to attend, will vary according to the impression made upon their minds, but few will forget the opening psalm — " From all that dwell below the skies," invariably sung to the same tune, Denbigh, and which seemed never so well sung anywhere else ; nor the bluff form of Joseph Butterworth, Esq., M.P. for Coventry, first the treasurer, and afterwards the president of the Union ; nor the amiable counte- nance and persuasive oratory of the author of " The Dairyman's Daughter ; " nor John Bunyan's successor, Mr. Hillyard, of Bedford, who invariably attended, and as certainly brought with him his great predecessor, to add to the interest of the meeting. Nor can the Rev. James Upton, of Church Street, Blackfriars, be forgotten, whose early rising habits rendered his attendance at such a meeting no difficulty. There are some who will remember the notice given by the Committee (in imitation of the plan adopted by the British and Foreign Bible Society), that in consequence of the large attendance, ladies could not be admitted ; they will still be able to realise the good-natured face of Mr. Upton, when, in his address, he adverted to this prohibition, saying, " At an early hour this morning, my grand- daughters came to my door, and said, ' Grandfather, are you not getting up to go with us to the Union ? ' ' But they will not let you in, my dears.' ' Well, we will try ; we will go and see if they will shut us out.' The results might be easily foretold ; the ladies triumphed. The Committee got laughed at for their want of gallantry, and no attempt was afterwards made to enforce the rule." It was at one of these annual gatherings, that the Bev. Legh Kichmond first told the story of " The Collier Boy and his candle box," which has since been very extensively circulated 74 EFFORTS TO STDIULATE as a tract. On May 3, 1815, an accident occurred at the Heaton Main Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne. The water "broke in upon the working, endangering the lives of the whole of the workers. Some escaped, but though great exertions were made, nine months passed before the bodies of the others could 'be reached. Among those who perished were John Thew and his sons William and Thomas. After the bodies were put in coffins, the relatives were per- mitted to go down the pit for the purpose of recognising their husbands or children ; and Elizabeth Thew was among the foremost. She readily found out her son William's body by his fine auburn hair. What must have been her feelings, when in one of his pockets was found his tin candle -box, on which, in the darkness of the suffocating pit, or with only the dim light of his Davy lamp, the dear boy had, with a nail, engraved the following touching words : " Fret not, dear mother, forwe luere singing while we had time, and praising God. Mother, follow God more than ever I did." And then on the other side were found the following words, which, it is supposed, must have been dictated by his father, as it bears his signature, though he could not write : ^^Jf Johnny is saved, be a good lad to God and thy mother. ''JOHN thew:' William Thew, the wiiter of these touching lines, was the second son of John and Elizabeth Thew, and was seventeen years of age at the time of the catastrophe. A younger brother, John, was one of those who, on the alarm of the bursting in of the water being made, escaped with others by the shaft. William and John were scholars in the Byker Sunday-school at the time, and were steady and well-disposed boys. William met in class among the Wesleyan Methodists at the time, and attended an evening school, where he learned to write and cipher. His mother relates, that her sons were very affectionate and steady ; that after returning from their work, and when AXD ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 75 cleaned and refreshed by their meals, they were in the habit of reading the Bible to her, and never retired to rest without prayer. Many pleasing anecdotes are related by their mother, particu- larly of William, who seems to have been her favourite son. On one occasion he said to her, " Mother, when I 'm a man, I'll work hard for j-ou, and keep you like a lady." The Eeverend speaker exhibited to the meeting the candle- box upon which the letter was written, and which was after- wards used in a similar manner at many other places, the story related, and collections made for the mother. Thus the candle- box became a source of income for the widow in her time of trouble. The direct efforts of the Union to extend and improve the Sunday School system throughout the Metropolis, were generally undertaken by the Auxiliary Unions, while the publications issued from time to timeVere exercising an indirect influence in the same direction upon the country schools. The Committee had, for a long period, been sensible of the importance and necessity of increasing Sunday Schools throughout the country, and of rendering those already established more efficient, especially as related to religious instruction. While much had been done, much still remained to be accomplished ; and the establishment of efficient Sunday School Unions seemed the best means of attaining the desired objects. Mere correspon- dence, or an occasional transient visit by a member of the Committee, it was thought, could not produce the needed im- pulse. In America, the example had been set of employing Sunday School Missionaries, who had there been extensively useful. The Committee had long been convinced that it was desirable to adopt such a plan in this country, but had been deterred from attempting it by the smallness of their fimds. This difficulty was now removed by the liberal offers of some friends in the North of EnglaQd ; and the Committee, in the year 1827, engaged Mr. Joseph Reid Wilson, formerly Secretary of the Newcastle Union, to devote his whole time and energies to the arduous work of a Sunday School Missionary. Mr. Wilson's -acquaintance with the Sunday School system, and his zealous, 76 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE persevering, and successful exertions, in extending and im- proving it in Newcastle and its neighbourhood, pointed him out as admirably adapted for this employment. By his means the beneficial influence of Mr. Gall's labours, of which an account has been given in a previous chapter, was greatly extended. He explained the plan in the various places he visited, and thus the knowledge of it was extensively diffused. In the course of the year, a deputation from the Committee visited the Unions in the counties of Kent and Sussex, with a view of carrying out in these districts the objects which the Missionary was promoting in the North of England. In the year 1829, a similar deputation attended meetings of the Unions, in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Cambridge, and in 1830, parts of Berkshire, Somerset, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire, were gone through. The deputation attended meetings of the existing Unions, and also succeeded in establishing new Unions, at Beading, Hereford, Ross, and Gloucester. At the request of the Committee, Mr. Althans visited the schools at Christchurch,. Hampshire, superintended by the Bev. Daniel Gunn. A detailed account of this visitation was published, and excited much and very general interest. These various measures had done much towards promoting the extension and improvement of Sunday Schools, by mutual intercourse amongst the teachers ; but a still greater impulse was given to this object by the celebration of the Jubilee ia the year 1831. The idea had been suggested by Mr. James Montgomery, the Christian poet, and the warm friend of Sunday Schools. Inaletter to Mr. Lloyd, dated December 11, 1829, Mr. Montgomery remarked, "It has occurred to me, that a Sunday School Jubilee in the year 1831, fifty years from the origin of Sunday Schools, might be the means of extraordinary and happy excitement to the public mind in favour of these Institutions, of which there was never more need than at this time, when daily instruction is within the reach of almost every family ; for the more universal the education of the children of the poor becomes, the greater necessity there is that they should have religious knowledge imparted to them ; which can be done, AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 77 perhaps on no day so well as the Lord's." This communication excited much anxious deliberation. The result was, that in the Eeport presented to the Annual Meeting of this year, the Committee stated the plan which they recommended for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of Sunday Schools. They proposed that the sum of £10,000 should be raised ; 1st, to encourage the erection of additional permanent buildings adapted for Sunday Schools, which might also be suitable for infant or day schools; 2ndly, for the promotion of Sunday School Missions. The following plans for raising this Jubilee offering were suggested : 1st, a collection in all places of public worship on Sunday, September 11th, 1831 ; 2ndly, donations of one shilling and upwards from the friends and teachers of Sunday Schools, and one penny fi'om Sunday School children, for which collecting cards would be provided by the Union. The plan pro- posed for celebrating the Jubilee was as follows : — 1. That the Sunday School Jubilee be held on Wednesday, the 14th day of September, 1831 — the anniversary of Mr. Eaikes' birthday. 2. That a prayer meeting of Sunday School teachers, either united or in each separate school, as may be thought most advisable, be held from seven to eight o'clock in the morning. 3. That the children in the schools connected with the Auxiliary and Country Unions be assembled for public worship ; the service to commence at half-past ten, and close at twelve. 4. That at six o'clock a public meeting be held in Exeter Hall, for the teachers of London and its vicinity, and that public meetings be held at the same time in each of the Country Unions. 5. That a collection be made at the public meetings to complete the Jubilee Offering. 6. That as Sunday School Unions do not at present exist in some parts of this country, it is recommended that in such places Sunday School teachers should unite for the purpose of celebrating the Jubilee according to the above plan, and transmit their contributions to the Sunday School Union. Mr. Montgomery kindly wrote two hymns for teachers, and 78 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE one for scholars, and Mr. Gilbert another for scholars, to be used at the above meeting, which, with a portrait of Mr. Raikes, were engraved on steel. Medals were also struck, in com- memoration of the occasion, and at the request of the Committee, Mrs. Copley prepared a sketch of the History of Sunday Schools, adapted for the perusal of children. The sale of these publications was so extensive, that the profits arising from them wholly defi-ayed the large expenses which the Committee incurred in the celebrations. This extensive demand arose from the great interest which the proposed festival excited, and afforded reason to hope that a large portion, if not the whole of the £10,000, would be raised as a Jubilee offering. But in the Evangelical Magazine for August there appeared a letter, signed " Monitor," written by a highly- esteemed minister, since deceased ; it was also specially commended to attention by the Editor. The object of the letter was to excite suspicion as to the design of the Committee in soliciting the Jubilee Oft'ering, as to the mode in which it was to be expended, and as to the manner of celebrating the Jubilee. As the writer of this article, and the editor of the work in which it appeared, subsequently acknow- ledged that their suspicions were unfounded, it is not necessary to go into details on this painful subject. So far as the Jubilee Offerin"" was concerned, the attack was so well-timed that it could not fail of its effect. The efforts which were making throughout the country were paralysed, and although a full and complete vindication of the Committee appeared as early as possible, yet there was no time to restore the confidence which had been destroyed. Thus, instead of £10,000, only £2 257 19s. 8d. was contributed ; of which £1,180 6s. 9d. was received through the London Auxiliaries. In other respects, however, the interest which had been excited was not destroyed. The arrangements made by the Committee were carried out, not only in London, but in most parts of the country, and a season of holy excitement and pleasure was experienced, which still dwells in the memory ot those who were privileged to partake of it. The largest AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 7^ assemblage of scholars in London was at Exeter Hall, where 4,043 were gathered together. It was found impossible to admit the whole into the large Hall, where the Rev. John Morrison, D.D., delivered the address from Jer. iii. 4 : — " Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth ?" Those who were thus excluded were addressed in the Lower Hall by the Rev. Joseph Ivimey. Very many similar meetings were held in various parts of London and its vicinity, and probably 50,000 scholars thus joined in celebrating the Jubilee. In the afternoon, however, the interest, which in the earlier parts of the day had been distributed in different portions amongst the respective prayer- meetings of teachers and assemblies of scholars, became concen- trated upon one object — the great Jubilee Meeting of Sunday School Teachers at Exeter Hall. The chair was taken by the Right Hon. Lord Henley. After singing the Jubilee Hymn, "Let songs of praise arise, &c.," the Rev. R. H. Shepherd offered prayer, and Mr. Lloyd read an address from the Committee, stating the circumstances under which the meeting had been convened. The respective resolutions were moved and seconded by the Revds. John Blackburn, F. A. Cox, D.D., John Burnett, John Morrison, D.D., Samuel Drew, and John Ivatt Briscoe, Esq., M.P. The Rev. J. C. Brigham, of New York^ furnished to the meeting some details relative to the progress of Sunday Schools in America. In acknowledging the vote of thanks to the chairman, his Lordship, who presented a cheque of twenty guineas as his contribution to the Jubilee Offering, said, " You will easily, I am sure, believe me, my Christian friends, when I inform you that I never yet felt so great a degree of embarrassment in receiving the approbation of my fellow-Christians as on the present occasion. This meeting — exceeding in point of numbers any that I have seen — exceeding, as I am sure it does, in knowledge, and intelligence, and in Christian spirit, every meeting that I have ever before beheld collected within the walls of an assembly — to receive the thanks and approbation of such a meeting is a proud moment in the life of one who never sought for public applause 80 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE nor public favour. It is a moment that cannot be appreciated. Ladies and gentlemen, till to-day, though I was aware of their excellence, though I was aware of much of the good that has been done by Sunday Schools, I was to a degree ignorant of the vast amount of good derived from their hands. In the words of one of our poets, I would say — ' Greatly instructed, I shall hence depart, Greatly imi^roved in mind, in thought, and heart.' May you proceed from grace to grace. May this work of faith and love extend not only throughout this country, but to the most distant shores. May it extend to nations yet unborn, and be the means of raising millions to happiness in this world, and to a crown of glory in the world to come." The vast assembly then rose and sang the Jubilee Hymn, *' Love is the theme of saints above," &c. The effect of this concluding exercise was most overwhelming, and will never be forgotten by those who had the happiness to be present. In order that those who had been unable to obtain admission might not be wholly disappointed, the low^er Hall was opened, and quickly filled. Here the Eev. Samuel Hillyard, of Bedford, presided ; and addresses were delivered by Mr. Gurney, Eev. Eobert Vaughan, Thomas Farmer, Esq., Eev. Joseph Belcher, Eev. Arthur Tidman, Eev. Thomas Binney, and Eev. George Evans. The last speaker communicated the intelligence which had arrived that afternoon, of the simultaneous celebration of the Jubilee in America. Notwithstanding this additional meeting there were still many who were unable to share in the intellectual feast thus provided, and for their accommodation the Eev. J. MacNaughton, the minister of the Scotch Church in Crown Court, kindly lent the use of that place, where a third meeting was held. James Wyld, Esq., presided ; and the Eev. Joseph Ivimey, Eev. W. D. Day, Eev. W. Davis, Missionary to Grahami's Town, South Africa ; Eev. J. Mac Naughton, Thomas Thompson, Esq., and Lieutenant Arnold, addressed the assembly. The anticipations indulged in by Mr. Montgomery as to the AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 81 results of the Sunday School Jubilee were realised to a con- siderable extent. Teachers were led to think more highly of their work, while the Church was induced to form a more correct estimate of the importance of these Institutions. But such a festival could not have been celebrated, had not the Sunday School Union existed to arrange and guide it. Thus another proof was afforded of the value of such an association. The success which had thus attended the celebration of the Jubilee had excited a feeling in the Committee that the time had come when the pleasant morning meetings of the Union must give way to others where a more convenient time and a more spacious building would permit the assemblage of a larger number of their fellow-teachers, for which the erection of Exeter Hall liad afforded facihties. The falling off in the attendance at these morning meetings also betokened that the time had arrived for making a change. Lord Henley presided at the first of these meetings, held in Exeter Hall in 1832, and also at the succeeding one ; soon after which he was visited with affliction, which in no very lengthened period closed his earthly career, to the deep sorrow of those who had beheld his entire devotedness to the service of the Saviour. On being applied to on one occasion to undertake some service for the Union, he observed that he had been that morning engaged in visiting for the District Visiting Society, and was then going to attend the levee of his Sovereign, intimating that the former occupation afforded him the most pleasure, although he felt that from the station he occupied it was his duty not to neglect the latter. On removing the Annual Meeting to Exeter Hall, such means were adopted as were considered suitable to secure an increased attendance proportioned to the much enlarged accommodation, but for the first two years without success. On the third year, therefore, it was determined to issue tickets of admission to tlic Hall. This largely augmented the number of those desirous of obtaining admission. In the fourth year, 1835, so large was the attendance, that it became necessary to open the lower room for the benefit of those who, although holding tickets, G 82 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. could not make their way into the Upper Hall. The incon-^ veniences attending a double meeting, however, disinclined the Committee from again undertaking it, and some improvements in the Hall, from time to time, have enabled a larger number to share in these festivals, but still very many who would gladly be present are necessarily excluded. The labours of Mr. Wilson, as travelling agent of the Union ^ were suspended in the year 1837, in consequence of the death of his father, which compelled him to devote himself for a season to the duties thereupon devolving upon him. Those duties proved more onerous than had been anticipated ; and ultimately a variety of circumstances concurred to induce Mr. Wilson to resign his office. His labours had tended very much to promote the interests of the Union. He had made known its objects ; had brought its publications before the friends of Sunday Schools ; and the result was, the relinquishment of much l^rejudice with which the Union had previously had to contend. But his exertions had been still more useful to the teachers throughout the country. His addresses awakened their zeal, and directed them to the adoption of plans for the improvement of their schools, fi'om which the scholars long continued to derive benefit, whilst his earnest appeals to the children assembled on various occasions, and his short prayer urged upon them, " Lord, convert my soul, for Christ's sake, Amen," were, in many instances, blessed to the conversion of their souls. 83 CHAPTER VII. EFFORTS OF THE UXION TO STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THEIR WORK. — Continued. Contents :— Mr. Lloyd's Resignation of Secretaryship— Oflacial Changes— Plans for Deputations— Instances of Usefulness connected with them— Halifax Sunday School Festival, 1846— Conferences of Sunday School Teachers, &c. — The Visit of the Queen to Manchester — Gathering of Sunday Scholars in Peel Park— Mr. Needhatn— The Census of 1851, and Sunday Schools— Birming- ham Sunday School Canvass— London Sunday School Canvass— Results. In the year 1843, the Committee were reluctantly compelled to accept the resignation of Mr. Lloyd, to whom the Union had been so greatly indebted in its earlier years. In consequence of his severe indisposition the preparation of the report presented to the Annual Meeting in 1837, was necessarily intrusted to other hands;* it being, however, hoped that he would be speedily restored to health, and to his extensive sphere of usefulness in the Church. These hopes, however, were disappointed, and Mr. Lloyd felt it his duty to tender his resignation of the office which he had held for so many years, with honour to himself, and with usefulness to the Society. The Committee, on receiving this communication, passed resolutions expressive of their deep sense of the services rendered by their Secretary, and their S3rmpathy with him under his affliction, and requested him to allow his name to remain as Secretary, with the understanding that he should not be expected to act any further than might be agreeable to him. They adopted these resolutions fi'om a conviction that the interests of the Union would be promoted by the continuance amongst its officers, of the individual, under whose guidance it had, with the Divine blessing, attained the eminence it then occupied; and from a desire to testify, so far as it was in * Mr. Watson, from this date, prepared the Annual Reports, and read them at the Annual Meetings. 84 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE their power, their high esteem, for his long continued, and disinter- ested labours in the cause of the religious instruction of the young. This arrangement continued to be acted upon for some yesus ; but at length Mr. Lloj'd expressed his desire that his name should no longer appear as one of the Secretaries to the Union, in consequence of his entire inabilit}^ to take any part in its proceedings. In complying with this request, the Committee felt it right, to place on their minutes a resolution in which "They most gratefully record the high sense they entertain of the eminent services which, under Divine Providence, he for so many years cheerfully and efficiently rendered in the extension of the influence and usefulness of the Sunday School Union, together with the great benefits which, through his advice, activity and energ}^, he has been the means of conferring upon Sunday schools both in England and foreign countries." They also requested Mr. Lloyd to accept the office of honorary member of the Committee, and they had the pleasure of his occasional presence when his health had slightly improved. Mr. William Groser, who had been for several years a useful member of the Committee, as a representative from the North London Auxiliary, and had acted as secretary to the Sub- Committee, by whom the Library and Eeading Eoom were superintended, was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Lloyd's resignation. The Committee did not appoint any successor to Mr. Wilson. They thought that as he had been engaged for several years in visiting the country, explaining the objects of the Society, recommending the establishment of local Unions, and encou- raging Sunday School teachers in their work, it had become less necessary that such agency should be continued. But as they felt some assistance might be usefully rendered to local Unions at their annual meetings, they resolved to send deputa- tions to attend such meetings, whenever requested to do so, hoping that such visits would preserve the local Unions in a state of activity and usefulness, and increase the interest felt in the proceedings of the Parent Institution. Much benefit resulted from this fraternal intercourse, and in consequence of AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 85 the facilities afforded by the construction of railways, endeavours were afterwards made to conduct it more systematically, not confining the visits to places where Unions already existed, but extending them, so far as the Committee were able, to all places where it was thought they might be beneficial. The following was the plan adopted : two members of the Committee left London on Saturday afternoon, and devoted the next day to the visitation of as many schools as they found practicable. On the Monday or Tuesday afternoon the deputation met the teachers, and a fi-ee and fiiendly conference took place on various points connected with the extension and improvement of the Sunday school system. These meetings were not intended to be public, because it was desired they should be of a practical character; but they were largely attended, excited much interest in those present, and produced beneficial results. The first visit on this plan was to Leicester, in January, 1844,''' and it has been followed by more than 1200 others, in w^hich many thousand teachers in various parts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, have received, with expressions of great satisfaction, the deputations of the Committee. The character of the meetings has been modified by circumstances; endeavours have been made to secure a meeting on the Saturday evening ; the teachers have been invited to assemble on Sunday afternoon, and some- times an address has been delivered after the evening services, but generally, the plan laid down at the commencement, by the Committee, has been adhered to ; and although it has involved a considerable sacrifice of time and labour, on the part of the Committee, and a large expenditure of money fi'om the funds of the Union, yet there can be little doubt that the advantages realized have been fully commensurate. The following instances will furnish specimens of the results : — At one of the places visited, the Committee were informed that since the visit of the deputation, in one school, a senior girls' class had been formed, and one was in progress for senior boys ; in another school, two boxes of movable letters had been purchased ; boys' and girk' senior classes had been commenced ; * Messrs. Watson and Cuthbertson were the deputaticn. 86 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE the teachers had consented to attend every Sabbath, instead of alternately, as before, and the teaching was continued during the whole of the Sabbath afternoon instead of requiring the scholars to attend Divine Worship as well as in the morning. The Secretary of one of the country Unions wrote in reference to the visit from a deputation : " Our Sunday School Union, before your coming amongst us, was lifeless, and almost extinct; but now the monthly and quarterly meetings are inquired after with an interest never felt before." The Committee of a Wesle3^an Methodist school, in another place, said, in their annual report, " They trust that the recent visit of the deputation from the Sunday School Union to this city will have a beneficial effect. Already the minds of the teachers are aroused to a consi- deration of the best means of giving efficiency to every department of Sabbath school instruction; and with this view three teachers in one school, and two in another, have recently abandoned the alternating system, and attend every Sabbath." The Committee of one Country Union, reported : "In twelve schools infant classes have been established, in which nearly 1000 infants receive religious instruction. This is a gratifying result of the visit of the deputation from the London Sunday School Union, by whom this step was first urged." There were individual instances, but the general results have been seen in the formation of new Unions ; in the increased activity of those previously existing; and in the enlarged demand for the publications of the Union. The course thus adopted by the Committee, has led teachers throughout the country to feel the increasing import- ance of mutual conference as a means of improving the Sunday School system. Hence, the Committee of the Leeds Union invited deputations, not only from London, but also from Man- chester, Halifax, and Hull, to attend their annual meeting, which was thus rendered deeply interesting. The Committee of the Manchester Union took a still bolder step, by summoning representatives from all the surrounding towns to a conference, which commenced at ten o'clock in the morning, and continued, with necessary intervals for refreshment, till ten o'clock at night. It was attended by 300 representatives from thirteen towns, AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 87 belonging to fifteen different evangelical denominations, who had, under their superintendence, 148 schools, having 5,805 teachers, and 45,953 scholars. Short papers were read on various practical subjects, followed by a limited discussion on each. The pleasure and profit arising from these gatherings have caused the examples thus set to be extensively followed on subsequent occasions, and in other parts of the country. Among the visits paid in the year 1845 by deputation from the Committee, was one to Dublin and the >v'orth of Ireland, occasioned by intimations that it would be cordially welcomed by the teachers there. Crowded and interesting meetings were accordingly held in Dublin, Newry, Derry, Coleraine, and Belfast. At Dublin, the meeting was attended by five clergymen of the Established Church. At Belfast, the reception of the deputation was most cordial and hospitable. Twelve hundred tickets of admission to the public meeting had been issued, when it became necessary, in consequence of the continued demand, and the inability of the place of meeting to accommodate a larger number, to obtain the use of the largest Presbyterian Church, which was readily granted. At other places visited by similar deput- ations, alike spirit of brotherly love was manifested; atDowlais, the clergyman of the parish entertained the deputation at his house, and did all in his power to promote the object of their visit; and at Walsall, the vicar took the chair at the meeting, and, with his curates, entered heartily into the views of those who desired that a Union of the teachers should be formed. The interesting engagement in which one of the deputations took part at Halifax, deserves particular notice. So much pleasure w^as received fi-om the celebration of the Jubilee of Sunday schools in that town, in 1831, that it has been repeated since then at intervals of about five years. Its third repetition was fixed for Whit Tuesday, June, 1846, and the attendance of a deputation from the Committee was requested. The schools w^ere accordingly visited on the Sunday, and large assemblages of them afterwards addressed. A Conference of Teachers was held on the Monday evening, and on Tuesday the great festival took place. The Sunday scholars gathered in their respective 88 EFFORTS TO STIJIULALE scliool-rooms, wliere some of them partook of breakfast. At ten o'clock the shops of the town were closed, and the stream of population flowed towards the Piece Hall, a building enclosing an open area of about 260 feet by 220. The Hall consists of open galleries of two, and in some parts, three galleries, at the back of which are small shops, on which stuffs and other similar goods, manufactured in the town, are exposed for sale on the market days : into these galleries the public were admitted as spectators, at prices varying from 2s. Gd., to Gd. each, accord- ing to the eligibility of the position. More than G,000 persons availed themselves of the permission, and upwards of £230 was received, which, after providing for the expenses of the meeting, and for a grant to the Sunday School Union, was divided amongst the schools which attended, in proportion to the number of scholars. At eleven o'clock the schools of the town and neighbourhood commenced entering the area which was turfed and sloped gently from west to east. Many of the country schools were headed by bands of music, which afterwards took their station in a spacious orchestra erected on the east side of the area ; four hymns were then sung, accompanied (except in one verse of each hymn), by more than 200 wind instruments. Lord Morpeth arrived during the singing of the last hymn, and after the engagements had been closed with the National Anthem, addressed a few words to the assembled multitude. In the* evening, his lordship presided at a meeting of 1,200 teachers, who had takenteatogethcr,aftertlielaboursof this very delightful festival.'"' It has been already mentioned that the work of conducting the conferences of Metropolitan teacliers which were periodically held in the earlier years of the Union, had generally devolved upon the Committees of the Auxiliaries, but circumstances occasionally arose which seemed to call for a more general gathering. Tluis, in the year 18-12, the annual report of the Committee adverted to the returns received from the four London Auxiliai'ies, as showing that above two-thirds of the schools had lending libraries connected with them for the use of the scholars ; that rather more than one-third had select classes for * Mr. "Watson was the deputation AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 89 the benefit of elder scholars ; that nearly two-thirds of the teachers were members of Christian churches ; that one-third of the scholars attended morning school, and two-thirds attended afternoon school, on an average of three months. The Com- mittee then appointed, felt it their duty to take into consideration the attendance of scholars, feeling by no means satisfied that so large a |)roportion should be regularly absent, especially at morning school. A deputation was appointed to confer with the Committee of each Auxiliary, and with the Superintendents and Secretaries of schools ; and such conferences were accord- ingly held. Other meetings were subsequently convened, when the subject was fully and freely discussed. In some instances, doubts were expressed as to the accuracy of the returns, but further inquiries proved their correctness ; there were, certainh', many schools which had a more numerous attendance, but it was thus evident that other schools must be proportionally deficient in order to produce the general average result. It was found that there were but few schools in which the average morning attendance exceeded one-third of the scholars belonging to them, while in many it fell considerably short of that number. Some matters were suggested by way of explanation of the fact. It was urged, that in many cases, the number of scholars on the books were overrated by sufficient attention not being paid to the removing the names of those scholars Avho had left the school ; that the late hours to which business is con- tinued on Saturda}' night, operated injuriously on scholars, parents, and teachers ; that the length of the morning school,, combined with public worship, was objected to by some parents and scholars. These considerations certainly deserved attention, but several facts mentioned at the meetings seemed to prove that these circumstances were not sufficient to account for the deficient morning attendance. Various remedies for the evil were suggested, referring to the parents of the scholars, to the scholars themselves, to the ministers, to the superintendents, and to the teachers ; and it will show the value of an organisation, by which these facts- and suggestions were brought to view, to place them on record 90 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE for the guidance of teachers, in their endeavours to render their labours more efficient. With respect to the parents, it was recommended that they should be regularly visited by the teachers, in order to excite in them an interest in the instruction and regular attendance of their children, and to induce them to prepare the children in time for morning school. It was also thought that a quarterly address to parents, connected with the examination of the scholars would be beneficial. The scholars should be encouraged to get their clothes ready on Saturdays, so as to leave as little as possible to be done on Sunday morning. There should also be more solemnity connected with admission to the school, and it would be desirable that their admission should take place at an earlier age, so as to enable the eider scholars to bring their younger brothers and sisters with them, and thus prevent their being detained at home to take care of them. If the scholars were encouraged to enquire after their absent schoolfellows, a bene- ficial result might be expected. Some striking facts were mentioned at the meetings, showing the influence ot the attend- ance of the minister in the school. The important duties which devolve upon the minister on the Lord's-day, render it difficult for him to interfere, actively, in the school duties ; but if he could attend at the time for opening school in the morning, he would find that the teachers and scholars would be alike ashamed of being absent, unless under the pressure of unavoidable •circumstances. It is, however, upon the superintendent that the responsibility of conducting the school principally rests. He should feel this, and act up to his station. It is his duty to •carry out the regulations of the school with affection, but yet with firmness j he must not be afraid of doing this, even should it compel him to use the language of reproof. While, however, much advantage would result from the pre- ceeding suggestions being acted upon, yet they will fail of securing the end designed, unless the teachers at large are faithful in their engagements. They cannot feel too deeply the importance of their work ; it is, on their part a voluntary one. They profess that love to the Saviour, and concern for the temporal, and especially for AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 91 the eternal interests of the young, have prompted tliem to engage in it ; and having undertaken the office, it is no longer a matter of choice with them whether or not they shall discharge its duties. The secret of the non-attendance of scholars will be too often found explained, by the late and irregular attendance of the teachers. It seemed fully established, that when teachers are punctual, the scholars will overcome the difficulties (which are great,) in the way of their attendance, and it was suggested, Tvith reference to teachers, that t' ty should make such arrange- ments as would prevent hindrances on Sunday morning : all of them should belong to the church with which the school is con- nected ; there should be a union of feeling amongst them, and the instruction given in the school should be rendered more interesting. Much benefit resulted from these discussions. The returns obtained for the last three months of the year, showed that the morning attendance had increased to more than one-half, and the afternoon attendance considerably exceeeded two-thirds of the scholars on the books. That improvement has, however, not continued, and the deficiency in the average attendance of the scholars, especially in the morning, which is on many accounts the most favourable for instruction, still continues to "be a subject of frequent lamentation and complaint, and does not appear to hav^ been at all benefitted by t.;e introduction of the ^'Saturday Half Holiday." In the year 1848, the Committee were led to institute an inquiry into the state of the schools in the metropolis, with respect, in the first place, to the number of scholars belonging to them; and next, as to the efficiency of the instruction imparted in them. The inquiry was commenced by a con- ference with the Committees of the four London Auxiliaries, held on July r2th and 26th, when a resolution was adopted, unani- mously recommending the Auxiliaries to take the subject into consideration, with a view to the submitting the results to a fufm-e meeting. In pursuance of this recommendation, ministers and teachers assembled, and looked carefully at the institutions in which they felt so deep an interest, and on which so much 92 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE labour had been bestowed ; and their impression was, that while- the fullest confidence might be placed in the system as calcu- lated under the Divine blessing to effect the objects it w^as designed to attain ; yet that it was not carried out to that extent, nor with that efficiency, which seemed necesary to its complete success. The adjourned conference was held on December 19th, and, in pursuance of a resolution then adopted, a general meeting of the members of the Union, was held at Exeter Hall, on February 13th, 1849, when Mr. Lloyd was enabled, after along absence from the public meetings of the Union, to attend and preside over the deliberations of the large assembly. A state- ment of the circumstances under which the meeting was convened, was then read, in which the Committee stated they felt themselves compelled to come to the conclusion, that within the limits embraced by the Union, there were at that time more than 100,000 young persons suitable objects for Sunday Schools who were not found within their walls. Eesolutions were adopted at this meeting, urging the securing the co-operation of the societies engaged in domiciliary visitation, instituting an immediate canvass in the neighbourhood of each school, and the giving increased attention to the physical, moral, and religious welfare of the scholars ; requesting the sympathy, guidance, and influence of pastors to bring the churches to consider the school as an important part of their agency in carrying forward the evangelization of the world, and urging teachers to make use of the opportunities for their own improvement, and to shrink from no exertion which was necessary to qualify them for the important station they occupy. These resolutions were communicated to the Committees of the London Auxiliaries, who were requested to bring the subject before the teachers of each individual school in personal conference; and a letter to teachers was printed, urging the points contained in the resolutions upon their consideration. The attention thus directed to the great number of young persons not enjoying the advantage of Sunday school instruction in the Metropolis, led to very beneficial results ; but before detailing them, it seems impossible to refrain fi'om recording the interesting AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 93 proceedings which took place in Peel Park, Salford, on October 10th, 1851, at which Messrs. Groser and Jackson were present. On the occasion of the visit of the Queen to Manchester, the thought had occurred to a few members of the Manchester Union, and also to Thomas Agnew, Esq., the Mayor of Salford, to gather the Sunday scholars of Manchester and Salford to greet her Majesty. A meeting of the ministers and conductors of the schools was held at the Town Hall, Salford, on August 29th, at which the suggestion of the Mayor was unanimously adopted. Mr. Eobert Needham, one of the Secretaries of the Manchester Union, undertook the office of Secretary, and a large subscription was raised for the purpose of erecting an inclined platform to accommodate the whole of the scholars likely to assemble. It was decided to issue a medal com- memorative of the event. The verses one and three of the National Anthem were adopted as suitable to be sung on the occasion, and instead of the second verse commencing " Lord, our God, arise. Scatter her enemies," the following composed by Mr. Charles Swain, was substituted: — Crowned by a nation's love, Guarded by heaven above, Long live the Queen; Long may each voice exclaim. Wide as Britannia's fame, Long live Victoria's name. God bless the Queen ! An arrangement of the music by Mr. J. Novello was adopted, and the words and music were supplied for sale in the schools which met in the Free Trade Hall, and other places kindly lent gi-atuitously to afford an opportunity for the scholars rehearsing the Anthem. The principal platform extended across the park, describing a slight concave. Two smaller ones, having the same lineal extent, but of less depth, were ranged parallel with the front of the large one, the carriage drive being between. The principal platform was 200 yards long, and twenty-seven yards wide, rising four yards six inches. The top and sides of the platform were railed round with substantial railings three feet high, enclosed 94 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE with three-quarter-inch boarding, eighteen inches high. The two minor platforms, which ran the whole length, were constructed on the same principle, thirteen yards wide, and rising only three feet six inches high, being separated in the centre by an opening twelve yards wide. The carriage drive was in the centre of the platforms, eight yards wide, made level, and sodded. There was also a space in the centre, between the foot of the platform and the carriage drive, of nine yards, which gradually diminished to six yards at each end. The three platforms were calculated to accommodate 62,000 children, and the level space (also covered with planking, on bearers), 20,000 ; making together a total accommodation for 82,000 persons. The first school took up its position a quarter before seven o'clock, and was followed in rapid succession by thousands of scholars and teachers, walking eight abreast with their distinctive standards, preceded in most instances by the clergy- men and ministers of their respective congregations. By eight o'clock the large platform was nearly filled, and by nine all three were entirely occupied by scholars. At twenty minutes to ten o'clock, Mr. D. W. Banks, the musical conductor, who had been for weeks indefatigable in his labours, gave the signal from his central stand for a rehearsal. "Never,"says Mr. Groser, whose presence at this exciting scene has been already mentioned, "shall we forget the thrill ot delight which that beautiful melody, the National Anthem, produced within us, as it rolled in admirable time and tone from 80,000, mostly youthful, voices." "Such a scene, and such a song," said a Sunday school veteran of fifty years standing, " was worth going to America for." At a quarter past eleven o'clock the Queen, Prince Albert, and their two elder children, arrived, being preceded by the Mayor of Salford, and the High Sherifi: of the county, and followed by the Dukes of Wellington and Norfolk, Earls Grey,. Carlisle, and Ellesmere, the Marquis of Westminster, and several ladies in attendance. Her majesty passed round the park to the pavilion, where addresses were presented by the corporation AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 95 of Salford, and then entered the carriage drive between the platforms; immediately, as with one voice, broke forth the first line, "God save our gracious Queen," the whole verse being effectively and touchingly sung. The Queen halted a moment to survey an assemblage of a character unprecedented, it may be, in the history of her kingdoms, when the enthusiasm of her young subjects could be no longer restrained^ and a great portion of the children burst forth from the metrical and musical measures in which their voices were to find utterance, and cheered with all the breath in their little bosoms. The Queen, laughing with pleasant appreciation of their so immoderate loyalty, bowe;l over and over again to their intense delight, and passed ^n. The scene made a lively impression on all present. Copies, in gold, of the medals issued on the occasion, were presented by the Mayor of Salford to the Queen, on behalf of the Prince of Wales and Princess Eoyal, with an address, which was graciously received. On her return to London, her Majesty desired that the particulars of the schools present on the occasion might be furnished to her. They were in number 222, and comprised twenty- one denominations. It is painful to record, that Mr. Needham spent his last days in this service ; the labour proved too much for him. Immediately afterwards he went to the sea-side, and appeared to have recovered strength; but shortly after his return, fever came on, and on December 20th he entered into rest, at the early age of thirty- three years. The anxiety which had been excited by the information given to the general meeting in 1849, as to the number of young persons in London who did not participate in the advantages of Sunday schools, was increased by the education statistics, collected in connection with the Census of 1851. Those returns occupied much of the attention of the Committee, and they proposed for discussion, at a Conference held in the morning of the Anniversary in 1854 : — "The results of the late Census relating to Sunday schools and public worship, in connection with the duties, which they suggest to Sunday School teachers** 96 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE One of tiie secretaries of the Birmingham Union was present, and took part in the proceedings, and another secretary was present when the subject occupied the attention of the Committee. The impressions thus received, were carried back with them, and they made known the thoughts which had been so stirred up. Gradually the importance of the fact came to be felt, that although Birmingham occupies by no means the most unfavour- able position, having with a population of 232,841, 21,406 Sunday scholars, or 1 in about 10^ of the community, yet that there must be in the town from 12,009 to 18,000 young people who ought to be in the schools and were not. The result of repeated Conferences was, that forty-two scliools concurred in attempting a, general canvass of the town. An address to the inhabitants was written by the Rev. J. A. James, and an aggregate meeting of the canvassers having been held for prayer, on April 11, in Carr's Lane Lecture Room, the canvass commenced on the following Lord's day morning, after early prayer meetings in some of the schools, and special prayer in all. About 1,000 canvassers were employed, 30,000 homes visited, and upwards of 7,000 scholars gained to the schools a very large proportion of whom were retained. The gratifying result of this movement was pondered over by several members of the Committee appointed in 1855, one of whom brought the subject forward at the first meeting succeeding their appointment. It was considered with the prayerful anxiety which so vast a work required. The necessity could not be questioned in face of the revelation of the Census, that the Sunday schools of London only contained 1 in 17^ of the population: but the attempt to canvass two and a half millions of people appeared almost impracticable. However, the difficulties gradually appeared to diminish, and in July the Committee resolved, in dependence upon Divine help, to undertake the 'work. They invited a conference with the Committee of the Church of England Sunday School Institute, in order to secure the assistance of the schools connected with that Society, but that Committee declined to take any active part in the canvass, AND ENCOURAGE TEACHERS. 97 although expressing much sympathy witli the efforts. A meeting of the ministers and office bearers of the churches in London, with the superintendents and secretaries, and the Committees of the four London Auxiliaries, was held to confer with the Committee as to the best means of carrying out this great undertaking, and encouraged by the determination then expressed to support the Committee in the movement, they proceeded to carry it out. Seventy-five thousand copies of an appeal to the Christians of London for personal aid in the undertaking, were circulated, and an Address to Parents was written by the Eev. Samuel IMartin, and 400,000 copies printed for distribution. Seven thousand memorandum books were prepared for the use of the canvassers, and a like number of books containing forms of recommendations, to be left with the parents of children promised to be sent to school. Numerous meetings for special prayer were held during the week preceding Sunday, 20th April, 1856, on which day more than 6,000 Christian labourers commenced their perambulations through the streets and lanes of the Metropolis, with the view of bringing into the Sunday school those who had been hitherto destitute of its advantages, and it was the conviction of the Committee, that there were thus added to the schools of the Metropolis, not less than 20,000 scholars. It was not to be expected that such a noble effort would be made, without its stimulating other cities and towns to imitate the example. More than twenty places were reported to the Committee, in which a similar canvass had been made, and with like general results, although sometimes the gratifying fact was brought out, that nearly the whole available population was already in Sunday schools. At Manchester, the meeting held on the subject was presided over by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, and both there and in Liverpool the members of the Church of England entered heartily into the effort. Among the indirect advantages of the canvass, may be mentioned the securing large number of additional teachers, the awakening a considerable amount of interest on behalf of the Sunday school cause, among the churches and congregations of H 98 EFFORTS TO STIMULATE TEACHERS. the Metropolis, and the displaying the Catholic character of the Union. It was perceived by some who would not co-operate in the canvass, that this had no influence on the minds of the canvassers, and that where there was no preference on the part of the parents, the children were recommended to the nearest evangelical school without any regard to denominational distinctions. In the year 1852, the Earl [of Roden resigned the office of President which he had filled for a period of twenty-five years. Mr. W. B. Gurney was requested to become the President, and Mr. Alderman Challis succeeded to the office of Treasurer of the funds of the Union. 99 CHAPTER VIII. THE GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. Contexts :— Reason for interference -n-ith the subject— Mr. Henry Bronghamj "Bill for better providing the means of Education for his Majesty's Subjects"— Opinions of the Clergy and Dissenters thereon— Action of the Committee of the Union— Mr. Brougham and Sunday Schools— Visits a School in Drury Lane — Meeting of Members of the Union — Me.' sure withdrawn— Ptetunis by Parish Officers— Renewed efforts of Lord Chancellor Brougham — Examination of measure by Committee — Extracts from Foster on Popular Ignorance — Irish Education Board — Similar plan for England approved— Grant for Educational Purposes— Opposition of Clergy unsuccessful • — The Factory Bill — Its injurious effects on Sunday Schools— Opposed by the Union — Resolutions passed at Members' Meeting — Measure withdrawn — Congratulations thereon. The successive Committees of the Union have ever kept in view the objects sought by its formation, the extension and improvement of Sunday Schools. The direct means by which they have sought to obtain those objects have been detailed in previous chapters ; but there have been some measures brought forward at various periods, which have appeared to them so calculated to exert an important influence on these institutions, that they have felt compelled, very reluctantly, to turn aside from that which they considered their special work, and give their attention to matters having onl}' an indirect connexion with it. The first subject of this nature to which the notice of the Union was called, and which has in succeeding years frequently occupied much time and thought, was that very important one, the general education of the people of this country. In the Sessions of Parliament held during the year 1820, Mr. Henry Brougham brought forward his measure for better 100 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. providing tlie means of education for His Majesty's subjects. A Committee of the House of Commons had been previously engaged in inquiries as to the state of education. The bill brought in by that gentleman, as amended in Committee, pro- vided that a complaint of the want of schools might be made to the quarter sessions, by a grand jury, justice, minister, or householder. The justices were then to try the complaint ; and if they determined that it was well founded, they were to issue a warrant to the receiver-general of the land tax, requiring him to advance the sum necessary to purchase land and build a school-room. This advance was to be repaid out of the Consolidated Fund. The salaries of the masters were to be raised by the churchwardens, under a warrant of the justices, and to be paid half-yearly. The masters were to be chosen by the majority of householders present at a meeting in the school-house ; to which meeting, persons having real property in the parish to the amount of £100 per annum, were allowed to send a representative. The name of the party chosen was to be sent to the rector, vicar, perpetual curate, curate, or other resident officiating minister ; and if he objected to the party elected, a fresh election was to take place ; and so on, in like manner, as often as the person chosen and reported should not be approved of by the resident officiating minister, and until he should approve of the person elected. It was provided, that no person should be capable of being chosen by such meeting under the age of twenty-four, or above the age of forty ; or who did not produce a certificate of his character and ability, and that he was a member of the Church of England by law established, signed by the resident officiating minister and three landholders of the parish where he had lived for the last twelve months. The clergyman of the parish for Avhich the master was chosen was declared ineligible for the office ; but any other clergyman might be elected. It was further provided, that the master should teach the Holy Scriptures according to the authorized version, and use select passages thereof for reading and writing ; and should teach no other book of religion, without the consent of the resident GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. 101 officiating minister ; and should use no form of praj'er or worship, except the Lord's praj'er, or other select passages of the Holy Scriptures. The catechism of the Church of England, and such portions of its liturgy as the resident officiating minister might appoint, were to be taught during the half of the school hours of one day in the week, to be fixed b}^ the minister ; to whom the right of visitation and examination of the school was given, and who was also to have the power to direct the teaching of the catechism and liturgy by the master on the evening of the Lord's-day. The scholars were to attend the divine service of the Church of England once every Lord's- day. Parents and guardians, however, might withdraw their children from the teaching of the catechism and liturgy, and from attendance on sucli divine service, on their taking care that the scholars so withdrawn should attend some other place of Christian worship. The power of dismissing the master was vested in the bishop of the diocese, either personally, or through his archdeacon, chancellor, or dean. This measure did not meet with general acceptance. It was looked upon with suspicion by the members of the Church of England ; probably on account of the quarter from which it came. The following extract from a pamphlet, written by the Eev. R. Lloyd, A.M., rector of St. Dunstan's-in-the-West, will show the character of the objections stated against it : — " The nature of Mr. Brougham's plan of instruction does not, as far as I can perceive, essentially differ from the Lancasterian, or British School. Whilst it admits some select portions of the Scriptures to be used, it prohibits all notes and comments, all explications whatever illustrative of their sense ; under the influence of a morbid and symbolizing liberalit}^, which renounces what is peculiar, and adopts onl}^ what is common to all sects and parties. He has, indeed, made some concession in favour of our ecclesiastical establishment, in order, it seems, to render his bill more palatable to its members ; but these concessions, which affect to relieve it of its obnoxious qualities, produce no such effect." 102 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. The Dissenters, on tlie other hand, complained of the measure, as giving an undue preponderance in the education of the people to the Established Church ; inasmuch as the master was required to be a member of that Church, the schools were to be placed under clerical and episcopal control, and the pro- visions introduced for relieving the children of Dissenters would, if made use of, only expose such children to painful observations. The Committee of the Sunday School Union appointed a Sub-Committee to watch the progress of the bill ; and having obtained a copy, examined it, in reference to its effect on. Sunday Schools. They soon came to the conclusion that it must be most injurious ; as it would withdraw the scholars, and undermine the foundations of benevolent and gratuitous instruction. They thought that the measure would deprive Sunday scholars of the invaluable means of moral and religious instruction they now enjoyed, without providing any substitute ; that the mere repetition of catechism, attendance at public worship, and the routine of mechanical instruction by a paid master, was very far inferior to the unbought and inestimable labours of teachers who love their youthful charge, feel deeply concerned for their immortal welfare, and from principle devote themselves unremittingly to promote the benefit of the children whom they have voluntarily engaged to instruct. The result of this measure, as it respected Sunday Schools, was pointed out to its author. His reply was, " Oh, they were only for the occasion : when the bill passes, there will be no more occasion for them." He was told, " If you lose our Sunday Schools, you will lose one of the best bonds of society, for these voluntary teachers " " Voluntary teachers !" he exclaimed, "what do you mean ? I don't understand what you mean by voluntary teachers." Some explanations were then given as to the constitution of Sunday Schools : and with a view to further information, Mr. Butterworth requested him to visit a school in Drury Lane, in which that gentleman took great interest ; and then, for the first time, did the talented author of the bill become aware of the beneficial influence which the labours GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. 103 of gratuitous teachers were exerting upon the rising generation of our land. A general meeting of the gratuitous Sunday School teachers of London and its vicinity, was convened on the IGth of February, 1821, at which, resolutions were adopted, embodying the objections against the bill entertained by the Committee, and instructing them to use the most energetic means to oppose its progress. It did not, however, become necessary to take any further steps, as Mr. Brougham was deterred, by the resistance which had been excited, and did not again bring forward the measure. The report presented to the Annual Meeting in 1836, adverted to the returns on the subject of education, which had been obtained through the medium of the Parish Officers, in the year 1833, and presented to parliament, and which were the most, complete that had been published. They showed that in England 1 in 10^, and in Wales 1 in 14f ofthe population were receiving daily instruction, and that the Sunday Schools in England con- tained 1 in 9i, and those of Wales 1 in 4^, of the population. This extraordinary fact with respect to Wales, shows, that in that country the Sunday Schools comprise the adults, as well as the youthful population. The total number of Sunday Schools in England and Wales, was reported to be 16,828, containing 1,548,890 scholars, the population being then estimated at 14,400,000. Mr. Brougham having been raised to the highest post in his profession, the Lord Chancellorship, was, according to custom, created a peer, of the title of Lord Brougham. He still con- tinued his active etfoiis on behalf of the general education of the people, and in the year 1836, presented to the House of Lords a Bill for providing a system of National Education. A Sub-Committee was appointed to examine the Bill, and watch its progress. They found that it exhibited a vast improvement on the plan proposed by the noble lord, while a member of the House of Commons ; but feared it would not be found accept- able to those who felt most concerned for the religious education of the people. The Bill, however, was not proceeded 104 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. with, SO that the further interference of the Committee was not necessary. With the year 1843, commenced a struggle on the subject of national education, into which the Committee felt themselves bound to enter, and which brought upon the Union, indirectly, the severest trial which it had yet had to endure, and which seemed at one time to peril its very existence. The Govern- ment were fi'equently reproached for their inertness in reference to the general education of the people. John Foster, in his Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance (p. 307, second edition, 1821), observed, " It is matter for never-ending amazement that, during one generation after another, the presiding wisdom in this chief of Christian and Protestant States should have thrown out the living strength of that State into almost every mode of agency under heaven, rather than that of promoting the state itself to the condition of a happy community of civilized beings. What stupendous infatuation, what disastrous ascendancy of the powers of darkness, that this energy should have been sent forth to pervade all parts of the world in quest of objects to inspirit and accomplish innumerable projects, political and military, and to lavish itself, even to exhaustion and fainting at its vital source, on every alien interest ; while here, at home, so large a part of the social body was, in a moral and intellectual sense, dying and putrifying over the land. And it was thus perishing for want of the vivifying principle of knowledge, while one-fifth of this mighty amount of exertion would have been suflicient to diffuse it into every corner and cottage of the island. Within its circuit a countless multitude were seen passing away their mortal existence, little better in any way than mere sentient shapes of matter, and by their depravity inexpressibly worse ; and yet this hideous fact had not the weight of the very dust of the balance in the deliberation whether a grand exertion of the national vigour and resources could have any object so worthy (with God for the judge), as some scheme of foreign aggi-andisement, some interference in remote quarrels, or avengement by anticipation of wrongs pretended to be GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. 105 foreseen, or tlie obstinate prosecution of some fatal career, begun in the very levity of pride, by a decision in which some individual or party in the ascendency, had the influence to obtain a corrupt or deluded concurrence." What, however, the state of parties seemed to render hopeless in England, was, in the process of years, adopted as a sort of panacea for the ecclesiastical antipathies of the sister island. The Government had for many years assisted by annual grants a voluntary institution, known by the name of " The Kildare Place Society," which carried on a system of education with great energy and success. But the schools thus established "were conducted on exclusively Protestant principles, and a daily increasing spirit of opposition was raised against the public money being thus applied. Three courses were then open to the legislature — to assist exclusively Roman Catholic schools as well as exclusively Protestant ones, or to withdraw public assistance from all educational efforts, or to construct a plan by which the schools might be open to all without injury l)eing done to the religious convictions of the parents. The feelings of the people generally revolted against the adoption of either of the first two courses ; and the third, which seemed under the peculiar circumstances of Ireland the only one which could be carried out with any hcpe of success, ^^as accepted by the Roman Catholic clergy in general, and an influential portion of the Established clergy and the Presby- terian ministers. In England, this plan — a plan of Government education, meddling with religion, and calculated to throw increased resources into the hands of the Roman Catholic priests — met with opposition chiefly from the Established clergy, and was warmly supported by Protestant Dissenters. An ably- •conducted journal, the influence of which had been steadily used in support of the cause of education, and which after- wards became the most zealous opponent of Government interference in education, wrote thus in 1839 : — "We call upon the public to observe that if cavilling like the above," (the •editor is referring to some resolutions adopted by the Wesleyan hodj) " is to succeed in obstructing the Government plan, the 106 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. effect will be altogether to prevent any aid being given by Government to the education of the people. Are the public of opinion that this important matter should be wholly neglected ? Do they think we can prudently or safely neglect it ? Do they think that Government has no duty to perform towards the people, or towards itself, in regard to education ? Is every attempt to aid in instructing the people, however guarded, however limited, however sedulously impartial, to be clamoured down by bigotry? Is every plan that may be devised to be strangled, however confessedly just in its great principles, because there is a possibility of abuse ?" It is unnecessary to trace the history of the Irish Education Board, which, amidst many difficulties, has steadily pursued its labours. There cannot be a reasonable doubt that the schools thus established had, amongst other benefits, a tendency to mitigate the rancour of religious animosity in the sister island. But those benefits would, probably, have been greater had the Established clergy generally entered more heartily into the project, so as to secure their due influence in the management of the schools. In consequence of their standing aloof at the outset, added to the numerical superiority of the Roman Catholic body, the latter has been the chief gainer by it. The number of schools under the superintendence of the Board has continued to increase. The Government were sufficiently encouraged by the recep- tion of the Irish plan to attempt some experiment of a similar description in England. Warned by the fate of previous efforts, which had failed through attempting too much. Lord Melbourne's Administration in 1839, to avoid alarming the apprehensive, confined themselves to the smallest measure and most innoxious mode of interference. They contented themselves witli proposing to Parliament a small annual grant of £30,000, to be distributed in aid of the expense of erecting school rooms. The object appeared not merely harmless, but even commendable. The regulations seemed just and reason- able. Everyone admitted the propriety of Government seeing that the grants thus made were properly applied, and ta GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE TEOrLE. 107 superintend tlieir administration a Committee of tlie Privy Council was constituted by an Order of the Council. Here, again, the measures of the Government found tlieir principal opponents in tlie clergy of the Established Church. An address, moved by the Archbishop of Canterbury, was presented to Her Majesty from the House of Lords, condemning the appointment of the Committee of the Privy Council. The grant proposed was, however, carried in the House of Commons by a small majority, the opposition made was gradually neutralised, and in subsequent years the amount granted was considerably increased. The Dissenting, bodies generally did not see any objection to the acceptance of the assistance thus proffered, and availed themselves of it to a considerable extent in the erection of school rooms. The public mind having thus become familiarised with tlie interference of Government, it was thought that the time had arrived when a more decided advance might be made towards establishing a national system of education. Her Majesty's Government, in the year 1843, introduced in the House of Commons, " A Bill for regulating the employment of children and young persons in factories, and for the better education of children in factory districts." This Bill proposed to establish schools, to be managed by a board of seven trustees, consisting of a clergyman (who was to be the permanent chairman), two churchwardens, and four individuals named by the justices of the peace. The catechism and liturgy of the Church of England were to be used in the schools, and the children were to attend the school three hours on a Sunday, and to attend public worship according to the rites of the Established Church. The masters of factories were to be prohibited from employing children, without a certificate of attendance at these schools. The schools were to be erected and sup- ported, to some extent, out of the poor rates, at the direction of the Committee of Privy Council for Education. The parents of children neglecting to attend school were to be subjected to penalties. The Bill also provided that National and British schools, which the Government Inspectors declared to be 108 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. ■efficiently conducted, should be entitled to give school certi- ficates to the children attending such schools, and those children were to be exempted from learning the catechism and liturgy, and attending public worship, whose parents objected on religious grounds. As soon as this measure was brought to the notice of the Committee, they examined it, with a view to ascertain its probable influence on the institutions over which it was their duty to watch. Tliey found that the provisions of the Bill would be applicable to every place in Great Britain which contained any building in which steam, water, or any other meclianical power, should be used to move or work any machinery, employed in any way, in the manufacture of cotton, wool, linen, silk, flax, tow, hemp, or jute ; and that the schools proposed to be established were intended to receive not only the €hildren employed in factories, but all other children who might desire admission. A very large proportion of the youthful population might, therefore, be expected to find their way into them, and would thus be withdrawn fi'om Sunday Schools, in which their religious instruction was being con- ducted, with advantages which would not be realized under the proposed system. The Committee, therefore, presented a petition to the House of Commons, setting forth the advantages attending the Sunday School system, and their apprehensions as to the injurious influence which would be exercised upon it by the provisions of the Government Bill. They submitted that the requiring the scholars to attend the schools on Sundays was unnecessary, and inexpedient and inconsistent with the great principle of religious liberty ; and, therefore, prayed that the clause of the Bill which required the attendance of the scholars on Sundays might be expunged. It will be observed, that the petition was confined to one single point of objection ; not because the Committee were insensible to other grounds of complaint, but because they deemed it most consistent with their character, as a representative body, appointed to watch •over the interests of Sunday Schools, to protest distinctly ■against that part of the Bill which directly aflfected these GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOrLE. lOO' Institutions, leaving their constituents at liberty to act in respect to the measure, in other respects, as they might themselves think right. The Committee, did not, however, satisfy themselves with merely preparing the petition. They transmitted a copy of it, with a coi:»y of the Bill, and a letter pointing out its injurious influence on Sunday Schools, to every Union in tlie country, requesting that a meeting of the respective Committees might be held to take the subject into their consideration. The result of these communications, was the holding a gi^at number of meetings, in various parts of the country, at which it was determined to present petitions against the Bill. The Petition of the Committee was presented to the House of Commons, by Benjamin Hawes, Esq., and, at his request, read at length at the table of the House. In the course of the debate, which took place on that evening, Sir James Graham stated that it was not intended to compel those children to attend the school on Sundays, whose parents objected on religious grounds. This explanation, although satisfactory to a certain extent, fell very far short of meeting the wishes of the Com- mittee. There is a superiority in the system of gratuitous Sunday School teaching, which would render it a matter of regret if any children were prevented from partaking of its benefits. It was evident that such must be the case, if schools were established according to the provisions of this Bill. The scholars, in Sunday Schools connected w^ith the Church of England, would be withdrawn to these new schools, because their parents would not be able to state that they objected on religious grounds, to the instruction imparted. But a very large number of the parents of Sunday scholars do not feel sufficient interest in the instruction of their children to induce them to make the objection which would be necessary to exempt them from attendance at these schools. And many dissenting- parents, also, would be unwilling, or afraid to make an objection which might be displeasing to those who had care of their children during the week. Thus great numbers of Sunday 110 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. scholars would lose the benefit of the instructions they were receiving from gratuitous teachers. The petition thus presented to the House of Commons from the Committee, succeeded in drawing attention to the injurious tendency of the Bill in reference to Sunday Schools. One of the public journals which had warmly advocated the system proposed in the Bill, in commenting upon [the debate which took place upon its second reading, made the following remarks, which are gratifying as showing the impression produced by the statements in the Petition. "Another change which is called for in the Bill, was pointed out by Sir George Grey. The children belonging to the Church, attending the new schools, are to be compelled to attend on Sundays. This is an arrangement bad in itself, and one which will interfere injuriously with existing Sunday Schools. The Committee of the Sunday School Union have published a petition on the subject, which states very clearly and temperately the objections to such a regulation, and which is worthy of the "best attention of government and parliament. The Sunday School system is attended with indirect advantages, even more important than the amount of instruction which it imparts. It l)inds different classes of society together by the strongest feelings of benevolent sympathy on one side, and grateful attachment on the other. We have no reliance on the voluntary principle as regards the general education of the people, but that principle is the life and essence of the Sunday school. "There are at present nearly 17,000 Sunday schools in England and Wales, attended by upwards of a million and a half of scholars. By far the larger number of these schools are con- ducted by unpaid teachers. Young men and young women, some belonging to the poorer, and others belonging to the wealthier classes, regularly devote a considerable portion of the Sunday, to the religious instruction of the poor. No fame attends those exertions, and there can be no motive for them but a sense of duty, or the pleasure of a benevolent work. Such exertions could not be purchased by money, nor could an GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. Ill Act of Parliament call them into existence. Sunday schools might be established by law, but law could not make Sunday school teaching what it now is, a labour of love ; and it could not, therefore, create the affectionate relations which now subsists between the teacher and the taught. Those who have seen nothing of such schools, can hardly conceive the strong and warm attachment which gi'ows up in the bosoms of poor children, for a kind and judicious teacher. Feelings of this sort are of inestimable value in cementing the different orders of society together, especially when so many circumstances tend to separate them. An interference with the present Sunday schools, therefore, would be most improper and injudicious. Many children, who would be considered members of the Church, now attend Sunday schools, where they are instructed in the tenets which the Church holds in common with Dissenters. To compel them to withdraw from such schools, to break off their connection with their favorite teachers, and to discourage the admirable voluntary exertions which have done so much, would be an evil, which we trust the government will see the necessity of avoiding. The new schools may be opened on Sunday for such as chose to come to them, but the Sunday instruction will be most effectual, when it is voluntarily given and voluntarily received." As the nature of the educational clauses in the Bill became better known, the opposition to them increased and strengthened, and in compliance with many urgent appeals, the Committee convened a general meeting of the Union in the 12th of April. At that meeting, over which Charles Hindley Esq., M.P., presided, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — I. That this meeting of Sunday school teachers, desires to bear witness, fi'om their personal experience and observation, to the vast importance of the present system of Sunday schools, in promoting the cause of evangelical religion, of sound morals, of civil security, and of social improvement. These beneficial results they believe to have an intimate connexion with the principle of employing a voluntary and unpaid agency, by which a parental interest is often created on the part of the teacher, 112 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. and a filial affection awakened in the heart of the scholar ; and which is also eminently a means of moral and religious impression, as well as of literary instruction. These important advantages a paid agency could never realize. It is therefore, the deliberate conviction of this meeting that the adoption of any scheme of national education which shall have the effect of weakening, superseding, or destroying the existing system of Sunday schools, will be a great national calamity. II. That this meeting, feeling deeply the importance of general education, would rejoice in the greater facilities which might thus be afforded for the success of Sunday schools in their higher object; but they do not believe that the means i)roposed in the " Bill for regulating the employment of children and young persons in Factories, and for the education of children in Factory Districts," are at all adequate to this end ; because, — 1. This Bill violates the principles of religious liberty and Christian Union, by placing the sole superintendence,, and practically, the entire management of education, in the hands of only one section of the Christian Church; by which it would be likely to increase existing religious differences, rather than to promote kind and Christian rivalry in the work of doing good to all. 2. It confers great and unprecedented powers, associated with inadequate control, and practical irresponsibility,, which have a natural tendency to produce oppression, neglect, and abuses without number. 3. The clauses which are intended to shield dissenters against encroachments on the rights of conscience, would be inefficient on practice; because on the one hand, there would be power, influence, the secular arm, and the publia purse; on the other, there would generally be timidity, dependency, and poverty. 4. Schools established under such unfair advantages, would frequently fall under the superintendence of those who conscientiously disapprove of all lay agency in religious teaching, and who would, therefore, use all the power and GENEKAL EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. 113 influence with which they would be invested, to supersede and destroy existing Sunday schools. III. That if, under ordinary circumstances, the adoption of such a scheme of national education should be regarded as a national calamity, its results, under the extraordinary circum- stances of the jiresent time, ought to be viewed with much gi-eater alarm and dread; inasmuch as the powers given by the proposed Bill would, in a vast and increasing number of instances, be wielded by a restless, active, and enthusiastic party, who repudiate the name of Protestant, deny, pervert, or conceal the doctrines of the Keformation, and leave no efforts imtried, and no class of society unassailed, in order to promote the growth, progress, and imiversal prevalence of their religious sentiments. IV. That these resolutions be communicated by the Chairman, to the Secretary of State for the Home Department; that copies be sent to the Members of both Houses of Parliament; and addressed, by advertisement or otherwise, to Sunday school teachers throughout the kingdom, recommending them to l)etition Parliament, without delay, against all those provisions of the Bill which directly, or indirectly, tend to the injury or ruin of existing Sunday schools ; praying that they may never "become a part of the law of Great Britain." The measures which had been adopted by the Committee, ^vere reported to the Annual Meeting, over which Lord Morpeth (afterwards the Earl of Carlisle) presided, and were cordially approved by the meeting, which these discussions rendered more than usually exciting. The Committee then appointed were instructed to watch the further progress of the Bill, with special reference to its probable influence on Sunday schools; and they accordingly, at their first meeting, examined with care the amendment which had been made in it, with a view to disarm opposition. They were gi'atified by finding that, in compliance with the prayer of the petition presented to the House of Commons by the previous Committee, the clause requiring the attendance on Sundays of the scholars in the schools proposed to be establishisd, was expunged, and such attendance left perfectly free. It became, therefore, a matter I 114 GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE TEOrLE. of anxious inquiry with the Committee, whether or not, under these circumstances, they were justified in further interference ; "but they came to the conclusion that the result of the measure, €ven in its amended form, must be prejudicial, if not fatal, to all Sunday schools conducted by gratuitous teachers; that if these new schools were Avell conducted, as migbt be fairly expected, from their command of pecuniary resources, they would gradually destroy all other schools, and that the scholars would be induced to attend on Sundays, and thus lose the advantages which the present Sunday school system affords. The Committee therefore determined to continue their opposition ; they transmitted to the country Unions a statement of their own views of the injurious tendency of the amended Bill, and requested them to give it a careful consideration. They also determined to present a petition to the House of Commons, stating their objections to the measure ; and they convened a General Meeting of the members of the Union on Thursday, June 13th, when Charles Hindley, Esq., M.P., presided, and a series of resolutions were adopted, embodying the objections entertained to the Bill, as amended. The measure itself, which had excited such general alarm amongst the teachers and friends of Sunday schools, was shortly afterwards withdrawn by the government, who thought it prudent to wait for a more con- venient season for prosecuting their plans for carrying out system of national education. Upon this withdrawal, the Committee recorded their hign satisfaction at the promptitude with which the teachers of the Metropolis and the country arose to exertion as soon as the cry was raised that Sunday schools were in dangerj and at the untiring zeal displayed in the continued resistance to the impending evil. The Committee conveyed to them their warm congratulations on the successful results of the eft'orts thus made, and on the constitutional deference to public opinion displayed by the government. But the Committee desired chiefly to cherish a deep feeling of gratitude to Divine Providence for this happy averting of the threatened danger ; and they trusted that publicly, in every suitable manner, whether at the teachers' GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE TEOPLE. 115 usual pra3^er meetings, or at special meetings held for that purpose, their friends would join. them in the expression of their thanksgivings to Almighty God. The thanks of the Committee were also tendered to those Members of Parliament who had rendered such important aid in presenting petitions against the measure, in attending the public meetings held in reference thereto, and for their liberal advocacy in the Commons House of Parliament; especially to Charles Hindley, Esq., and Benjamin Hawes, Esq., who had taken a peculiar interest in the efforts of the Committee. The third resolution adopted by the Committee may be very suitably recorded at length. "That this Committee would reiterate the expression of their deep anxiety for the extension of popular education by all appropriate means. But especially it is their desire and hope that this concern will be practically manifested by their friends in the establishment of additional Sunday schools ; in the active promotion and support of suitable day schools ; in the employ- ment of a larger body of carefully selected teachers ; in the more efficient supervision of the schools ; and especially in gxeater diligence and perseverance in the private and devotional preparation of Sunday school teachers for their regular and ordinary duties in the class. It is only by the use of such means that we can hope by the blessing of God, more abundantly to succeed in extending the invaluable benefits of religious instruction." 116 CHAPTER IX. THE UNION — NATIONAL EDUCATION — AND OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. Contents : — The Catechism of the Church of England an element in the strife — The Government Grant increased — Minutes of Committee of Council on Education — The Position of the Union — Extracts from Pamphlet — PbCsolution passed at Annual Meeting— Memorial to Committee of Council on Education— Interview with the Lord President— OBSERVANCE OP LORD's-DAT — Proposed Eace Course at Netting Hill — The Post GfiBce — Memorials and Meeting— Determination of Government to proceed— The Crystal Palace Charter — Clause to open it on Lord's-day opposed effectually — Penny Postage — Hampton Court — Kew Gardens — British Museum — National Gallery — Meeting and numerous Petitions thereon — Motion defeated — Military Bands, &c. The withclrawment of the Factory Districts' Education Bill did not cause the feeling which had been excited by its intro- duction to subside ; and the Committeej upon whom now devolved the management of the Union's affairs, were exposed to a scene of trial which had never before occurred during the existence of the Society. It will be recollected that in the schools proposed to be established, the Church of England catechism was required to be taught ; and although provision was made for exempting scholars from learning that catechism whose parents objected on religious grounds, it was considered probable, that from various causes, but few parents would feel disposed to avail themselves of this privilege, and that practically the catechism would be taught generally to the scholars. There is no doubt that this consideration tended greatly to intensify the opposition to the measure on the part of those who considered that the doctrine of baptismal regeneration was taught by that catechism. Such was not the ground, however, on which the opposition of the Union had been based. The THE UNION AND OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 117 resistance of the Committee would liave been quite a« firm had any other catechism been selected, or even if catechisms had been altogether excluded. They opposed the establishment of the proposed schools because they conceived that insensibly the scholars would be drawn into them on Sundays ; that thus they would be deprived of the gratuitous labours of their present teachers, for which loss no adequate compensation would be found in the instructions of the conductors of those schools. As the discussions which ensued, relative to the sale of the Church of England catechism, have already been recorded, it is not necessary again to advert to them. The trial was a severe one, but the determination to adhere to the catholic principles of the Union triumphed, and the institution probably derived much ultimate benefit fi'om the evidence thus afforded, as to the soundness and strength of the principles on which it was founded, and by which its proceedings have been regulated. In the year 1846, the subject of the general education of the people again occupied attention. The government had succeeded in inducing Parliament gradually to increase the amount placed at the disposal of the Education Committee of the Privy Council ; and that body now thought that they might take a very decided step towards bringing the education of the people under governmental control. Warned by the fate which had attended the Factory Districts' Education Bill, they carefully abstained from consulting Parliament as to the course intended to be pursued, but agreed to certain minutes which provided for the employment of the money which might be voted in aid of education, in a mode very different from that in which former grants had been applied. Those grants had been expended in aiding the erection of school buildings, the Government retain- ing the right of inspecting the schools, but without interfering in their management. By these new minutes it was proposed that the Committee of the Privy Council on Education should give salaries to monitors and apprenticed pupil teachers ; that gratuities and pensions should be given to schoolmasters ; and that means should be adopted for providing for the further instruction and future support of the pupil teachers after their 118 THE UNION, NATIONAL EDUCATION, AND apprenticeship had been completed ; the Committee were also to establish industrial schools. The adoption of these plans was justified on the ground that the state of education of the people of England was very unsatisfactory; that voluntary efforts to improve it had failed, and would never be sufficient to meet the necessity; and that therefore it was the duty of the state to interpose its aid. As might be supposed, these propositions did not meet with universal concurrence, and a renewed conflict took place between the advocates of state -supported education on the one hand, and those who thought that voluntary efforts were adequate to meet the necessity, on the other. The Com- mittee of the Union were strongly urged to take part in the strife, and to lend the aid which their organization presents, to the exertions made to prevent the minutes being carried into operation. On careful consideration, however, it did not appear that these measures, whatever might be their effect on daily schools, had such a bearing on Sunday schools as would justify interference on the part of the Committee. The teachers con- nected with the Union are combined for a specific object, with a distinct understanding that they are not thereby committed to any measures not directly connected with that object, while at the same time no restraint is placed on their individual action. The institution has prospered by a strict adherence to these principles, and the day on which they may be violated will be an evil one for the Union, inasmuch as they constitute the only safe ground on which such an association can rest. Among the publications issued in the course of these discussions, was a semi-official pamphlet in explanation and defence of the Minutes of Council, entitled " The School, in its Relation to the State, the Church, and the Congregation;" in which the Sunday school was adverted to in a manner, evidencing that its value was becoming more apparent. The writer says : — "Towards the close of the eighteenth century, the church and the religious congregations of England, took the first step to- wards a provision for the education of the poor, by the creation of Sunday schools. These important institutions were the spontaneous growth of the zeal of religious communities for the OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 119 diffusion of Scriptural knowledge, and were the first advance towards the cardinal idea, that the school is an inseparable element for the organization of a Christian congregation. Founded on a conception which has such vast relations (though then imperfectly foreseen), and fostered by intense religious zeal, the Sunday school, especially in the north and west of England, and in the seats of manufacture and mining, has supplied a means for the religious instmction of the people, which may probably, by the good providence of God, have contributed ta save the country from some great convulsion. The influence of the Sunday schools on public order and social progress, must be regarded from two points of view: — these institutions are most numerous and successful in the great towns which have been created on the great coal fields of Great Britain, since the invention of the steam engine. In such towns the labouring poor are employed during twelve or fourteen hours in the day, and the operations of the middle classes are, during the week, incessant until Sunday arrives 5 there are few or no oppor- tunities for intercourse between the more wealthy and the working classes. The fact, that on the Sunday many thousands of the middle class devote three hours of their rest from the business of life to the pious object of instructing the children of the humble ranks, shows how powerfully the cohesive influence of Christian charity has been in operation between those elements of society among which repulsive forces abound. The indirect influence of the Sunday school has, therefore, been most favourable to social harmony and public order. Its direct influence is not less important. A large portion of the popu- lation chiefly owe the power to read, and whatever acquaintance they have with the Holy Scriptures, their connection with a religious congregation, and the influence of a religious example, to this school. It has also laid the foundation of public educa- tion for the poor deeply in the religious organization of the counti-y. The type of this school has, to a great extent, pre- determined the constitution of the daily school, and provided the fabric, which by a natural transition, may be employed in the establishment of an.efficient system of elementary instruction; 120 THE UNION, NATIONAL EDUCATION, AND tending, in harmony with the Sunday schools, to complete the work of Christian civilization which has been so auspiciously commenced." So much apprehension was, however, felt, as to the effect of these Minutes on Sunday schools, that notice was given to the Committee, previously to the Annual Meeting of 1847, that a resolution (of which a copy was forwarded) would be moved upon the subject. Upon submitting the resolution to Mr. Charles Hindley, M.P., the Chairman, it appeared to be one which it was not necessary to oppose ; because, although the Committee were not prepared to admit that the danger to Sunday schools lamented over, existed in anything like the degree anticipated, yet the course of action recommended was one to which no objection could be raised. The Committee appointed at the meeting at -which this resolution was adopted, upon their assembling, took it into con- sideration ; and while they felt that it would be out of their province to interfere with proceedings merely connected with general education, yet if those proceedings were calculated to interrupt the successful working of the Sunday school system, their duty called upon them to use their influence to prevent the evil. They, therefore, referred the subject to a Sub-Com- mittee, who communicated with the gentlemen who moved and seconded the resolutions, requesting them to point out in what Avay they thought the Minutes of Council would be injurious to Sunday schools ; and were favoured in reply with a very full statement of their views. The result of the investigation of the Sub-Committee was embodied in a memorial presented to the Committee of Council on Education, and which contained the following statements: — "It is apprehended, that from the unwillingness of some parties to accept aid from the Government, or the inability of places having a small population to support more than one school, there will, in many cases, be no other means of public daily education than that afforded by a school conducted by those who accept the assistance offered by the Government. That the Sunday school system has so greatly increased, and its. OBSERVANCE OF THE S^VBBATH. 121 advantages are so highly estimated, that it is probable that such a school will be connected with every such day school. That, in many day schools, it is the practice to require the scholars to learn the catechisms and formularies of the church with which the schools are connected, and to attend the Sunday school and public worship on Sundays. That where, from the causes already stated, there is but one public daily school, to which the parents must, therefore, necessarily send their children for in- struction, it will be a great grievance to them if religious catechisms and formularies are taught, and the attendance of the children should be required on Sundays, either at the Sunday school or at public worship, contrary to the inclinations of the parents. That the result of such a regulation will be to compel the parents either to sacrifice the advantage of daily education for the children, or to withdraw them from attendance at the Sunday school and public worship which they approve. That the intentions of the Government, in affording aid in the pro- motion of education, will thus be frustrated, and a violence com- mitted against the religious liberties of the people. That your memorialists, therefore, respectfully urge that a condition be annexed to all grants made under the authority of your Lord- ships 5 that, in schools receiving such aid, the learning of religious catechisms and formularies, and attendance on Sundays at school or public worship, be not rendered compulsory on the scholars." A deputation from the Committee were also favoured w^ith an interview with the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord President of the Council, attended by Mr. Kay Shuttleworth, the Secretary (now Sir J. P. Kay Shuttleworth, Bart.), when the statements of the memorial were urged upon the attention of his lordship, who was pleased to state that his own feelings, and he believed those of every member of the Council, were in harmony with the object sought for by the Committee of the Sunday School Union : that every effort had been made, short of direct inter- ference to procure a rescinding of the rule of the National Society, by wiiich the scholars were required to learn the Church Catechism, and to attend on Sundays ; that those efforts had 122 THE UNION, NATIONAL EDUCATION, AND been almost successful, but some circumstances occurred whicli caused them to fail, and the rule still continued ; but that, in his lordship's own neighbourhood, and in other parts, it was not enforced where it was found objectionable ; that the Com- mittee of Council having acted for some years with the National Society, on the understanding tliat its regulations should be maintained, did not feel themselves at liberty to require the rescinding of the rule, and that any such interference might cause it to be enforced still more rigidly ; but that, if in any place it appeared that any parties were deprived of the means of education through the operation of such a regula- tion, the Committee would be ready to give assistance beyond their usual limit, in order to enable a school to be estab- lished and carried on for the benefit of such parties ; being anxious to encourage the formation of schools to be conducted on liberal principles. The deputation explained to his lordship that the memorial ■was intended to appl}^ to all bodies wdiich might make the learning religious catechisms and attendance on Sundays a ^condition for receiving scholars into the daily school. His lordship made several inquiries as to the constitution of the Sunday School Union, and the mode of conducting Sunday schools, which were answered ; and in reply to an inquiry as to whether there would be any objection to his statements to the deputation being made public, his lordship said they were at full liberty to make his views known in any manner they might think desirable. The Union has not only been called upon to protect Sunday schools from injurious interference on the part of the legislature in its desire to extend the general education of the people, but has also had occasien to step forward to oppose plans, by which they were exposed to injury fi'om the intrusion of worldly pleasure and worldly business, for the religious observance of the Lord's-day. During the Sessions of Parliament for the year 1837, a Bill was brought into the House of Commons, for establishing a race -course at Netting Hill, on the western suburb of the metro- OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 123 polis ; and for diverting a footpath which passed over the ground. The measure was strongly opposed by several persons in the neighbourhood, who thought that such an establishment in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis, would lead to many evils ; but the Bill was passed by the House of Commons, on the promoters of it consenting to the introduction of a clause entitling the public to gratuitous admission on Sundays, and some other specified days. Those persons who were interested in the religious instruction of the young felt that they ought to make some effort to prevent the adoption, by the legislature, of a principle so fatal to the religious observance of the Lord's- day ; and a petition to the House of Lords, against the passing of such a Bill was therefore prepared, and signed by about 6,600 Sunday School Teachers. The Committee cheerfully granted £10 towards the expenses incurred, and had the satis- faction of finding that the resistance to this injurious measure proved successful. The Committee were not only called upon to protect the Lord's-day fi-om the inroad of worldly pleasure, but also from the introduction of worldly business. At the close of the year, they learnt that it was in contemplation to make arrangements in the London Post Office for sorting and transmitting to the country on Sundays, the letters which arrive in London on the morning of that day. They found on inquiry that there were 650 bags of letters, which arrived at the Post Office on each of the six working days, which brought on an average 70,000 letters. On the Lord's-day, only fourteen bags arrived (twelve from seaport towns, and one each from Scotland and Ireland), bringing about 2,000 letters. Of these, 1,700 were for London, and 300 for the country. The business at present only re- (juired the attendance of one clerk at the office, with six or seven messengers, sorters, &c., to forward government letters, and to secure the others for a place of safety. This whole duty seldom occupies more than an hour and an half; but if the lettel's had to be transmitted, every road division (20 in number) in the Inland Office would be set to work, and in the whole, no less than 100 persons would be required to transmit the letters 124 THE UNION, NATIONAL EDUCATION, AND which usually arrived. These, therefore, would form no criterion of the numbers which might then be expected ; as that limited number was caused by the knowledge which parties in the country had, that the letters, if received, would not be delivered or transmitted ; the number would speedily increase, so as to require the attendance of a large part of the Post Office force. The Committee felt this matter to be of very serious import- ance. It vfas setting a bad example, which would be too readily followed; and even if confined in the first instance to the transmission of letters to the country, it violated the prin- ciple of the religious observance of the day, and would lead on to a London delivery also, the immediate and indirect evils of which could not be estimated. Under these circumstances the Committee felt it their duty to prepare a memorial to the Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury, stating the evils which they appre- hended, and praying that the cessation fi'om business on the Lord's-day, which had hitherto existed in the London Post Office, might continue to be observed. This memorial was signed by about 6,200 Sunday School Teachers of London, and presented to their lordships. The Committee did not find that any intention existed to obtain a public and united manifesta- tion of Christian feeling on this subject ; and believing such a measure to be important, they convened a public meeting at Exeter Hall on December 26th, at which Sir C. E. Smith, Bart., presided, trusting that it might be the means of prevent- ing the dreaded evil, and that, at all events, it would be useful in calling the attention of Christians to a subject which was becoming increasingly important, namely : The due observance of the Lord's-day. Much difEerence of opinion exists as to the propriety of enforcing the outward observance of that day by any legislative enactment ; but no such difference will be found among Sunday School Teachers as to the desirableness of using all moral means of promoting its religious observance. The resolutions of the public meeting were communicated to the Eight Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, the First Lord of the Treasury ; and subsequently Sir C. E. Smith, and two of the OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 125 Secretaries, in company with a deputation from various bodies^ who had presented memorials, had an interview with his Lord- ship and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, upon the subject. The result of these continued efforts, was, that the proposed measures were not then adopted. The design, however, was not abandoned, and on Friday morning, September 28th, 1848, the public journals contained an official announcement, that on and after the 14th October, letters posted in provincial post offices, on the blank post day (or Saturday), for towns beyond London, should, if stamped and paying full letter rates, be forwarded so as to be delivered, except in remote places, on the Monday morning. This was accompanied by orders issued within the walls of the post office, rendered necessary by this regulation, and which created no small anxiety and alarm among the officials of the Inland department, and especially those who loved the day and house of God. One of these orders was as follows : — " On and after the 14th of next month, you will be required to attend twice on that day, the same as on the other days of the week." The Committee presented a memorial to the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, praying that the cessation of business which had hitherto existed in the London Post OflBce, on the Lord's- day, might continue to be observed. They also convened a meeting at Exeter Hall, on Monday, October 8th, at which Mr. Alderman Challis presided, and on his being compelled to leave, Sir John Heron Maxwell, Bart., occupied the chair. Eesolutions were adopted, deprecating the proposed measures. The ground taken, was, that such a proceeding would be a violation of the Divine law ; would deprive many persons of their , 61 ; combined in " The Sunday School Teacher,'' 6(j. Union Tune Book (The), 57. Upton. Rev. James, and his Daughters, 73. Walmsley's, Sir Joshua, Notice to open the British Museum and National Gallery on the Lord's-day opposed by the Union, 130. Walworth, Sunday Schools in, and Mr. Gurney, 4. „ Society established at, for opening Schools in neigh- bouring villages, 6. Warner, Mr. Stephen, 162. Watson, Mr. W. H., Secretary of Lambeth Branch, 1818 ; Secre- tary of Union, 1823, 32 ; on Senior Classes, their importance and means of conducting them, 138. Memorial Sketch, &;c., v. West Indies, Aid to Schools in, 132. West London Auxiliary Union, EfEorts in 1836 to supply Bibles to Scholars, 47. Wheelton, Mr. John, joins Committee, 22. Wilson, Mr. H D., of Newcastle Union, 162. Wilson, Mr. J. Reed, appointed Sunday School Missionary, 75 ; retires from Office — Results of Labours, 82. Winmill, Mr. Stephen, Trustee, 30 ; Death, 31. Vv^oodruffi, Mr. Albert, and Sunday Schools on the Continent, 149. Writing Copies from Scripture, 21. Youth's Magazine (The), 62 ; combined with Bible Class Magazine, 67. JAMES SEARS, PRINTER, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET, E.G. A\ DATE DUE — « «■ A.^at«^-.Ts*^,. . "^SS^SS r^'"^^;' -'■'"■^t JWi 1 ■^if^m^-*<^^f¥-^ h#^«^ *^#r*«r^-"ni ^.i0^i^ i3&rj*';*»i ^:^^l** *»«*— ««^' CAYLORO PNINTKOINU S.A i JH^J i? 'h}m> mmBMMmm iliff Pflifij"? 1 1012 film, I 01040 6306