The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-07-13 00:00:00

OUR SUNDAY SCHOOTS.

Those cynical critior wuo are everlastingly trying to
under-estlmate the reillgio II movement in England, in
connection with our Sued .y schnol system, sould have
been ',dully disappointed ,n their progno•ticitions had
they taken pert in the work or at:endel the recent gather.
ings of so lialwential a chagcter as have juet formed a
whole week's topic of conversation. Pars malty, I base to
this day retained a llVelf recollection of tl oso early
religions impreurions formed in childho,d, and which I
feel confident it would be .Idlkult to arms. from • mind
where indelible marks had beau made by the earnest plead-
ings of a mother now long ago departed to seek her rest

It would be out of place to deal very largely with this
subject in a secular newspaper. and I shall endeavour tn
confine myself to the meeting at Saturday last, held a.
Lambeth Palace, by the in•itation of the Archbishop of
Canterbury. without any fur ther introduction.
Starting front Hine's CMOIS I hailed • hansom. A
more dejected cabby I have I.ldot, witnessed. Me hardly
liked to take • fare with torrents a rain descending, and
which cantinned without intnrutission. Arrived at the
palace I made my way to the grand platform or dais. on
which would sit the Prince of Wales. In front of me
looking away in the &steno, were thoesandsof unihreu...
and the ground like • pl.ruelted field. litre were some
18.000 children and teachers groups,' together, hoping
and praying that since they bad toonte • long way to see
and sing to royalty their hop!' would be gratified. Alas,
royalty itself could do and command many thing% but
it could not bring into mull •ctirm the bolster ,us eta
-
manta. However, at • quart,r to five, when the Prince
arrived, the rain had meg to em er the earth end the sun
peered out from a before I • len sky. Amours'. t e dis-
tinlabed party surrounding the Prince were the Chinese
Ambassador, Teen& the Lord Mayor and Lou
Sheriffs, the Bishop of itorhoster, the IMlsop of Auligua.
the Bishop of Meath, I/ min St why, Vic,-Cbaneellee
Blake, of Canada (senator), and Bishop Wiummtker, of
Philadelphia, U.S.,

flefore the arrival of the Prince. the Anclalaielsop, Lord
Mayor, and gains, had made a formal and preparatory
impaction of the schools. The following programme was
carried out:—" All people that on earth co dwell," sung
by the children, to the accompaniment of the military
band. Prayer having been offered by the Rev. R. T.
Davidson, chaplain to the Archbishop of 0 interbury, the
hymn " Now thank we all oar God" was rendered.
The Rev. T. 1. Kitt% chairmen of the committee of the
Church of Ragland Sunday School institute, then pre.
misted a gold medal, specially prepared for the ore 'aloe.
and read an address to Rill firace, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, which ran as follows

"My Lord Arohlalshep„—Tne foundati %a% of the grit
Sunday school, Ia oonnecuun with the Church of Ragland,
by Kr. Robert Rakes and the It v. Thome' Stock, in the
City of Gloucester, 100 year, ago, is an event of sufficient
importance in the history of our church, to Jo Alf, the
attention claimed for it by the centenary festival", held
during this week.
• -

"It is very diflcrilt for us, in this day, ace uritely to
estimate the effect which has been Produced noon our
nation by the attention which wee so forcibly directed at
that dal, to the necessity of the education trf the young.
We believe that it is scarcely too issues to say
that the system of national dem/awry educes
Mon, which has been called iht eicstene during
the last 100 years, owes its angle its ere.4l measuro to the
smearing efforts of those who e ere instrumental in the
foundation of Sunday Schools. And if at the present day
the Sunday school teacher is free from the necessity of
spending the short hours of Sunday teaching in em,
attempt to give secular instruction, and liable to devote all
his time and energies to the ' teaching of rellgiols teethe
and the forming of religious characters,' it ought never to
be forgotten that this improved position of our Sunday
echnols is also dee to those early allot t I by which the need
of education was disclosed, and which were the means of
directing attention to • national want, and of arousing •
sense of responsibility in the national conscienm. One
hundred years ago it was • rare thing for the child of a
labouring man to be Ask even to read. but today we can
psint to the gratifying fact that amongst all the 00000
scholars who are assembled here to-day, by your Grain's
Invitation, there is probably not one whole in a similar eons
d ition of ignoranc 1. Nor is this the only or the chief resultof
the formation of Sunday schools. The seed of Christian
faith and Christian enterprise, which was sown by Robert
Mikes and his associates, has now borne fruit in almost
every parish in our land, and its influence has spread far
beyond the confines of our own country or the limits of
our own church, so that wherever our Christianity
ex'ends the importance of the Sunday School is recognised
as the nursery and training school of the church, and the
3.1 and activity of thousands of voluntary Markus have
been enlisted in its behalf.

"But whilst we desire to express our thankfulness to
Almighty God for the rich blaming which lis has been
plesesd to give to former efforts, we are fully 'sensible that
much yet remains to be &me in order to secure the
efficiency and extend the influence of Sunday schools in
the Church of Ragland. It la the recognised tendency of
modern lenislaton to remove dednite and dogmatic
religious teaching from many of the day schools of the
country ; and this fact alone has done much to increase
the importance of the Sunday school, and to render it
indispensablo as an adjunct to the parochial machinery
of the church. We earnestly hope that the celebration of
this centenary may serve to maU this fact more clear to
the public mind, and so to give a fresh impetus to the
improvement and exter.sion of Sunday schools in connec-
tion with the Church of England.
" The Courco of England Sunday School Institute was
founded in the year 1843 in order to form a oentre tor con-
ference and organisation, and it has been the constant
aim of the committee both to render assistance in the pre-
paration and training of the Sunday school teacher, and to
extend and consolidate Vie Sunday school system.
" With an organisation which nada • place in every
diocese, and which reaches to most of the colonies, the
work of the institute has made rapid progress, and the
committee believe that they may fairly claim to have had
• considerable share in producing the results wbkh have
been already ach6ved.
'To the future they look forward with confidence, know-
ing that a larp ffeid of opportunity lies before them, and
trusting that the sympathy and liberality of their fellow-
churchmen will not he wanting to mabb them to engage
in new and I ee ?forts to advance the interest of the
cause which they represent.
"At this closing meet:rig of the centenary week the/
desire to express their warm and grateful appreciation of
the interest which your grace ham always shown in their
work, and especially of the assistance which you have
given to the movement by which they have endeavoured
to C 303111111101114111 the origin of the Sunday school system
in our church. The committee desire that your Grace
should ti.vu in your pos e idols a token of their gratitude
is well as &permanent m mortal of this centenary festival,
and they be: your Grecs 1.. accept as • personal gift from
the members of the comi,,ittee a medal which they have
caused to be struck in ho ,our of the mouton."

To which hie Grace or. to the following reply :
" Mr. Kitto, I beg to x ores. my beater thanks for the
kindness of this adder., and for th• present, which I
shall ever preserve as a i.l.lllodel 01 title day • and this
week'sbig. I , s that the mrdal bears on its
front the imolai' of the iuntenance of Her Majesty the
Queen, Kurt it is • Nati •I ctory thing to know that Her ,
Maj• sty has willingly given her name as the patrollers of
this ce nre isry, theretry ito sing that she fully appreciates
that great work which h. r august grandfather inaugo-
r ited whom bereceived Mr. R tikes one hundred years ago.
We are her.. in the presence of the chief civic auteoritial
of the City of L todon, expressing their appreciation of the
work which boa 1.511 done I.v thew Sunday schools. We
exotht to be honoured rills the propene, of the belt
spire eit Ii hi throne and his much-loved Princess—
(etieers)--and also by the prethnce of the junior member,
of her fa:oily and others of the !loyal Family. May we
Cot cattier emu all this thet this vet nation, like one
Cluireau family represented by our (1,10.11 and her
children, and r. pre.entel eho by the chief civic authorities
of this great ci, y, anti which ix the heart of the unpin%
desires to teeth, to Almighty God our appreciation of this
work which hai bn so bug doing and which God has so
abundantly bies
"We Imes ti, re r •preeentativrs of distant parts of the
world. The ft gm that are arentel out •peisk of almost every
nation iu the Melia world. May we not believe that
the i01111$12C• of this instated .a extends far heyoad the
limits of our own island, and that the whole co 1.1 is, in
some degree, receiving beneete in no the efforts. the com-
mencement of which we this day commemorate I I brg
again to thank the committee for the gilteiure I have
, experienced in inaugurating tide c 'etc miry. aol Waxiness
, nay hearty thanks for the work thy ha.° c .nii used,
which I trust may be blessed.
The splendid gold medal handed to rue Ii r Ihe follow-
ing inscription on the obverse side—'Ptheent• it by the
calamities of the institute to His Grace the Amble-boa.
,of Canterbury, as • patron of the institution J , ul) 3. 1881);
: and on the reverse side 'Queen Victoria, patios. Founded
in ISA' and in the centre an open Bilmie. with' Sunday
bobool C. ntenery" round the rim.'
The dais aseumel a somewirat lively •ppeerance and
people began moving about, when the Arclibishot. intro-
duced to the Lord Mayor and )3 hope, Tseng, the Chinese
Anthasesdor, • short plement-I eking permit:Le., who had
evidently come prepared to enjoy ale, the greatest eight
Londoores have witnessed fie many • Ineg day. Re
graciously acknowledged the e anted of the reception
accorded bin.
Everybody wag on tip-toe to ouch the first sitht of the
royal approach, and people began nervously peeping about
' and asking sth. ther the Prince would c me. Scarcely
had the gu-stiouers been when up went the Royal
Standard, in front of the Reyal stand, the baud of the
"Grenadier Guards, under Mr Do Godfrey, struck up
save the Queen," the children folloeinr, and the Priem
of Wales, and his much beloved consort hat slighted and
been introduced to the distinguished company sesembled
to air them cordial and loyal greeting. The Priam
lolked remarkably well and his P.incees never lovelier,
every British and foreign heart going out towards her.
They seated themeelm amid v.:Altera, cheering end
hurrah..
The zing of the fungus' accompanied them. Next to
arrive were the Dukes of Gam:wide* and Trek, se also tine
Dochers and their children, preceded by the Prince of
Wales s children, the Pricoes Albert Victor Christian
If {ward. and aanrge Frederick Ernest Albert. the
Princesses Lionise Victoria Maim:dais Drgmar, Victoria
Alexandra Olga bibsryeind Maude Charlotte Mary Victoria
An interesting part of the ceremony was the presentation
by the "itind ny fitthee children of • plitda and Boor of
rumen Prayer elegantly bound in morocco to sachet the
Prince's children, which had been rubecribed for by a
peony subscription from the Sunday scholar,. The pawn
and Princess of Wales each received the Lune, which bore
• suitable inscription.
A hymn. "0 God our hell) in Mee put," was next well
rendered by the vast choir, Imbibed by the military and
police bands. Then came • curet pus./ all eh. ',book is
divisions, preceded be several school bends playing lively
Uri. There were 70 London and suburban perlabee repro-
minted. The University of Orford dui in • • present of
300 copies of the Oxford teachers' Bible, • copy to be
presented by the Archbishop beach superintendent of the
Sunday school, Sx being then given sway. the rest to
follow. The Archbishop wished them to he preserved in
the school as a permanent memoriel of the ocemion.
The Princess rineived two megnilleent bouquets from two
little girls dresed In white, and the Prince of Wales •
flower for his button-bole.
Before she prim. sad Prisons of Wales retired the
following gentleman had the honour of being presented
:
The Rev. T. T. Kith: (chairman of the cieurnittes of the
Institute). Z. R. Pennefather. Eq. (el the Home Oiled,
who had rendered invaluable seniors in the oripsnisetle*
of the bends of Sunday schools lit the grounds, and to
whose activity much of the rapidity of the movements of
so many thousands of children without confortioa wee dee)
Palmer. the indrafethOle euretary of the institute;
and to whose courtesy their dunks the
Rev. Randall, T. Da to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and (Wilda -ItareedY. of the Royal
Roolusers, who had laid out theatrounda
OR leaving the Prince a turned round and
bacmcd tin. Archbishop "that "ales
the meeting was • very
socasedni one." And eo thnnOt las I beat my steps, os
the invitation of the Archbishop, to his paw, and
much of his impugn', mad vros plod to have sanded
M your commiesieser to ahroalale • on Sunday scheebhe
1.0. i.