The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-07-03 00:00:00

MONEY ORDER TELEGRAMS.

The establishment of telegraphic money orders is
an advance which must sooner or later be made 137
our postal authorities (remarks the Globe). The ordi-
nary inexpensive but slow postal order will have to be
supplemented by the immediate but more costly tele-
graphic order. In this way it will be possible, not only
to exchange business communications, but also to dis-
charge debts by means of the electric wire. Less ham-
pered than We are-at home, the colonies are often able to
effect an innovation in advance of the mother country;
and thus it is that the New Zealand settlers have
enjoyed the advantages which money order telegrams
afford since the year 1871. The system has proved
highly successful, and keeps steadily growing in
public favour. According to the Commissioner of
Telegraphs for the New Zealand islands, the number
of money telegrams sent during the year 1879 was
14,607, representing a value of £61,693 95., being an
increase over the previous year in messages of
1,807, representing a value of £6,770 18s. 4d. The
commission collected by the Post Office on these
transactions amounted to 21,758 9s. 4d. From this
sum £730 7s. has to be deducted for fees on tele-
grams, leaving £1,028 2s. 4d. to the credit of the
office, which is equivalent to 1666 per cent. on the
total amount transmitted. These figures evidently
argue that the gain to the revenue in the 'United
Kingdom would be considerable were the plan adopted
here ; and the even balance of the postal telegraphs
ledger would most probably be turned into a positive
profit. Of the Isotw Zealand towns, Wellington
issued the largest number of orders, while Christ-
church, Auckland, and Dunedin come next, but the
money value of the orders issued by Dunedin consider-
ably exceeds that of Auckland.

FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE ALPS.
Under date Geneva, Jane 28, the Correspondent of The
Times says : •
"As an English lady and gentleman, named
Rivington, were travelling by carriage to Chamouni
on Friday afternoon, the vehicle, owing to the shying
of the horses, was thrown down the precipice near the
Tete Noire. Mrs. Rivington was killed and Mr.
Rivington very badly hurt. Their two daughters,
i who were following n another carriage, were wit-
nesses of the accident."

Under date, Tuesday, the Standard of Wednesday
gives the following additional particulars from their
Correspondent at Geneva :
The accident occurred on Friday, at three o'clock, sonic
distance beyond the hotel, on the road to Chamounix. The
party consisted of an English gentleman, Mr. Rivington. of
Babbicombe, Torquay, formerly of the firm of Messrs. Riving-
ton, publishers. With his wife and family he was travelling
in two carriages. A horse in the first carriage became
restive, kicked over the traces, and upset the carriage
over the precipice, which is not very deep at that
point. The wife was killed, the father received inturies
on the body, and had both wrists broken. No injury was
sustained by the second carriage. The party were conveyed
to the Hotel Chatelard as the nearest to the spot, anfl a de-
spatch was sent to the English Consul` at Geneva, to send the
best doctor immediately. Be left at once, and found Ova,
every attention had been paid to the injured by Mr. lilanby,
a surgeon from Chamounix. The patient is pro greasing
favourably, but several days must elapse before he can be
removed to Chamounix, and thence to Geneva.

Mr. Plimsoll has addressed a letter to Mr. Brad.
laugh, in which, after stating that their theological
opinions are as opposite as the poles, the late member for
Derby says that there can be no doubt that the spirit now
arrayed against Mr. Bradlaugh in the souse of Commons is
the old spirit of domination and intolerance, which, it
allowed to gain the upper hand, would again deprive us, not
only of our religious liberty, but of our civil rights. gad
he been in the Rouse he should certainly have supported Mr.
Gladstone's worthy and weighty vindication ot civil sad
religious illnas7 tfy hii vote.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENARY,

A monument in memory of. the first twelve
originators of Sunday schools which has been erected
in the fore-oourt of the Unitarian Chapel, Essex.
street, Strand, London, was unveiled on Saturday by
Mr. Henry Richard, M.P. The statue, which will be
of Sicilian marble Lis at present represented by a cast
from the model. It is the work of a pupil of the late
Alfred Stevens, who on the death of that sculptor
was commissioned to complete the Wellington monu-
ment in St. Paul's. Himself a Sun.day school teacher,
Mr. Hugh Stannus has stadied -his subject from the
life, and represented a young Sunday school scholar
seated on a rude bench or locker, such as might be
seen at one time in our poorer schools, his cap dropped'
on one side, his scarf thrown carelessly pn the other.
The rose is easy, natural, and boy-like. The right
hand rests on a page of the Bible, which lies on his
knees, opened apparently at. one of the Gospels, and
his face is turnod upward as if to a teacher for expla-
nation of some passage.. The shaft of the 'pedestal has
some points c f originality in its design. The base is
of gray granit..., the pedestal of Portland stone, with
panels of red granite, bowed in front and having a
frieze of Sicilian marble on which are the words
"Feed my lambs
," The inscription in front reads—
" Erected to commemorate the Christian efforts of the
originators of Sunday
.schools (members of various churches)
from the time of Cardinal Borromeo, 1580, to that of Theo-
philus Lindsey and Robert Raikes, 1780; in gratitude to God
for his blessing on Sunday schobl labours during the past
century; and in fervent.hope that the time may soon come
when diffbrences of opinion will no longer separate disciples
of Christ in works of usefulness. 1880."—" By this shall all
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another."
On the granite side panels are cut the following
names : --- Cardinal Borromeo (Roman Catholic),
Milan, 1580; Rev. Joseph Alleine (Nonconformist),
Bath, 1668; Mrs. C. Boevey (Church of England),
Flaxley, 1717; Rev. Theophilus Lindsey (Unitarian),
Catterick, 1764; Mn' Catherine Cappe (Unitarian),
Bedale, 1765; Miss Hannah Ball (Methodist), High
Wycombe, 1769; Mr William King (Whitfieldite),
Dursley, 1774 ; Mr. James Heys (Presbyterian), Little
Lever, 1775; Rev. Thomas kennedy (Episcopalian),
Downpatrick, 1776; Rev. David Simpson (Church of
England), Macclesfield, 1778 ; Rev. Thomas Stock and
Mr. Robert Raikes (Church of England), Glocester,
1780.
The monument having been unveiled, and a storm
threatening, those assisting at the ceremony entered
the chapel where the addresses were delivered. Mr. -1
Henry Richard, M.P., said he understood that this
commemorative monument was intended by its worthy
promoters to signify and to symbolize several things.
First, on this centenary celebration of the establish-
ment of Sunday schools, to express their high appre-
ciation of and gratitude for those excellent institu-
tions, and with that visibly to present the idea of
Christian union by showing, through the names en-
graved on this monument, and through the presence
on this occasion of the representatives of various
religious bodies, how men of different creeds could
meet and mingle their sympathies around one
great work of Christian philanthropy. It was
scarcely possible to exaggerate the value of these
institutions; in order to estimate aright the services
they had rendered to society in this country it was
necessary to bring to mind what the condition of the
people was before they were called into existence.
There was no system of primary education, and the
children of the poor and of the working classes
generally were grievously neglected. These institu-
tions provided for thousands the only means they had
of acquiring the simplest elements of education. But
they did much more than this. They were the means
of awakening in the minds of multitudes the first im-
pulses of religious consciousness. The pressing need
which existed for such an agency was shown by the
remarkable rapidity with which they spread through
the country when they once became known.
The Rev. R. Spears read some portions of a letter
from his Excellency General Count Menabrea, who,
although unable to be present, expressed his sympathy
in the objects of the celebration and Chevalier T.
Catalani, secretary to the Italian Legation, delivered
an address in excellent English. Sir J. C. Lawrence,
M.P., Mr. James, M.P., the Rev. G. Murphy, and
the Rev. J. P. Ham also spoke.
Mr. L M. Wade, in moving a vote of thanks to Mr.
Richard, explained that the members of this com-
munity had wished to join with their brethren of the
Church of England and other denominations in cele-
brating the centenary of Sunday schools. They felt
no bitterness in the matter, but their place was not
recognized among the Christian communities, and
they had therefore sought to show in this way that
they were in earnest in desiring to offer their tribute
of respect to the cause and to the memory of Robert
Raikes.

The following is an extract from the letter of the
Gloucester Correspondent of The Times, who gives some
interesting particulars respecting ROBERT RAIKES :
"In the celebration of the Sunday School Cen-
tenary which both the Church of England Sunday
School Institute and the Sunday School Union have
agreed to hold during the next few days, the city of
Gloucester naturally takes the lead, as at once the
birthplace and the scene of the labours of `Robert
Raikes, the printer,' who has come to be regarded by
most authorities as the founder of the Sunday-school
system. . . .
"Of the many worthies whom Glocestershire claims
to possess—and a local historian, I see, enumerates no
fewer than 31, beginning with Dick Whittington,
although, strangely enough, he omits the 'gentle
Johnny Tilsby, who, according to Dibdin's racy
couplet, was the inventor of pins—none is held in
greater or more general esteem than Raikes. At
present, of course, Raikes's name is upon every
tongue, but even in ordinary times his memory is
ever present to his townspeople, associated as it is
with so many familiar objects around them. The
place where he was born, the place where he
carried on business, the first school he opened, and
his grave in the church of St. Mary-le-Crypt,
are ieverently pointed out to the stranger. But, like
most meritorious inventions, the invention of
the Sunday-school is not an uncontested honour.
For many years a local controversy has raged as to
whether it properly belongs to Raikes or to the Rev.
Thomas Stock, who was associated with Raikes in
his philanthropic work, and the town is still divided
on this subject into two distinct camps. The ques-
tion is one which can be argued on both sides, and in
all probability will never be conclusively settled.
It is perhaps maccurate to speak of either Raikes
or Stock as the founder of Sunday schools. The
idea of Sunday teaching is much older than their_
time. It is said to have been carried into prac-
tice by Cardinal Borromeo, at Milan, in the 16th
century, and Sunday classes were certainly held
by many persons in England before the year 1780,
when Raikes is believed to have started his first school.
Joseph Alleine, of Taunton; James Heys, of Wed-
nesbury • Miss Bull, of High Wycombe ; and William
King and Catherine Bowen, of Glocestershire—to
mention no others—all preceded Raikes. These
people, however, seem to have worked in an
isolated way, and Raikes's merit is that he first
made Sunday teaching systematic by establishing
schools in different places and appointing regular
teachers. The Sunday school kept by Catherine Bowen,
who flourished before Raikes was born, was conceived
on a principle which has found some favour in these
latter days. Her monument in Flaxley Church re-
cords that 'six poor children dined by turns at her
residence on Sundays and were afterwards heard say
the catechism.'

"Local research has brought to light an account, in
Raikes's own words, of the circumstances in which his
Sunday-school scheme first suggested itself to his
mind. A woman with whom he entered into con-
versation one day happened to say to him, 'Ah! Sir,
could you take a view of this part of the town on a
Sunday you would be shocked indeed, for then the
street is filled with multitudes of wretched children,
who, released that day from employment; spend their
time in noise and riot, playingat " chuck, 'andcursing
and swearing in a manner so horrid as to convey to any
serious mind an idea of hellrather than any other place.
We have a worthy clergyman,' this woman went on
to say, 'curate of our parish, who has put some of
them to school, but upon the Sabbath they are all
given up to follow their own inclinations without
restraint' 'This conversation,' said Raikes in a pri-
vate letter written some time afterwards, ` suggested
to me that it would be at least a harmless attempt, if
it were productive of no good, should some little plan
be formed to check the deplorable profanation of the
Sabbath. I then inquired of the woman if there were
any decent, well-disposed women in the neighbour-
hood who kept schools for teaching to read. I presently
was directed to four. To these I applied, and made
an agreement with them to receive as Many children
as I should send upon the Sunday, whom they were
to instruct in reading and in the Church catechism.
For this I engaged to pay them each a shilling for
their day's employment. The women seemed pleased
with the proposal. I then waited upon the clergyman
before mentioned, and imparted to him my plan. He
was so much satisfied with the idea that he engaged
to lend his assistance by going round to the schools
on a Sunday afternoon to examine the progress that
was made, and to enforce order and decorum among
such a set of little heathens.'
"The clergyman referred to was Stock. This state-
ment by Raikes seems tolerably conclusive as to his
being the originator of the Sunday-school scheme, but
the Stockites have also something to show in their
favour in the shape of a statement by Stock. This is
in the following terms :
" ' Mr. Raikes, meeting me one day by accident at
my door, and in the course of. the conversation
lamenting the deplorable state of the lower classes of
mankind, took particular notice of the situation of
the poorer children. I had made, I replied, the same
observation, and told him if he would accompany me
into my own parish we would make some attempt to
remedy the evil. We immediately proceeded to the
business, and, procuring the names of about 90 chil-
dren, placed them under the care of four persons for a
stated number of hours on the Sunday. .its minister
of the parish I took upon me the principal superin-
tendence of the schools and one-third of the expense.'
"Whichever of the two meri first conceived the
idea of Sunday schools with regular teachers—and the
great balance of authority leans to the side of Raikes,
who was always spoken of by his contemporaries as
its orginator—it was undoubtedly Raikes who pushed
it forward and made it known throughout the country.
This, from his position as editor of the Glocester
Journal, one of the few newspapers published at that
day, he had special facilities for doing; he was,
moreover, a man of some substanepcmen,teranynt,de icxnotueanlnddyiangffcoasrinde
to spend money on his scheme, which Stock was hardly
The m
°CO
sin tiidion to
preada porasipy
overdo
t.he
wholethe course of a few years as far as Scotland and Ire-
land, and although originating with Churchmen, as
both Raikes and Stock were, was cordially joined in
by Dissenters. A young Methodist lady, Sophia
Cook, is even mentioned in chronicles of the time as
was however,
hailed t the
appears
ti 3 enthusiasm with
timewth
to
hwhichave tdhee
.
co-operating with Raikes. Under the system of paid
tomhaenyelsocshedooflsor, iwnaclnutdoinf gfusnomdse.
teaching,
oorr Of the modern Sunday-school system
et ionve de m,
eunntt at length
had
is f unenatimek;;E:ieaching, and of the origin of this nothing
really authentic is known. It was unquestionably
a grander conception than Raikes's. It threw
open the field to a better class of teachers, and it
tapped and utilized an inexhaustible fund of energy,