The National Register.
London, England, 1811-06-02 00:00:00

TIM NATIONAL RE-GlsTtll.

THE NEW SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.

Mr.Forroa-eln the last number but one of your valuable
publication, ',read an account of the present Bishop of Norwich,
signeci ONESIMUS, in which his Lordship is supposed to have
been guilty of inconsistency, in publicly censuring, in a charge
to his Clergy, a System of Education which on a late occasion
he publicly recommended to general adoption. If things had
really thus stood, it is more than probable that his Lordship, as a
man of the most acknowledged integrity and candour, would
have admitted that a change had taken place in his sentiments
on the subject of thi; system, either on account of improvements
in the system itself, or from subsequent information received by
his Lordship, as to its practical good effects. This alone were
sufficient to suggest enquiry into the apparent difficulty, for it
must be remembered that his former sentiments, viz. those
which were unfavourable to the Lancasterian System of Educa-
tion, had been published, and would be likely to influence the
conduct of all the clergy of his diocese in a most important pOint.
But a very easy solution of this difficulty has occurred to me,
and lam strongly disposed to think that ONESIMUS would
have spared the Right Rev. Prelate the slightest imputation of
inconsistency, had the facts I am about to state reached him be-
fore the publication of your paper. I find myself in some de-
gree anticipated by the Morning Post of the 24th ult. where the
clsims of Mr. L. to public esteem for a very zealous and exten-
sive application of a new System of Education are admitted, but
the invention of that system is positively, and, as it appears to
me incontrovertibly_ (because Mr. L's own assertions are rested
on for proof of the fact) ascribed to another person, a Clergyman
of the Established Church, the Rev. Dr. Bell, late Rector of
Swanage, Doi =et, and now Master of Sherburne Hospital, in the
county of Durbenn That this Gentleman was the inventor of
the System so often called Lancasterian, i. e. the 4;ystent" of
teaching through the agency of the scholars themselves, is not only
asserted in a newly-published Report of the Society for the Or-
phans of the Clergy, but it is there also shewn that his System
has been for some years past, and is every day in an ercreas-
ing degree, adopted into the Schools of the Church of England.
That this System 'Should have been publicly recommended by
the pious Prelate, is perfectly consistent with his former regret
that Mr. L's plan made no provision for the Retigious Education
of the poor. And indeed, Mr. Editor, being myself a plain
man, I must confess that I was surprised to read, in an account
of a late meeting at the Free-Mason's Tavern, that a Royal Per-
sonage rer oremended the System of Mr. 1.. as a System of Reli-
gious Education for the poor, in every part of the Empire, and of
the World, having very lately read in a prospectus of Nlr. L's
plan of an institution in Spital.fields, that the religious principles
to he taught in that institution are 44 those which arc common to all
Creeds." I had also b efore understood that Mr. L. merely professed
"to enable youth to read their Bibles," and to teach them " the
general and uncontroverted principles of Christianity." This ap-
peared to me to imply, contrary to all experience and ack nowledgi d
. truth, that nothing • more was necessary to the deduction of
true doctrine from the Bible than the mere ability to read it. On
this point let the Bible speak. Was it thought worthy of apiece in
the inspired Records that a great Nobleman, and Minister of
State, being asked whether he understood what he read in his,
Bible, answered "How can I, unless some man should guide
nee ?" that we might learn from thence to avoid similar week-
ness, or to imitate that hualility and teachableness which, was
instantly attended with spiritual blessing to him ? And if he,
who had been entrusted with the treasurership of a great kingdom,
felt the necessity of a guide to enable him to understand the
.Scriptures, shall the poorest of the poor now be taught that the
.question which he answered so meekly is unnecessary? Are ail
creeds, and summaries of doctrine, equally correct ? Or, as may
now fairly be asked, useless and impertinent ? .ire those which
our pious Reformers so laboriously framed, and on principles

349

which many of them afterwards sealed with their blood, to be
put on a footing with those of any and every newly-raised sect,
or teacher of a sect, who can neither accredit his institutes in
any similar way, or even attempts to shew their congruity with
primitive models ? And it surely may be also asked, are the
doctrines of the Pall of Man and his Redemption by Jesus
Christ, the divinity of the Saviour and Holy Spirit, the Trinity,
and many other essential and distinguishing articles of Christi-.
anity " common to all creeds," or Is a right faith on essential
points unconnected with the eternal happiness Lf man ? if so,
then indeed it may matter little whether this new and wonder-
ful engine be used in furtherance of those truths which are
stamped by authority, and confirmed by primitive antiquity, or
of whatever is novel, unfounded, aud, to say the least, of sus-
picious origin, if man, particularly in the, character of a leader
of others, may yet be suspected of leaning either to pride or in-
terest. Dr. Bell offers his sorvices to the National Churck.—l le
says—Let the mass of the poor be tattght that which, so long a.
it is the National Religion, they should be taught, though r
fusing to interfere, in the tolerant spirit of that Church ity' 2
with the religious scruples of Christians, of a different comme-
nion, with whom he is still connected by the tics of peace and
charity, and honours their zeal in that cause which they prefer
to the 'one he has espoused.
But this would lead me into a field too wide for the limits of
your valuable publication. I will therefore only further notice
in justification of the Bishop's conduct, that the children of the
Philanthropic cannot he ignorant of the situation to w hich their
parents were reduced. They are eligible to the beeelits of the
institution only as the children of conrirts, and surely it most add
to every good man's desire to promotd the usefulness of the So-
ciety, that, under its fostering care, those who of all our indigent
brethren are likely to be most misled by ill exampl and taught
from the earliest dawn of reason the arts of deceit and iniquity,
should be " trained up in the way they should go," and thus
afford the best prospect that " when they are old they will not
depart from it."—l am, Sir,
Your constant Reader,
A LAYMAN,
Zealously attached to ti.e Church of England.
31st May, 1811.

• See Acts Chap. S v. '26.

DRAMATIC REGLsilit.

LYCFUM.
An extraordinary press of important matter last week, upa-
vois!ably excluded the arti:.l:. intended fur insertion in this
depaqment on the 41f,ject of the new Comedy of Where toji4et
a Friend, produced for the first time at :11..:r.Dow.roN's benefit.
As the perform,ince has not been reptatA, and the Play isuot
iplken of as being intended for a stock j ieee, it we uld now be
superfluous to go at any ktigth into the subject. With consi-
derable faults it is greatly superior to many of the pieces brought
out at this-Theatre, and is certainly equal ilt merit to ate fuitit.er
play of the same Author, Grieving's a Fuilly.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.
The new company of pertormers do Clot greatly improv.e
upon arqii:titance. The greater part of them are not tit to
perform. "L. fore twelve tallow candles m a c,;.untry n."
Amidsts the mass of live lumber colleted ttr, then ; there are
howcyLr some, who will in all probability 11.!come perinamot
favoiaites with the town. I think it but justice to notice Mr..-
MALIAN SUN in particular. With great humour he possesses
astonishing versatility, and is equally at hou.e In the Gentl:mati
and in the Clown. His performance in High LifebeluwSlai.s
is peculiarly wogthy cf praise, and the protean skill with viiiija