The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-01-13 00:00:00

Jact. The menu here will not be so . small, but it will he inconsiderable. Secondly, the ease, facility, pleasure, and satisfaction, with which children are taught in these schools, must greatly advance their progress in their studies. Thirdly, the rules of the school are such, that the habits and regulations to which attention is given, will be of coesequence to them through life. A fourth advantage, is its mild and effi cacious discipline; with disgust, with horror, and with indignation, do we witness cruelty towards chil dren ; witich is culpable from preceptors, and despi cable from parents. Mal-practices such as these I consider as the most abominable folly, calculated to destroy that close confidence and unbounded tender attachment, which should subsist between children, and those from whom they received their birth : they are contrary to justice and humanity. I may appeal to the hearts of all who hear me, whe ther you do not.consider such acts of cruelty as fla grant violations of the duties you owe to GOD and your children? Gentlemen, It has been supposed that this school, which is so well adapted to this par ticular district, will take away from the Sunday School already established some of the scholars, or at Vast will interfere with them. We have no wish, we have no right whatever to do so , and we even think they cannot interfere together. They cannot, as 1 conceive, injure each other ; for by this means The children will confine themselves on that day to religious exercises, without attending to the mecha- sical parts of oducation, which at present occupy them. His Lordship then stated, that the Meeting was deprived of the pleasure of seeing among them their two represeutatives in Parliament, who were both the subjects of indisposition; he read a letter from each of the host. Baronets, in which they de clared Weir hearty approbatioe of the int nided school, and their determination to support it ; after which, his Lordship introduced Mr. JOSEPH Fox, from London, the .Secretary to the InAtitution for promoting the Royal British System of Education, who a poke to the following effect I-- MY LORD, LADIES, AND Geseriestre,—l feel it a very great honour at being invited to this meeting : had Mr. Lancaster beets in town, he would have at tended with far greater advantage from his peculiar knowledge of the subject; but 1 hate seen the good effects of his plan upon thousands and thousands of children, who, but for the existence 'of his schools, would have been in the streets and fields learning to I become abandoned members of society. We are all `the subjects of education ; and if we do not learn that which is good, we must learn that which is bad. It is instruction which removes the baneful impressions which surrounding objects are calculated to produce.. By it the moral condition of this country will be im proved, and I hope its benefits will extend to all parts of the world. In America this plan of educa tion hasbeen received withgreater eagerness than even in England ; because happily, on that continent, cer tain prejudices do not exist. The object in view is to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, on the great civility of widen it is Rot needful to dwell. Dorit.g an occasional residence at a neigbouring village, to my great astonishment, I found grand fathors and grandmothers not capable of read ing a single letter : now, it is evident, if persons be incapable of reading, it is impossible that the stores of learning, and particularly that sacred source of all religion, the able, can he known and enjoyed.— The u n:sincated poor are unable to understand what tl.eir Milisters declare, when they preach to them. The preaching of the Gospel makes little impression, because the understanding, which is the avenue to the heed, is uninformed. Wi is regard to the mode adopted by Mr. Lan caster, he himself could best explain it ; but of its effects I can speak from my own experience. I will •etion one instance in the case of the son of a gen- Ceman, who formed a Lancasterian school for the poor living in the vicinity of his estates : his own son, under the family tutor, scarcely made any pregress in learning, and his parents thought tl-7 should be under the necessity of giving him up for a dunce.— He was, however, sent to their own free school, under the discipline of which, he soon discover in tellects as strong as other chil‘lren : some have called I it magic—l mean the quickness with v ..'tit they learn, compared with the old plan. The effects of this system, are produced from the arrangement eel classes. All the children are actively engaged, from the boy who cannot distinguish his letters up to the head scholar. The meutal improvement which is produced is like the raw material in a maeuteLtory, being wrought up and prepared for the market. I have also observed the happy effects produced on the conduct of children—those of bad morals and bad la-guage have been reformed. It !,as been said, that no religion is taught in these schools ; but certainly to promote morals is to promote religion. The chil dren also exhibit in their countenances a degree of intelligence, and acquire a respectable demeanour, which do uet belong to children in general. It has been objected that the promotion of schools will tend to diminish the labouring classes of socie ty; but we must all earn our livelihood by labour in some calling—in agriculture, in trade, in arts, in professions, or manufactories. Let education become general among the poor, and this kind of emulation which many fear will cease • we may look to Scotland for a refutation of this ob jection, where labourers may be found capable of reading the Latin Testament. By instruction, man kind will he made obedient to the dictates of con science, and the Precepts of the Almighty, and by pursuing this plan, England will become the glory of the world; for every Englishman will become perior to every other man, who is not instructed. The fatal consequenc‘s of ignorance have been seen in a, neighbouring nation, and it is owing to instruc tion that our own country has been preserved. I have been informed by a Captain of a man of war, whose ship joined the alarming mutiny at the Nore, the mutineers consisted for the greater part of those who could neither rend nor write. They were acted upon by the demagogues, and remained obstinate, because they could not read declarations and procla mations, whilst those who had some education re mained subordinate, or were easily reclaimed.—This fact is a considerable argument, and shews that men will obey the laws, when they are able to understand and appreciate them. The great thing which recommends this plan, is its cheapness, as it is u easy to conduct a school of sue thousand as of one hundred children ) because L 1 1 "it • i I THE STATESMAN. the principal ezpence is incurred by the school. room and school-master. One school-master and one school-room will do for a thousand children, and the ezpence is so much per head, according to their number. A school of 400 cannot be kept at so low a rate for each, as a school for 1000 ; but sup posing it were to amount to ten shillings per head per annum, compared with other systems, the sav ing is immense ; for by this plan, the great expeuce of books, pens, ink, &c. is done away, as one spelling- Lbook, one set of Scripture Lessons, one copy of the I arithmetic, will be found sufficient for five hundred or a thousand children. The cheapness of the plan will, and must, recommend it to general adoption. There is 110 sectarian principle introduced into this plan. The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the Ischool -hook. AU Christians appeal to the Bible, for the morality which they practise, and for the doctrine which they believe. The morals of Greece and Rome, when in their highest glory, were in a terrible state ; but where true morality influence the I conduct of any man, the principle is drawn from that source alone, which GOD has given to guide our steps. You lead children by the Bible to Goo and his grace, for instruction here, and for happiness hereafter—you also prepare them to receive 1113 re ligious instruction of the Clergyman—they are en bled to understand his sermons in a manner they could not possibly do if they were incapable of reading the Scriptures themselves. The Canon Law ordains, that the children of the Esta blishment should be tostrested 4,:y the Ciergy in the principles of the Church, and taught accord ; ling to the faith established by law. Dissenting Mi. Inisters will also teach their youth. Here we may see the peculiar utility of Siinday Schools. Every day, in Lancasterian Schools, the children are taught to read the Bible, and on the Sunday their time may ' be taken up in catechising and receiving the religi ous instruction of the Clergyman, and Ministers on whom it may be the desire of their parents they I should attend. _ My Lord,—lt has been said, that this plan will drive children Gam the Establishment, but very con trary is the fact. The nearest town to this place, in which one of these schools has been established, is 1 Uxbridge ; and there it has exhibited its important effects on the Established Church. Of two hundred children, one hundred and thirty have constantly attended the Establishment. It may be taken as a fair calculation, that two-thirds of the children of the whole population of the country, will be found going to the church. Mvantages also arise from all the children of a town being school-fellows ; for early associations have ever been a bond of friendship among mankind. Religions animosities, and religious discords, will he prevented ; they will never persecute each other for differing on miller points, while they agree on I the important ones; they will not dispute, whe ther a word shall be rendered this way or that. Of what consequence is it in the eye of the Almighty, if one goes to Meeting, and another to Church, if ' the heart he under the influence of right principles !before Got)? This Meeting is honoured by the presence of Mem bers of the Legislature ; and those high personages in the nation, who have taken Mr. Lancaster by the hand, are satisfied with the beneficial tendency of his System. Persons who affirm that it will ever throw the State, cannot come forward in public and declare this sentiment ;* they whisper in private, and talk in corners of the streets ; they insert para graphs in Newspapers, but they dare not venture to a public discussion. The wealth and strength of every country depend upon its population; when its population is moral and religious, it will be so much the more powerful. Should we have heart! of those horrid murders which have lately tilled our streets with so much alarm, if every body obe y ed the Ten Commandments ? No. If every human being were governed by right princi. pies, you would only see right conduct. Gaol deli veries •,‘ ould not be so neinerous, and our criminal cock would die away of itself • because there would be no victim on whom it could operate. The pro motion of Pducation, by improving the morals of the country, lays the axe to the root of many evils, of which the benevolent complain. Education is peso of great consequence in a reli gious point of view. It will make the riiing gene ration a most he lou,•al.'e and extoll tit race ; and effect the ardent desires of our vent.raide Sovereign and the Prince Regent, who wish only to reign over a free and enlightened people.— [Loud and repealed applauses.]—lt was the ardent desire of his Majesty that the blessings of this system should be diffused, to which he has been a most liberal contributor. Ills Royal Highness the Prince Regent, I have authority to say, by no means intends to withdraw his sanc tion from Mr. Lancaster, though he patroaizos the Metropolitan School. His wishes are to promote the education of the people by the instnurentaiity of; all parties, and he is, therefore, its universal patron. ; My Lords, Ladies, and Gentletnen,—l now return my sincere thanks for the honour done me; and, in the course of two or three years, I hope you , will experience the full benefits of the School you are now about to establish in this place. Mr. Fox having sat down, the lion. Robert Smith. at the early age of seventeen, rose to move the various Resolutions, constituting the basis of the society, intended to be instituted.-- In a neet but short speech he very modestly addressed the Meet ing, stating his approbation of the opinions already advanced by his noble relation, and Mr. Fox, and expressed the pleasure he felt on the occasion, in being engaged in promoting so desira ble an object. The Resolutions were seconded by the Rev. JACOB Sienna*, who, in the following words, addressed the company for a few minutes: — MY LORD, LADIES, AND GENTIZSIEW,--We are assembled on this occasion, as the friends of our race, the advocates for the it of the ignorant, and the benefactors of the rising gene. ration; it is, therefore, with no ordinary sensations of pleasure I rise to second, with my unqualified approbation and heavy concurrence, the Resolutions now proposed by the lionoutshie mover, whose appearance at this Meeting must be gratifying to all, and whose conduct this morning has added lustre to his rank, and stamped dignity on the brow of early manhood. It is my sincere wish, that his life may long he preserved, an honour to his family, an ornament to the Legislature, and a blessing to his country. My Lord, and Gentlemen,—The plan of education recom mended to your sanction and support, is not now a novel project ; for more than tea years its excellence has been dessionstrausd. and its superiority to other systems, particularly those usually prac tised, appears from its unexampled success. The school estab lished is the Borough of Southwark for more than fine years, has been honoured by the patronage, and aided by the benevolence of our venerable Monarch, who is well known to have expressed this desire, that every poor eldW seder his Government, should be taught to read the Bible; as also, by other branches of the reigning family of the British Empire. • My Lord, My owls age and inexperience alike urge the to desist from occupying much of the time, or of trespassing long on the attention, of this respectable Meeting. With much sa tisfaction, I have listened to the very appropriate speech deli vented by your Lordship, at the opening of the business b^fore us; whose condescending and repotted attentions to the wishes of Gentlemen present, have in&libly impressed your name m t OUT hearts. I cannot refrain from expressing my sincere vene ration for those principles which your Lordship, both at this in-. • stant, and on a former interesting occasion, has so warmt., avow ed. We have witnessed in your Lordship those sentiments of Religious Liberty, and genuine benevolence, which might be • expected from a descendant of the distingois l eed founder of the I House of Chatham, whose memory is immortal, and whose well-earned fame will expire onfv a itb the :ie., of time. My Lord, and Gentlemen, After the enlarged developement of , the mode of instruction which we have h 'ant from :Ir. Fox, our London friend, and which is designed to be adopted by this Society, it Is unnecessary, and perhaps it would be improper, for inc to enter into any detail. It is indeed a subject which has always interested my feelings; for to the instruction of the ebil , dren of the poor I have been taught, and 1 ens now induced, from my owe observations, to attach the greatest importance. Were my resources equal to my feelings, they should be eat ! oyed in its service ; but, limited as my benevolent ellores must be. there arc yet no means within my ability in which 1 would not gladly engage, to forward the views of Ibis Institution. The , circulation of the Scriptures in all directions, and the teachin g of children " to remember their Creator in the days of Mar ! youth," I cannot but consider as most powerful auxiliaries to introduce that long-promised event, and anciently predicted pe rind, when t .e peaceful dominion of the AIESSIAIT shall extend I from sea even to sea, and when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and its shall re*u far ever and ever. The Rev. WILLIAM Pates, in seconding a Motion of Thanks to me Hon. Robert Smith, enlarged upon the liberal principles of the system, declared his entire approbation of the object of ' the Meeting, and expressed the high personal respect he enter tained for the Noble Chairman, and the lion. Mover, for the prolongation of whose lives he should ardently tray. The Rev. ANDREW HORN, in seconding a Motion of Thanks to Joseph Fox, Esq. warmly supported the proceedings of the day, stated the great importance he attached to the subject, and observed, he so strongly felt for the success of the cause, from his own knowledge of the condition of the poor in Scotland, England, and Ireland; and so highly did he estimate the Jove:e -1 tion of youth, that had Dr. Hells plan been proposed, it should have received his full concurrence. Ile firmly I,elieved, that the plan of 1 atioister could not undermine the Church, nor was he afraid that Dr. Bell's plan could injure the Dissenters. The Thanks of the Meeting were unanimously soled to Sir Thomas Baring and Sir John Dashwood King, Barts. for their • liberal suppor of .he plan, and also to the '.Mayor of High W . ''- , combo. Pt rfect unanimity prevailed during the a hole of the • proceedings, which were concluded by the unaiiiinous thanks of i the Meeting, accompanied with the greatest applause, to the ! Noble Viscount who presided. M. AMICI, an astronomer of Milan, has con structed a telescope 17 feet in length, and 11 inches in diameter. It is the largest ever made in Italy, and Is said to equal the best English glasses for ob serving the heavenly bodies. On trial it was proved that the smallest writing might, by means of it, be read at the distance of 300 yards, and every - stop and fine stroke plainly discerned. Yesterday morning, about nine o'clock, a fire broke oat at the joiner's shop belonging to Black wall yard, and consumed nearly the whole building. As nobody had been in the shop since Saturday even ing, it is not known how it began, but is supposed to have been occasioned by a sp ark which had been left unextinguished on the prece ding night. M. )(meatier has attracted great notice at St. Petersburgh, by an invention for extracting sugar from the flour of different sorts of grain mixed with potatoes. STATE OF TILE METROPOLIS.—The best preventive security against every danger is a'20,0001. Prive in the present State Lottery, which any person may ob itain for a few pounds, if bought on or before Mon t day, the 10th, as all the Lottery will begin at nine `o'clock the next meriting, and finish the same day. A few mornings since early, the house of Samuel I Salter, Esq. of Rickmansworth, was broke open and robbed of ahuantity of plate, jewellery, and other property. A few mornings since, the house of Miss Davis, of Twickenham Green, was bro'.(e open, and robbed of a quantity of linen and other property. On Friday night, be►ween 10 and 11 o'clock, as Mr. Charles Fiddler, of Ewell, Surrey, was return ing home, he was stopped on the Dorking-read, be tween Epsom and Ashsted, and robbed of Dorking and other Bank Notes, to the amount of 210/. by two men. The house of Colonel Strutt, M. P. in Upper Grosvenor-street, was broken into a few nights past ; but the female servant hearing the noise, got up, and occasioned the robbers to decamp without their booty. F,arly last Monday morning, the house of Thomas Cobb, Esq. of Ellstree 11111-house, near Edgeware, was broke open, and robbed of plate, jewellery, and other property, to a considerable amount. On Friday night last, about eleven o'clock, as Mr. Mason, Carpenter and Builder, was going to to.his house, No. 9, Hill-street, Windmill-street, near Finsbury-square, he was suddenly attacked, when opposite the door of Mr. Cooper, tea-dealer, the corner of Windmill-street and Providence-row, by two ruffians, by whose repeated blows he was knocked down ; and as he lay on the ground, one of I the monster's, with a knife, or some other sharp in strument,, was in the act of cutting his throat, when, ' providentially, the shopman, who had just shut up the shop, and was thee in it, hearing the fall of Mr. Mason on the pavement, and immediately afterwards some groans, came out of the shop, on which the fellows, who heard the door unbolting, ran off. Mr. Mason was then conveyed home, and on his being i attended by the pupil of Mr. Barnett, Surgeon, of i I the City-road, the wound was discovered not to be mortal, the incision, though deep, not having reach ed the fatal part. Nothing was taken from the per ' son of Mr. Mason : but it was, doubtless, the inten tion of the ruffians to have deprived him of property and life, had they not been disturbed. A German Paper, after enumerating the News papers, Magazines, and Reviews, published in Great Britain, adds, " of the latter, the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews are the most celebrated. They I are conducted upon opposite principles. The Edin burgh Review, though still most esteemed, has lost much of its popularity, since two of its principal Editors, Mr. HoRNER and Mr. BROUGHAM ) have been called to important situations." A duel took place last month at Bourdeaux, be. tweet) two merchants. On the first fire, one of the parties fell, and the seconds immediately approached, supposing that he was mortally wounded; after 'a close inspection they found that he had not sustained any injure, his antagonist's ball having glanced aside, and lodged in the trunk of a tree ; but he was ne vertheless dead; having, it is conjectured, anticipated by his terrors, that fate which he might otherwise , have escaped.- His antagonist was wounded in the I right. are. LAW MrTE L LIGE NCB. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, GUILDHALL, JAN. 11 TaIACILARAY V. BAUTLETT. This was an action to recover the amount of two Bills of Exchange, amounting in value to upwards of 30001. drawn by Defendant at Newcastle-upon. Tyne, for the accommodation of Messrs. Preston and Co. in Tooley-street, to relieve them against the pressure of the times. Preston and Co. had acc:pted the bills, and had them discounted by the Plaintiff at Bristol, under a special assurance that they should be taken up before they became due. They having failed in their undertaking, the Plaietiff brought the bills to them, and in in-lignstion threw them on the table; soon after whizli one of the Prestons came in, took up the bills with others of a like kind, tore them in pieces, and thaw them inlo the fire.' Tin. soon after failott. The action was new brought to recover their amount from the drawer, who appeared only in the character of an accommodating Agent for the Frestons. These facts were stated in evidence by one of the Prestons, without copies of the Bills, they having paid Bs. 6d. in the pound by composition to their creditors. Lord ELLEVISOROVGII held that the Plaintiff could not sustain his action, on the ground that notice was not given to Defendant within six months after the bills became due.—Plaintiti non-suited. Another action was next tried between the same parties, for the same sum, on the ground of tut. I)'. fendant's refusal to execute fresh bills on tha loss of the former, pursuant to Act of Parliament. A juror was withdrawn, and the case was reserved for argu. meut. POLICE. BOW-STREET. Mrs.Vermilloe, the landlady of the Pear-tree pub. lic-house;andTurner, theman who lodged iu thehouse of Williamson, who was barbarously murdered, have attended at the Office within these few days. Several other persons have attended at the Office within the , e few days, by order of Mr. GRAHAM, and have under. gone private and strict investigations before that Ma gistrate, which caused him to dispatch Lavendet, Vickery, and Adkins, on Friday evening, to appre hend a man of the name of Hart, who, it has been ascertained, worked in the house of Mr. Marr on the day the murders were committed at night, and he was seen in the company of Williams between ten and eleven o'clock, as the murderers were supposed So have entered Mr. Mares house about twelve o'clock. On Saturday Hart underwent a private examination before Mr.Gambiro, after which he was ordered into close confinement, and a man to take care and sit up with, him. On Saturday, the privy of the house where Hart lodged, was emptied in the presence of Vickery and Adkins, but nothing particular was found. The church of St. Nicholas, at Stettin, in which the French garrison had deposited 40,000 quintals of hay, was, on the Bth December, entirely consumed, with its contents. _ _ The magnificent church of Montreal', near Paler. me, was burnt to the ground on the tith ult. It was an antique strucfu..e, and contained many carious monuments of ancient 'kings. The entrails of St. Louis, who died before Tunis, and whose body was conveyed to France, were deposited in it. By the late improved regulations of admission into the British Museum, 29,000 persons have been ad mitted in a season, instead of 15,000 as before; and with liberty to remain in any of the rooms as long as they pleased. Captain Bullock, late of the Norfolk Militia. has o been committed to Norwich Gaol under Lord Ellen borough's Act. It appears that the pound at Thorpe had been removed from its old site to a piece of ground nearly opposite the residence of the Captain, I who, conceiving the removal to be an infringement upon his property, encircled it with a fence. Short ly after, the pindar of the parish coming to impound a mule, applied to him for entrance, which being refused, he proceeded to force an opening throo,,h ! the fence. Upon this Captain B. pro!►abiy to make a shew of supporting his right, tired a gun at the parties. • The death of Mr. E YLES, of Margate, has occa sioned a vacancy for a Resident-Surgeon to the Ge neral Sea-bathing Infirmary. We suppose that a si tuation which affords so comfortable a retreat to a Practitioner, desirous of yetiring from active pro fessional life, will he much sought after. The long .c ontinued war has had the effect to wean the inhabitants of South America from the use of many of our manufactures, which we formerly ex ported in great quantities to that great quarter of the world. The Mexicans are said to have made considerable progress in those Arts, which they never thought of cultivating till this mischievous war forced them to attempt it. The Country Bank, which stopped payment is consequence of the failure of Boi.nrato and Co. we are happy to see, by an advertisement in one . of the Lincolnshire Tillers, has resumed its payments ; un der some alteration in the firm. SPOTCII MILLER'S AlMrf. Prompt (Davison), Leith Marquis of Huntley (Martin), Dundee _ SM ,ICKS, rrived. Snik I 8 Jan. I It , Jan. —5, P. M. 16, -3, P. M. Downes Wharf. Swift (Stark), Montrose l3nrelcugh (Tod), Leith Brdport (Wishart), Dundee 8 19, —4, P. 16, to., P. 16, —2, P. i. HIGH WATER. AT LOS Morning, 7 minutes after 11. lON BRIDGE THIS ff k" 1 Evening. 42 agnates ail . 1. hIA Ramp, On Monday Ine, at Manchester. Mr. MelTille, of Nottingham , to Miss Townend , daughter of William 'Kderseatd, Esq. of Ard• wick-place. DIED. On the Bth inst. aged 14 months, Fanny Laser lies Jenner, daughter of Hubert Jenner, Esq. 11.. D. Lately, Mr. W. Collins, of Great Portland-street. author of a Poem on the Slave Trade, Life of George Mrtriand, Artist, &c. On the lit Inst. at Bristol, Mrs. Gould, nidow of the late Mk jor-General Parton Gould. Saturday morning, at his house in Stafford-place, Pimlico, Mr. George Elsa outs, 18 years arse of his Majesty's Pileur gess. LON DON : Printed and Published by I). Loamy at ST ATFINL,Ii OIMICE, 87, Fleet -stmt. a • 1 4 t t ~` Y 1