0-^
Isaac S. Hartley,
1807.
iiortttDeötern ÎKniberôitp ILíbrarp
^banäton, SGitnotsi
SOUGHT AND SAVED.
" Wisdom is better than weapons of war : but one sinner destroyeth
much good."—Ecclesiastes ix. 18.
" A GEEAT destiny is before us ; we may fulfil or we may neglect it; ful¬
filling it, England may be a blessing among the nations, the promoter of
peace, civilization, and happiness—failing in her duty, her wealth will only
render her downfal the more rapid, and ours will add one more to the
pages of history from which a moral may be pointed by the philosophers of
future times. ' Prosperity,' may the annalist then write, 'had rendered the
great, luxurious and proud; while the masses were left uninstructed, vicious,
and in penury—the people cared not for a government which did not pro¬
tect them, and when enemies invaded, they looked on, indiflTerent. Thus
the great realm of England was split and dismembered,'—probably he would
add, ' and a healthier civilization has arisen on its ruins.'
" Let the present generation, while there is yet time, avert this con¬
clusion."—Fi'ize Essay ly C. E. CoEEWALLis, on Juvenile Delinquency.
SOUGHT AND SAVED.
|l frije
o y
RAGGED SCHOOLS
AXD KINDRED INSTITUTIONS.
3Y
GEOEGE JAMES HALL, M.A.
"Tbe Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."—
Idike xix. 10.
" Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither
the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind."—Luke xiv. 21.
"And thou shalt be blessed ; for they cannot recompense thee : for thou
shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."—Luke xiv. 14.
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shaU be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no
repentance."—Luke xv. 7.
LONDON:
RAGGED SCHOOL UNION, 1, EXETER HALL ;
PARTRIDGE & OAKET, 34, PATERNOSTER ROW ;
AND ALL BOOKSELLBES.
MDCCCLV.
LONDON :
ROBERT K. BURT, PRINTER,
HOLBORN HILL.
THE PRIZE ESSAY.
lîî October, 1853, the Committee of tbe Eagged
School Union offered a Prize of £50 for the best
Essay on Eagged Schools and kindred Institutions.
To the Advertisement the following Conditions were
appended :—
I.—The Managing Committee of the Kagged School Union
offers a Prize of £50 for the best Essay on the subject of Eagged
School Operations.
II.—The Essays are not to exceed in length one hundred and
fifty printed octavo pages [similar to those of the Eagged School
Union Magazine] ; are to be delivered, carriage free, at the office
of the Eagged School Union, 1, Exeter Hall, Strand, London,
addressed to the Secretary, on or before the 31st day of March,
1854 ; a motto, or word, is to be affixed to each Essay, and is
also to be endorsed on a sealed envelope accompanying it, and
enclosing the name and address of the writer.
III.—The adjudicators are to be such Members of the Visiting
and Managing Committees of the Eagged School Union as the
Managing Committee may appoint.
lY.—The successful Essay and the copyright in.it are to be¬
long wholly to the Managing Committee of the Eagged School
Union.
V.—The unsuccessful Essays are to be returned to the re¬
spective writers with the accompanying envelopes unopened, if
claimed within one calendar month after the announcement of
vi CONDITIONS rOE THE PEIZE ESSAY.
the adjudication in the Ragged School Union Magazine, Any
Essay not so claimed is (with its accompanying envelope) to be
dealt with as the Managing Committee may think fit.
VI.—The Managing Committee is to be at liberty to with¬
hold the Prize if the adjudicators are of opinion that no one of
the Essays is deserving of it.
VII.—The object of the Managing Committee in ofiering the
Prize is to stimulate inquiry into the present condition and
working of Ragged Schools -and their auxihary Institutions, and
to encourage the consideration and suggestion of practical mea¬
sures for promoting their efiiciency and extending their opera¬
tions.
With this view the Managing Committee mention the follow¬
ing particulars connected with the Ragged School system, as
comprising a class of topics in their opinion more or less desir¬
able to be treated of ; but it is clearly to be understood that no
restriction as to the subjects or the mode of treating them is to
be imposed upon the writers :—The Scholars ; right class as to
poverty, age, etc. ; how to be obtained ; how regularity of at¬
tendance to be secured—Locality of School—Books and Mate¬
rials—Rehgious character of the work—Importance and modes
of forming moral habits—Nature and extent of secular teaching
—Infant Classes—Adult Classes—Monitors—Rewards and
Punishments—Addresses and Lectures—Evüs of association in
school to be guarded against—Home influence—Domiciliary
Visitation—Q-ood or evil efiects of Grratuitous Instruction on
poor in neighbourhood and on other schools—Libraries—Penny
Banks—Clothing Funds ; gratuitous distribution of food or
clothing—Refuges ; their general management ; connexion with
particular Ragged Schools; their locality; ages of inmates—
Night Refuges—Industrial training for boys and girls ; the best
kinds ; disposal of produce—Grants from Committee of Privy
Council on Education—Obtaining situations for boys and girls
—Apprenticeship ; results ; keeping up communication with
old scholars—Removal of improved scholars to paying schools—
Emigration; results; keeping up communication—The Teach¬
ers ; paid ; their qualifications ; duties ; remuneration—Volun-
BEPOET OP THE ADJHDICATOES.
vii
tary j their qualifications ; duties ; regularity of attendance—
Meetings of Teachers — Modes of raising Funds — Public
Meetings.
The following is the Beport of the Adjudicators
appointed by the Managing Committee :—
Eepoet to the Managing Committee oe the Eagged
School Union eeom the Adjudicatoes of the Peize
foe an Essay on Eagged Schools.
WEj the undersigned, having been requested to read and compare
the Essays on " Eagged Schools " submitted for competition
for the Prize offered by the Committee, beg to report as fol¬
lows :—
There were Nine Essays received by us ; and after perusing
them and carefuUy considering their relative merits, we arrived
unanimously at the conclusion that the Essay most deserving of
the Prize was that bearing the motto, " Sought and Saved."
On subsequently opening the sealed envelope bearing a corre¬
sponding motto, we found that the Eev. Gr. J. Hall, of Linton,
Cambridgeshire, was the writer of the Essay, and we do accord¬
ingly adjudge the Prize of £50 to that gentleman.
Alexandee Andeeson.
William Aethue.
John Macgeegoe.
Samuel Maetin.
Maetin Waee, Jun.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Peeface xii
CHAPTER I.
inteodirction. —a geneeal suevet oe the etil and
its eemedt 1
CHAPTER II.
dieeiculties to be encottnteeed 12
CHAPTER in.
eagged scholaes.—paet i.
Their Abodes, Appearance, and Mental History . . 19
CHAPTER rV.
eagged scholaes.—paet ii.
How can we collect them?—^Visitation—^Voluntary—Sala¬
ried Public Domiciliary Inspectors—How keep them long
enough ?—^By Attractiveness—By Persuasion—By Com¬
pulsion.—What should be done with improved Scholars 25
CONTENTS.
ix
CHAPTEE V.
PAGE
EAGOED SCHOOL TBACHEES.
Their Qualifications—Modes of discovering and obtaining
such as are duly qualifîéd—The Missionary Character of
the Work 45
CHAPTEE VI.
THE SCHOOL-EOOM.
Appropriate Buildings—Pictorial Teaching—Industrial Ap¬
paratus 59
CHAPTEE VII.
THE EAGGED SUNDAY SCHOOL.
By whom conducted—On what Principles—A Scheme of
Sunday Engagements 84
CHAPTEE VIII.
EEEUGES.
Their Nature and Objects—Objections—The Principles on
which they are foimded—Are they necessary ?—and ex¬
pedient ?—How should they he conducted ? . . . 104
CHAPTEE IX.
MOEAL AND EELIGIOUS POWEE IN EAGGED SCHOOLS AND
EEEUGES.
The Danger of Contamination—Overcoming Evil with G-ood
—Insufficiency of mere Knowledge—Modes of increasing
and sustaining moral and religious Power—Incentives to
Virtue—Satisfactory Eesults 130
X
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
COLLATEEAL AND AUXILIAET EPEOETS POE THE DESTITUTE
AND DEPEAVED.
The City Mission—Sanitary Movement—Improved Dwell¬
ings—Temperance Societies—Mothers' Meetings—Enter¬
tainments ......... 149
CHAPTER XI.
EAGGED SCHOOLS AND EEPUGES, IN DELATION TO THE
CHEISTIAN CHUECH.
The Evil and its Remedy near to each other—The Co-opera¬
tion of different Denominations of Christians necessary
and desirable 162
CHAPTER XII.
EAGGED SCHOOLS AND EEPUGES, IN EELATION TO THE
GOYEENMENT.
Pecuniary Grants—Legal Enactments .... 173
CHAPTER XIII.
PEESONAL SEEYICE AND ITS EECOMPENCE.
Personal Consecration—Organization—Variety of Service—
Contributions — The Recompence of Well-doing — The
dying Christian—An Appeal for Help .... 202
CHAPTER XIY.
ENCOUEAGEMENT AND STIMULUS.
Political Considerations—Religious Motives—The Trans¬
formation effected—The Extent of the Evil yet unsub¬
dued—The swift and irrevocable Flight of Time . . 214
CONTENTS.
xi
APPENDIX.
PAGE
Note A.
Sources of Information concerning the Condition
of the Lowest Classes in Towns and Cities
229
» B.
Statistics of Ragged Schools ....
230
„ C.
Statistics of Refuges in London.—1854
232
„ D.
Successful Results ......
234
„ E.
Reformatory Institutions .....
244
» E.
Intellectual Culture insufficient ....
247
,, Gr.
Influence of Religious Training seen after Years
of Profligacy and Yice .....
247
„ H.
Government Grants .....
249
„ K.
Conference on Reformatory Institutions .
253
Index
254
Egem ce
Bequest to the Ragged School Union .
256
PREFACE.
Makt of those into whose hands this little volume
will fall, are already acquainted with the circumstances
which have helped to call it into being. In October,
1853, the Eagged School Union offered a Prize of
£50 for the best Essay on Bagged Schools and kindred
institutions. The MSS. were to be sent in before
March 81st in the following year. The decision of
the Adjudicators was not made known to the public
until December, 1854, when the following announce¬
ment was made on the covers of the Bagged School
Union Magazine ;—
"The Adjudicators having read the Nine Essays
received in competition for the Prize of £50, have
peeface.
• • •
xm
unanimously agreed in the selection of the one hearing
the motto—
' He that winneth souls is wise^
and designated
' SoTTGHT akd SaTED.'
On opening the letter with the corresponding motto,
it was ascertained that the author is the Rev. Greorge
James Hall, m.a., of Linton, Cambridgeshire.
" The Report of the Adjudicators was presented to
the Committee of the Ragged School Union, at
their November meeting, and unanimously adopted.
The prize of £50 was awarded to the Rev. Gr. J.
HaU."
It thus appears that a year has elapsed between the
transmission of the Essays to the office of the Union
and the issue of the work. This delay, though sin¬
cerely regretted by aU parties concerned, has been
unavoidable. The Author has since revised the whole
with great care, and has collected some additional
information, which is appended in the form of Notes.
These, he hopes, will materially add to the complete¬
ness and usefulness of the book. In this department
xiv
PEEPACE.
he has received valuable aid from Mr. G-ent, the
excellent and indefatigable Secretary of the Union, to
whom he returns hearty thanks. Other friends have
also shown their good-will in a variety of ways, whose
kindness will not be forgotten.
It has been the aim of the writer to include, either
in the Essay itself, or in the îlotes, every important
feature of the Sagged School movement. The subject
is far more extensive than many might suppose, for it
not only includes educational topics generally, but also
touches on some of the hardest questions of political
philosophy and political economy. The reader will
find that the style is mainly practical, though here and
there interspersed with an argumentative or philo¬
sophical paragraph. The various chapters have been
thought out, not compiled ; hence there is, perhaps, a
greater scarcity of fact and incident than there ought
to have been. This deficiency is in part supplied by
the Notes.
Controverted questions have not been altogether
avoided ; nor indeed could they have been. These he
has endeavoured to face honestly and discuss calmly.
On one point especially, a diversity of opinion exten-
PEEFACE.
XV
sively prevails ;—the expediency of obtaining Grovern-
ment aid for the maintenance of Eagged Schools.
The author is sorry to differ from so many whom he
loves and respects. He has, however, no alternative
but to state candidly, and defend boldly, his own
settled convictions ; and is prepared for criticism on
this point, only asking that it may be dealt out kindly
and fairly. A new scheme, by which the Government
might render most valuable service to Eagged Schools,
and to the cause of education generally, is sketched
out in JN'ote H, to which he respectfully invites the
attention of the thoughtful.
The writer is not ashamed to confess, that in sending
forth his first attempt at authorship, he now gives to
the world what has cost him many anxious hours, and
much of hard work, amid a host of other claims, arising
from his position as a preacher and pastor. But
though the production of the Essay has been no easy
task, on the other hand it has yielded him no small
profit and delight. He reckons it a great privilege
that he is thus permitted to dedicate a poiaion of his
time and strength to so glorious a cause ; and would
not cease to give thanks to the Author of all good.
xvi
peeface.
that His blessing, which rests so evidently and abun¬
dantly on the Institutions themselves, has not been
altogether withheld from one, unworthy though he be,
who has endeavoured to do them justice, and to com¬
mend them worthily to a Christian nation. That the
readers, as they travel more easily and smoothly over
the same ground, may, in like manner, grow in love to
the benevolent work here illustrated; and that the
blessing of God may rest on all those who are endea¬
vouring to " seek and save the lost," is the desire and
prayer of
The Atjthoe.
lÂnton, Cambridgeshire y
March 14,1855.
SOUGHT AND SAVED.
CHAPTEE I.
inteoduction.—a geneeal suetet oe the evil
and its bemedt.
Among those who of late years have been either in¬
different or hostile to all vital godliness, there are
some who profess to have found out that Christianity
is worn threadbare, has done its work, and must
speedily give place to something stronger and better.
They tell us, that we have only a skeleton creed, with¬
out life or power ; ordinances, that have been robbed
by time of their impressive solemnity ; and anti¬
quated institutions, the fitness of which has long since
passed away. To an hypothesis so unfounded and so
destructive, it is pleasant to be able to oppose a few
very substantial facts,—to be able to show, by deeds
rather than by words, that the old Faith is still what
it was declared to be at first, " The power of Grod unto
salvation." It is pleasant to be able to lay our hands
at once on some indisputable tokens, not merely of the
absence of decay, but also of the presence of an inmost
fountain of unabated energy, full enough and strong
enough to sweep away new obstacles, and carry for-
D
2
LIYIKG POWER OP THE GOSPEL.
ward new enterprises. Happily, tMs is precisely onr
position at the present moment.
The last half century has furnished many proofs that
the moral power of Christianity does not crumble
with the lapse of ages. Its life-giving and life-sus¬
taining truths neither grow old nor die. History com¬
pels us to acknowledge that the church of Christ has had
its winter, a long season of cold inactivity, but she now
puts on the beautiful garments of returning spring. Or,
to change the figure, she goes forth with the valour of a
veteran army, girds herseK for new conflicts, and confi¬
dently expects new victories. Among these we may
reckon the abolition of Colonial Slavery in the British
dominions ; for to Christianity is the honour mainly
due of having originated and completed that most
generous and philanthropic of modem enterprises.
During this period also, Bible, Missionary, and Tract
Societies ; Sunday and Day Schools ; Infirmaries, Asy¬
lums, and Hospitals ; and thousands of new Chapels
and Churches ; have aU joined to show forth the living
healthful energy of Christian truth and of Christian
men. To this list have been added, more recently.
City Missions and Bagged Schools. Thus has vital
Christianity been to the world like unto the tree of
life spoken of in apocalyptic vision, which bore twelve
manner of fruits, and whose leaves were for the heal¬
ing of the nations. It is there, if anywhere, that each
newly discovered moral disease that aflBcts the human
race wül find its antidote and cure.
Not until within the last ten or twelve years have
the churches of Christ come to a knowledge of the
vice, destitution, and ignorance of the lowest class in
our great cities. Only of late years has the appalling
THE WOEK TO BE DONE.
3
character of these evils been at all fuUy observed and
understood. Tea, even to this day, the great majority
of those who are in easy circumstances are astonished
beyond measure at the disclosures made by those who
find their way into these dens and alleys, where igno¬
rance and godlessness, dirt and destitution, fester
together, and aggravate each other's horrors. It is with
unfeigned satisfaction that we add, no sooner were
these things brought to light, than Christian hearts
were found that bled over them. Christian consciences
that condemned them as a stain on our national cha¬
racter, and Christian wüls that resolved at once on
wiping it off. Thus a great work was begun, which
has been carried on with increasing determination
and zeal every year ; and now there are many—a
noble and patriotic band with noble leaders—whose
best energies are consecrated to the elevation and
salvation of the depraved and neglected, both old and
young.
"We may well be humbled and shocked to find that
there are lower regions of society, even in Christian
England, where men, women, and children herd
together, amid filth and vermin, in damp cellars, up
filthy courts, or in close unventilated garrets,—where
most of the money, indolently obtained and recklessly
spent, is the wages of sin,—where dishonesty and un-
chastity are almost universal,—where the name of God
is heard only in oaths and curses,—where even children
are trained in all vihany by their own parents, or by
practised thieves, and sent forth to prowl about the
streets, not for their own daily sustenance, but to
furnish others with the means of self-indulgence,—
where girls are taught early to receive, without even
B 2
4
APPALLING EVILS.
a blush, the wages of shame, and even infant lips are
compelled to take the name of God in vain. The
actual existence of aU these things is attested by wit¬
nesses of unimpeachable integrity.* Yea, we have not
far to go that we may see with our own eyes these
thickly planted preserves of sin and Satan, where pesti¬
lent drains and stagnant pools are ever exhaling fever,
cholera, and death ; that we may hear with our own
ears their profane language, their obscene epithets,
their coarse jests, and their hideous laughter. In the
midst of aU these terrible foes to cleanliness, health,
and godliness, there are tens of thousands, yea, even
hundreds of thousands of our countrymen and coun¬
trywomen, whose dwellings are scarcely cheered by a
single ray of sunshine, or cleansed by a single pitcher
of water. Accents of kindness seldom fall on their
ears. They are strangers to decency and self-respect,
to the joys of home, to the comforts as well as the
restraints of religion, and to the house of God.
There they are, in one confused and dreadful medley,
—hoary, hardened transgressors, and children just
taking their first lessons in crime j natives of these
regions in all their abandoned wickedness, and new
comers battling hard for respectability and virtue against
fearful odds ; parents without natural afiection, and
children without filial respect; women without virtue,
often without shame ; and men as brutal as drunken¬
ness and crime can make them. There they have been
for years, and in many districts there they are still,
—a mass of English heathenism that the Christian
church has not yet conquered—a mass of crime that
English law has not yet destroyed—a mass of vice
* See Appendix, Note A.
CAUSES lîTQUIEED INTO.
5
and intemperance tliat great social reformations have
failed to reach. Daily are they proving that "the
wages of sin is death ; " that the constant attendants
of vice are disease, premature decline, and an early
grave. Of such it may be said with emphasis, that
they are " without Grod, and without hope in the
world."
How this great evñ has sprung up and grown to its
present height, is a question that does not need to be
discussed in this Essay, unless from such inquiry we
can gather a few hints concerning the remedial courses
that may be tried with advantage. Experience and
observation have proved that the proximate causes of
this lamentable state of things are idleness, intem¬
perance, imprudence, sensuality, vagrancy, and an aban¬
donment or perversion of children by their parents ;
together with inability to get employment, followed
by distress and destitution. Strictly speaking, how¬
ever, these are rather the symptoms than the causes of
this fearful social disorder. The causes lie yet deeper,
in the depraved tendencies of man's heart, in the
tremendous reproductive power of moral evil, and in
the tendencies of modern civilization. Of these three,
the first two are constant, and so obvious as to require
at present no further remark. It is otherwise, how¬
ever, with the third. It wül be well for us to con¬
sider briefly the connection that subsists between the
evüs above described and civilization as it exists in
this country.
Personal liberty and commercial freedom are now the
very foundation-stones of our social structure. The
independence oí the earliest and rudest times, as weU as
the dependence of the feudal ages, have alike passed
6
MODEEÎî CIVILIZATIOK".
away. Personal liberty, individual self-support, and
unrestricted competition, are now recognised as our
fundamental social laws. There are no principles,
however, so sound, but out of them, as the growth of
man's selfishness and depravity, there may be odious
excrescences. And so it is here. Personal liberty is
often abused, and commercial freedom is sometimes
used as a plea for the exercise of a tyrannical power.
Besides which, the exact and legitimate working of
these laws, in the high state of civilization that we
have now reached, has a constant tendency to produce
the extremes of wealth and poverty, of virtue and vice,
of happiness and misery. It seems as though the
commercial and social activity of the present day, like
a great seething cauldron, full of merchants and manu¬
facturers, artizans and operatives, buyers and sellers,
has a tendency, while it refines the main body of its
contents, to produce and throw oflT some as the scum
of its heated workings. In a state of society so full
of competition that it is only by hard struggling that
even the honest and industrious can keep their ground,
is it at all surprising that those who have lost caste
and character should be thrust aside ? Is it at aU
surprising they should rapidly sink lower and lower
in the social scale, and eventually hide themselves in
gloomy chambers and dark recesses ?—that they
should there lurk, and thence go forth to prey on that
society which has cast them off ? Is it at all sur¬
prising that, when once such a band of outlaws has
collected, it should rapidly increase in numbers and
in crime ?
It must be admitted, then, that these extremes of
destitution, misery and vice, are in part the result of
DIITICTJLT SOCIAL QUESTIONS.
7
principles that are in the main sound and expedient ;
that, owing to the imperfect working of all human
laws and human institutions, it is only by a compli¬
cated system of checks and counter-checks, that the
general welfare of the whole body politic can be se¬
cured. Here, then, at an early stage of our inquiries
we touch on one of the most difficult parts of our sub¬
ject. rinding that it is the direct tendency of certain
principles to produce a measure of harm and mischief
in connection with a much larger measure of good, we
are driven to the inquiries,—" Is it possible to check
and mitigate the evil without diminishing or destroy¬
ing the good ?" " Can we modify the working of
these laws without impairing their general efficiency ?"
If it can be done, and ought to be done, the next ques¬
tion is, " How ?" "Is there any other principle of a
still more general character by which we may be
guided in our remedial efforts ? "
These may be pronounced to be among the great
questions of the present age, involving a wide range of
practical difficulties. The solution of these must be
left mainly to actual experience ; yet a few thoughts
may be suggested, in the hope of furnishing a clue by
which to find our way out of the labyrinth in which we
are enclosed by the conflicting maxims of political
economy, of social science, of common sense, and of
humanity, ennobled and refined by Christian love.
It wiU help us essentially in this investigation, if we
recognise as a fundamental truth, the existence of a
gradation in the laws by which the universe is governed,
—if we fully admit and appreciate the fact that, in the
works of nature, and in the developements of Pro¬
vidence, there are some laws of a higher and some of a
8
GRADATION IN SOCIAL LAWS.
lower character ;—and if, further, we note with
especial care how often it happens that the lower are
subjected to the higher. Thus, in the kingdom of
nature, the merely material laws of attraction are in
constant subordination to the higher laws of animal
and vegetable life ; so that the sap rises to the top of
the loftiest pine, and the blood circulates freely, flow¬
ing up and down through every part of our bodies.
Turther inquiry will convince us that so also in social
economics, when two great general principles clash
with each other, the lower, (that which the intellect
and conscience recognise as such,) which is also
generally less certain and more restricted, must give
place to that which is higher and nobler, which is also
generally more certain and more comprehensive.
Applying this general principle to the matter in
hand, the rule may be thus stated :—In all cases in
which unrestricted competition works for the welfare
of the community, and does not clash with the higher
laws of justice, mercy, and benevolence, it should have
full and unlimited sway. But as soon as it is proved
to be injurious and destructive to any class of the com¬
munity, some higher law should come in to moderate
its influence, and smoothe the roughest of its workings.
As a matter of fact, the course above described has
often been pursued. Pohtical parties of the most
opposite principles have often united against a com¬
mon foe, party being subordinated to patriotism ;
denominational principles have often been kept in
abeyance by the higher law of Christian love; un¬
restricted competition has yielded to the higher laws
of humanity and justice, which have limited both the
persons and the hours of factory labour ; and sometimes
POLITICAL ECONOMY CANNOT HELP. 9
all precedents have been set aside by urgent necessity,
as, for instance, when millions of money were freely
voted from the public treasury to save the Irish from
famine. Let us then recognise the fact, that among
general principles, knowledged to be equally sound,
there is a gradation, appreciable by a united eifort of
the intellect, conscience, and heart ; and let us lay it
down as a still wider and more comprehensive law,
that when any of these may happen to clash with
each other, the lower must be subordinated, and give
way.
But let us first ask the question—"Is there any self-
curing power in our present commercial system for
these great social üls ? " "Will political economy help
us out of our dilemma ? " Is there any hope that the
destitute and depraved classes, now left behind by the
advancing car of modern civilization, will eventually,
by some unexpected good fortune, be united again to
the great procession ? May not the present increased
value of labour be the means of their redemption and
restoration ? " Experience answers, " No." A smaller
number may hereafter fall ; but no change of a merely
commercial character will raise those that are already
fallen. Sin has no self-curing power when left to
itself. The ruined and unfortunate cannot rise to
respectability out of the gulf into which they have
sunk, without the helping hand of benevolent sym¬
pathy and Christian love.
Higher laws than any that commerce or political
economy can suggest must interpose, if the naked are
ever to be clothed, the hungry fed, and the sin-and-
sorrow-stricken restored. Justice, mercy, and love, aU
claim to be heard on their behalf. Justice demands
10 ONLY CHEISTIAN LOTE WILL AVAIL.
that vested interests should not interfere with sanitary
improvements, that suitable dwellings should be found
for aU those whose hearty desire it is to live decently
and honestly, and that facilities both for education
and for employment should be found for all. Mercy
bids us deliver the unfortunate, helpless, and infantile,
from the perds and woes of the present, and from the
eternal ruin of the future. Love, the purest and most
heavenly of all laws and principles, yearns over the
perishing, " weeps over the city," entreats us to
" deliver them from going down into the pit," and holds
out the "ransom" for their eternal redemption.
If we desire a corrective for the selfishness that is
natural to the heart of man, and is aggravated by con¬
stant commercial occupations, where shall we find one
that will for a moment compare "with the expansive
power of Christian truth and Christian love ? May we
not affirm without hesitation that this alone has enough
of strength and stability to grapple boldly and suc¬
cessfully with a tendency so subtle, so favoured by
man's native propensities and by his daily and hourly
occupations ? When this corrective element dwells and
abounds in the Christian church, finding a mode of
utterance both by her members and her ministers, a
firm barrier is erected that will withstand the rising
tide of selfishness and mammon-worship. Souls that
would otherwise silently collapse with a cold and cal¬
culating process, as constant as the business trans¬
actions of every day, may be warmed and enlarged by
the holy, generous, and self-denying principles of the
Gospel.
To the Christian church, also, we must look for
devout and courageous labourers as City Missionaries
results already realized.
11
and Eagged School Teachers. Only the Gospel can
arm men with such a mind as this work requires.
Out of the Christian church must come those who wül
remove carefully the scum from the cauldron, and prove
that some portion even of this may be refined and puri¬
fied ;—who will gather up the refuse of the busy work¬
shop of human society, and patiently search even in
this for particles of silver and gold ;—will, as it were,
coUect and consume the black cloud of unhealthy and
ruinous influences that continually pours forth from
these huge manufactories of crime, and poisons the
moral atmosphere ; so teaching us that, nations as
well as furnaces may consume their own smoke with
an incalculable saving of material, of time, and of
public money.
That the Gospel, and those who heartily believe in it,
can and will do this, an earnest and a pledge have
already been given. A large band of self-denying
labourers is already at work in this cause.* Not a few
of the outcast boys and girls, to whom this Essay
specially relates, have been brought to school, taught,
and reclaimed. Some of these are settled in respect¬
able families as servants ; others are busy as shoe¬
blacks in the great thoroughfares of our vast metropolis ;
and a goodly number are living, and even prospering^
in our Australian or Canadian colonies. Enough has
been done to prove that the object contemplated is
practicable. Many of these young sinners have already
been " sought and saved." "Who would not wish to
take part in a work so great, so merciful, so Divine ?
* See Appendix, Note B.
12
CHAPTEE IL
difficulties to be encgunteeed.
"We must not, however, conceal, either from ourselves
or from others, the fact that the work is great and diffi¬
cult ; that it will demand of all who engage in it no
ordinary amount of courage, earnestness, and persever¬
ance. If all who can help in the work immediately
co-operate, they wiU need to labour long and hard,
with strong faith, unquenchable love, and fervent
prayer, before an effectual corrective agency can be
established.
Let us, then, with a courageous heart, " count the
cost." Let us survey our position with accuracy and
care, remembering that it is no new thing that a great
reforming work should be surrounded by formidable
obstacles. As the valiant general carefully examines
the ground on which he expects to meet the foe, mark¬
ing well the advantages and disadvantages of each
several locality ; as he ascertains, as far as possible,
the numbers and the strength of the enemy, as weU
as the extent of his own resources for the conflict,—
so let the friends of the ragged and the destitute well
consider the real nature of the enterprise that they
have taken in hand.
The recognition and acknowledgment of these diffi-
NEED or PEACTICAL WISDOM.
13
culties, while it need not depress or discourage us, may
help to give to our plans, practical wisdom and com¬
pleteness.
I. Thus we shall gain 'practical wisdom. At the
very outset, for instance, let every benevolent worker
get a full and deep impression of the immense risk we
always run in aiding those who are excessively poor,
or ignorant, or wicked—not the risk of injury to our¬
selves, though this may sometimes be considerable, as
some of the City Missionaries, and Bagged School
Teachers could testify ; but of injury to the very
persons that we seek to benefit, and to those who are
next above them. It is hard to help the degraded
and unworthy, without seeming to neglect or discou¬
rage the more worthy and respectable of the lower
classes. There is imminent danger of pulling down
with our left hand what we set up with our right ; of
fostering indirectly the very things that we are seeking
to destroy. Let us ever beware of creating pauperism,
while we relieve the poor ; of putting a premium on
ignorance, while we freely communicate knowledge ;
of increasing the amount of raggedness, while we
clothe the naked ; of discouraging self-respect, and a
laudable independence in some, while we are teaching
these very virtues to others. Let us avoid under¬
mining the future, by any of our efforts on behalf of
the present. If we are wise, we shall never forget,
even for a moment, that it will demand unusual
prudence ; a most judicious arrangement of all our
plans, and a most careful selection of all our agents, if
we would avoid doing as much indirect and impalpable
harm, as we do direct and palpable good.
Again, by a full understandiag of the excessive
14 INDIFPEEENCE AND OPPOSITION TO BE OVEECOME.
degradation of tliose whom we are seeking to befriend,
we shall not only be fortified against disappointment,
if our first efibrts are not successful, but we shall
also be better prepared with more effectual measures,
that we may overcome both stobd indifference and
direct opposition. We shall find some who are most
unwilling to have the blessiugs that we desire to
convey to their homes and to their hearts. From the
most sordid and sinful motives, they may not only
neglect, but repel, and even violently oppose our
kindest and best intentions. In both rural and city
districts, there is no more powerful obstacle to the
cause of education than the inertness, and sometimes
even the cruel selfishness of the parents themselves.
This indifference, and this opposition, are strongest,
as might be expected, in the lowest and worst.
Being farthest from all goodness, they are least con¬
cerned about it ; most needing instruction, they are
least willing to be taught. In addition to this, their
whole mode of life being so uncertain and unsettled,
we must fully reckon upon such an amount of irre¬
gularity in attendance at school, and often of insub¬
ordination when they do attend, as may make it hard
indeed to effect any permanent reformation. By a
careful consideration of these points, we shall see that
there will be great need for zeal, patience, and per¬
severing energy; and not only these, but also prac¬
tical wisdom, if we would form any plans, establish
any institutions, or frame any laws, that will rescue
these neglected boys and girls from the power of their
destroyers.
Another field for the exercise of the same principles
wül be found in the financial department of our labours.
A DEEPEE INTEEEST MUST BE AWAKENED. 15
One of our chief difi&culties is the want of sufl&cient
funds. It is well to bear in mind the costly nature
of some of our operations, such as Eefuges and Eefor-
matory Institutions. The number and efficiency of
our Eagged Schools depend in great measure on the
extent of our supplies ; and the supplies for continued
and increasing operations will not he forthcoming un¬
less a deep interest in the work is in some way more
extensively propagated among the Christian public.
It is well that we should remember that, however
urgent our claim, we address chiefly those who are
already liberal in the support of other most valuable
institutions ; we cannot plead as some of these can the
exclusively religious character of our work ; we are
only competitors among many more for support and
encouragement. So numerous are our benevolent and
religious societies now, and so frequently do they make
some special appeal, that one may fitly say that the
spiritual machinery of the present day is being worked
at a kind of high pressure, which it would be folly on
our part either to overlook or ignore.
In seeking to obtain a firm hold of the Christian
public, it will be well for us to consider carefully
"where our great strength lieth." We cannot invest
our narratives and enterprises with the same ¡citid of
interest that ever attends missionary operations in
foreign countries. If we obtain a hold, it must be by
the hearts^ and not by the imaginations of our hearers.
Much that is attractive and fascinating may be told
of the personal appearance, customs, and dress of
the inhabitants of other lands. Tea, even the lofty
mountains, the secluded valleys, broad rivers and
luxuriant vegetation of some of these far-off regions,
16 THUS SHALL WE GAIN COMPLETENESS.
give an extraordinary charm both to the work itself
and to the narratives that are sent home. It must
be so as long as there is in human nature any love
for the beautiful or the sublime. Equally certain is it
that the forms of evil which we are endeavouring to
assail must often have associations of an opposite
character—unattractive, repulsive, and even positively
disgusting. Our work will want that which pleases the
imagination, but it never need fail of furnishing that
which affects the heart. In the very centre of our
great Metropolis, we shall find more pitiable objects
than could be furnished by India, China, or the beau¬
tiful islands of the Southern Ocean.
A survey of the difficulties to be encountered may
quicken our sagacity and promote our practical wis¬
dom. Unquestionably we shall need both if we would
avoid creating remote evils by our plans of doing pre¬
sent good—if we would win and woo those who are
too far gone in sin and folly to see their own real
welfare—and if we would kindle and fan the flame of
interest in this movement among aU dénominations of
Christians.
II. Thus we shall also leam a lesson of completeness.
Let us try to get a comprehensive view of the evil as
a whole, composed of several distinct, but closely
related parts. Let us grasp firmly the sad truth that
it is not an inert mass, which can be broken up and
pulverized piece by piece ; but a body composed of
many members, all alive with vice, misery, and crime.
So shall we become more fully aware of the close con¬
nection that subsists between the various forms of
sorrow and of sin that we discover ; and so shall we
also be convinced of the necessity of union and
COMEINATIOK or EEMEDIAL AGENCIES. 17
co-operation in the remedies that we apply. A com¬
bination of evils, linked together by the great enemy
of souls, is dragging these outcasts down to per¬
dition ; only a combination of benevolent efforts,
equally vigorous and strong, and rendered effectual
by the Holy Spirit of God, can effect their salvation.
No single institution can attempt the whole work.
No single institution, toiling ever so bravely only in
one particular department, will, if standing alone,
reap the full measure of success. Eor each disease
of the social body we must find a fitting remedy, and
aU the remedies must harmonize with each other. In
each instance we must endeavour to " overcome evil
with good," by bringing the good into direct conflict
with the particular evil that is most directly opposed to
it. Clean and wholesome dwellings, baths and wash-
houses, clothing clubs and dispensaries, ragged schools,
refuges, and ragged churches, must all go together.
Experience has demonstrated that this co-operation is
essential to success. Clean houses will be one step
towards clean hearts. Eresh air and pure water will
do something towards purity of word and deed.
Comprehensiveness and completeness must distin¬
guish all our plans, and ThorougW must be our
motto, else the powers of darkness, of vice and crime,
will be too strong for us ;—self-denying exertions will
be wasted ;—the beginnings of success wiU be nipped
in the bud ;—the lessons of the school-room will be
more than unlearnt amid the squalid wretchedness,
profane language, and unrestrained wickedness that
prevail at home. Experience has already demon¬
strated that there is a terrible unity and complete¬
ness about the evil, which only unity and completeness
c
18 ENCOUEAGIÍíG COîîSIDEEATIOîTS.
in our remedial institutions can successfully combat.
Till this is in some measure attained, obstacles of no
ordinary character must be fuUy expected, and bravely
encountered.
It is pleasant, however, to be able to add that there
are many encouraging circumstances in our present
position. The combination of reformative agencies,
that we have just -seen to be so essential, is being
gradually wrought out. The legislature is cautiously
taking up the subject, and wiU. before long, as we
hope, render most valuable help. Already the Act
for the better regulation of lodging-houses is working
a general improvement ; baths and wash-houses have
been built, and are in full and most successful opera¬
tion in many districts ; we have a numerous body of
paid missionaries and teachers, supported and encou¬
raged by a still more numerous company of voluntary
labourers. If there have been many discouragements
and obstacles, there have also been many instances qf
signal success. Though it often happens that the
lowest and worst refuse to avail themselves of the
opportunities for reformation that have been provided,
yet even from among them not a few have been
rescued and made both useful and happy. Many stray
sheep and lambs have been gathered into the fold of
the Saviour ; and some, yea, a numerous com'^'-ny
have passed away for ever from the corruption and
poverty in which their lives were spent, and have been
joyfully welcomed by angels and by the ever gracious
Redeemer into the realms of perfect purity and un¬
speakable bliss.
19
CHAPTEE III.
bagged scholaes.—part i.
Their Abodes, Appearance, and Mental History.
The brief survey taken in tbe two foregoing chapters
will indicate the place occupied by Eagged Schools,
both among general schemes of benevolence, and among
special efforts on behalf of the poorest and most de¬
graded. "We have seen that they constitute one
leading department of a wide field of philanthropic
labours. Their work may be regarded as a kind of
double sanitary reform. It is their aim to purify
their scholars without and within—both body and
soul.
Before going further, let us endeavour to form
some conception of the ragged scholar in aU his native
wüdness—unwashed, untaught, and untamed. Let
us visit one of those districts in which he may be
found, that we may know for ourselves his appearance
and habits ; his inner life of thought and feeling, and
his outer life of words, sufferings, and deeds. Let
us inquire somewhat carefully into his hopes and
fears, his plans and expectations ; where he lurks,
how he looks, and what he does.
Eeader, will you go with us on this exploring ex¬
pedition? Have you enough of compassion for the
c 2
20 YISIT TO THE BAGGED SCHOLAE's ABODE.
neglected—enough of hmnanity in you to apply even
here the old and well-known maxim, " Homo sum,
humani nihil a me alienum puto?"* It is, how¬
ever, an imaginary visit only that we are about to pay
to these abodes of heathenish ignorance ; we shall
therefore count without hesitation on your company.
Isot many steps need we take before our near ap¬
proach to the haunts and dens that we are in search
of is ob^dous to more senses than one. Soon we find
ourselves in narrow lanes and foetid aUeys, among stag¬
nant pools of liquid poison, ofiensive smells, and dirty
houses. Close as the dwellings are to each other, the
inhabitants, we find, are packed more closely still.
Here, some of the poorest and many of the worst are
crowded into a small compass. Here, Satan has long
reigned almost undisturbed, and, were it not for the
City Missionary and Ragged School Teacher, might
still reign on with undisputed sway ; and yet it is
within the sound of many church-going beUs, under
the very shadow of lofty spires, or hard by some well-
filled dissenting chapel, and within easy reach of
many Christian hearts and homes. Here dwell thieves
and the trainers of thieves, old hags, prostitutes and
fortune-tellers, pickpockets, burglars, mudlarks, and
murderers ; and over aU their proceedings there hover
continually the evil genii of intemperance, ungodliness,
and brutal sensuality.
But it is the 'poor children that may be found in the
midst of all these ruinous influences that are the
objects of our curiosity and our concern. Here comes
one of the little fellows. See, how tattered and patched
* " I am a man, and consider nothing that relates to mnn
\mworthy of my notice."
APPEAEAIíCE OE A EAGGEE SCHOLAR. 21
is every garment he has on ; his bare feet are brown
with a covering of dirt of long-standing ; through the
holes in his dress the winter-blast finds free entrance ;
and by their means, also, we see plainly enough the
neglected, unwashed condition of his poor body, which
is scarcely comforted with a single rag of under-linen.
If his clothing and the state of his person are pitiable,
so also are his features to all those who have learnt to
interpret their lineaments. Dirty, pale, and thin, it
wants altogether the rosy bloom which God has
appointed as the sweet ornament of healthy childhood,
and the roundness that is the natural growth of sufih-
•cient and wholesome food. We may almost find
wrinkles in that young face, the premature tracery of
sin and woe. His eye is bright, though not joyous ;
and wretched as is his condition both of mind and
body, one may see that he is shrewd, perhaps clever.
But his movements are not gay and free, boy-like, and
nimble. How can they be? for his mind is dark,
and his heart sinful and sad. His countenance is not
lit up with a smile. How should it be, when there is
scarcely a soul that ever smiles upon him ?
His whole inner life and history may be said to
reflect with fearful exactness the outward circum¬
stances that have surrounded him from the day of his
birth. He has been educated, but it has been in the
school of Satan. He is expert and skilful, but it is in
sin. He has been " trained," but it has been pre¬
cisely "in the way in which he should not go," and,
unless some benevolent hand and heart interpose,
" when he is old he will not depart from it." What
wonder, if the better nature has never been unfolded
in his little mind ? or if it ever began to unfold itself,
22
INTTEE LIFE OF A NEGLECTED BOT.
has been down-trodden and silenced by the nnceasing
vicious influence of both father and mother, brothers
and sisters ;—by the precocious wickedness of the
companions of his childhood, as well as by the pro¬
fanity and impurity of those older sinners who have
been continually round him ?
He has indeed hopes and fears, thoughts and plans ;
but they are all of them of a low and sordid nature,
like unto the soul in which they take their rise.
He knows what hope is ; but it is not the hope of
future respectability and comfort in this world, or of
rest and joy in the world to come. Nothing so high as
this, so worthy of either God or man, awakens his long¬
ings or kindles his desires. And he knows what fèar
is, but it is not the fear of the Lord, which " is the
begioning of wisdom;" rather it is the fear of bitter
cold and nakedness, of illness and sorrow, or of the
pangs of hunger : it is the fear of a scolding, gin-
drmkiug mother, or of a rufiS.anly, besotted father.
Thoughts and plans he has too, but they are not about
God, heaven, and salvation ; but all base and grovel-
liug as is his daily history and daily companions.
When he thinks, it is of sorrow, want, and care ; and
when he plans, it is often of theft, falsehood, and
wrong.
Of those tender aflections, which in the middle and
higher classes are the nurselings of a pure and happy
home, the handmaids of all virtue, and often, with the
blessing of God, the stepping-stones to salvation and
eternal life, he knows next to nothing. These he
has been a stranger to from his infancy. He has
known but little of a father's protecting arm, of a
mother's tender care, or a sister's generous self-deny-
NEGLECTED BAGGED GIELS.
23
ing love. Instead of those tender affections and holy
impulses, which shed a heavenly light on the early
workings of other young and active spirits, his soul
already begins to lower with dark and hateful pas¬
sions. Selfishness, malice, envy, and intolerance of
restraint, like rank weeds, cover all the ground, whñe
those few germs of love and virtue which might have
grown into powerful principles under the genial infiu-
ence of domestic sunshine and godly training, have
as yet shown no signs of life. What wonder, if some
are of opinion that they have perished in the soil ?
In every respect the condition of girls and young
women may be expected to be worse than that of the
other sex. Their case is even more pitiable. Of neces¬
sity they sink into a lower depth of sin and misery
than their neglected brothers. How can it be other¬
wise when family intercourse and domestic arrange¬
ments are such as to outrage aU the common decencies
of fife ?—when children and adults of both sexes sleep
indiscriminately in the same room ?—when under the
same roof, perhaps, or within a few doors of it, there
are dens of infamy,—the haunts of those who, being
ruined themselves, take a satanic pleasure in the ruin
of others ? How can such training and such influences
produce virtuous women? Would it not be a moral
miracle if girls brought up by such parents in the
very midst of such contamination were to retain any
pure and virtuous feeling,—any modesty of look, or
word, or deed ? Poor creatures ! It may be we have
often shrunk from you with loathing and detestation,
when, if we had known your whole history, our hearts
would have melted with pity and unfeigned com¬
passion.
24
ONLY THE GOSPEL CAN EEACH THEM,
How sad ! how pitiable is the case of those, whom
by the Ragged School we endeavour to seek and save !
We find in it the negation of all that is lovely and
pleasant in the sight of either God or man. The dis¬
tricts in which they reside, their dwellings, their cloth¬
ing, their persons, yea, their very soul and conscience-
all are defiled. Who can need more than they the
gladdening and cleansing streams of gospel truth?
In what foreign land can we find children more
heathenish—in greater danger of perishing, or more
loudly claiming our pity, our efforts, and our prayers ?
Strangers as they are to all religion, to all virtue,
and even to all self-respect, their case might be re¬
garded by some as utterly hopeless. But Christian
charity "hopeth all things." The gentle messenger
of Jesus, radiant with winning smiles and warm with
heavenly love, takes the English "Topsy" by the
hand, leads her to the cross of Calvary, and teaches
her to love, to trust, to work, and to pray. Only the
blood of Christ can cleanse this deeply-seated leprosy.
Only the Holy Spirit of God can quicken to spiritual
life those who are thus " dead in trespasses and sins."
The lowest depths of destitution and wickedness can
only be reached by the highest and most self-denying
forms of heavenly love.
25
CHAPTEE IV.
bagged 8ch0labs.—pabt ii.
How can we collect them?—Yisitation—Voluntary—Salaried
Public Domiciliary Inspectors—How keep them long enough ?
—By attractiveness—By persuasion—By compulsion,—What
should be done with improved scholars.
Haying thus seen these little outcasts in their wild,
untutored state, the next question is, how thej can be
brought under better training, restored to the bosom
of society, and made useful members of the national
family.
The great merit of Eagged Schools is that, as
pioneers in this cause they have cleared the way for
more comprehensive and systematic efforts. What
they have already done, though so great an achieve¬
ment as to attract the attention and secure the praises
of an enlightened Christian nation, is, we trust, only
the earnest and promise of what they will yet under¬
take and successfully carry through. The moral force
which they have been exerting has evidently been used
in a skilful manner and in a right direction. It
needs only to be increased and sustained tiQ the
work is done.
We have already seen that, if the whole of the
wretchedness and crime existing among the perishing
26
TWO GREAT QUESTIONS.
classes is to be successfully assailed, other agencies
must be employed to meet those phases of the evü
which lie altogether beyond the compass of Ragged
Schools. If, however, their department is to be well
sustained, the first requisite is obviously Schools, Re¬
formatories, and Teachers,—enough of them, of good
quality, and in the right districts. We shall not stay
at present to ask how we are to obtain these, but
pass on at once to two other questions which will be
chiefly discussed in this chapter :
I. When we are provided with schools and reform¬
atories, how shall we secure the actual presence in
them of those very children whom it is our chief aim
to rescue and reform ?
II. How shall we keep them long enough in the
school or refuge to exert a really reformatory influence
on their character and history ?
1. As one step towards the solution of the first
question, it may be observed, that when a Ragged
School is opened, there are a few children who come
with tolerable regularity, others who come but sel¬
dom, and too many who do not come at all. Con¬
cerning those who joyfully send their children as
soon as they have an opportunity, nothing more needs
to be said. Our path is clear. No new agency or
authority is required. We may also add, that those
who have broken the law of the land, either by
vagrancy or crime, and are therefore, on the present
system, liable to punishment, furnish us thereby with
a good pretext for placing them in a reformatory
asylum, and for detaining them there, under the
authority of law, if it should be thought expedient
to do so.
CAN ANYTHING ELSE BE DONE ?
27
But towards those whose attendance is so irregular
as to do them but little good, or who do not come to
the school at all, it is hard to say what course we
ought to pursue. Most in danger of ruin, they are
least likely, under our present system, to be saved.
Chiefly contemplated by our plans, they are left out
in actual practice. Most dangerous to the State, they
least avail themselves of any provision that is made
for their good. Of all others they most need to be
caught, yet are they the first to slip through the
meshes of the net and escape our hands. It is there¬
fore a question of no ordinary difficulty how their
actual presence and regular attendance at school can
be secured,—how the consent and co-operation of their
parents can be obtained,—or if these are refused,
what further measures will be most expedient. Grant¬
ing that we have provided suitable school-rooms, aflec-
tionate and zealous teachers, and ample funds, is
there anything else that can he done ?
In reply to this question, the writer would recom¬
mend the adoption of a regular and comprehensive
system of Missionary visitation, backed up by the ap¬
pointment of a few " Public Domiciliary Inspectors,"
to meet cases of perversion and criminal neglect on
the part of parents. Concerning the value and effi¬
ciency of missionary visitation there can hardly be
two opinions. But it is expensive, and therefore its
necessity as well as its great value, require some
further illustration.
AU admit that something more must be done.
Our advice is—" Try all the powers of persuasion
first ; and if this fails, faU back on compulsion as your
last and only chance." If we content ourselves with
28
TEY PEESUASION PIEST.
building schools and welcoming those children that
attend either of their own accord, or by the spon¬
taneous wish of their parents,—with founding refor¬
matory institutions and sending to them only juvenile
criminals that have been convicted, only half of the
work wiU be done. Our plans will be fataUy incom¬
plete. Great numbers will roam abroad or sit in
their filthy dwellings, untaught and unsaved. Enough
will be left out to feed the ranks of crime, and to
supply philanthropists with a never-ending task. But
if we could work efSciently a full staff of Missionary
Visitors and Domiciliary Inspectors, we should, with¬
out doubt, probe the wound to the bottom, and
rapidly thin the ranks of those who sufier from
parental selfishness and cruelty. Probably it would
reach sooner or later every case of ignorance or neg¬
lect. And in this movement, by all means, let persua¬
sion be fairly tried to its furthest extent, but let there
be behind it the power to compel, when all gentler
methods have failed. Only vigour will give us a
victory. Might and right must once more support
each other. In the strife with our country's worst
internal foes—those parents who bring only dege¬
neracy and ruin into the ranks of English society—
persuasive arguments and arbitrations on behalf of
these children will be powerless unless supported by
the strong arm of the State. AVe shall fail, unless
persuasion can be followed up, if need be, by com¬
pulsion, kind entreaties by legal penalties, love by
law. Nor shall we often need to have recourse
to extreme measures ; especially when it comes to be
known that firmness and vigour may be employed,—
that obstinate refusal to allow the children to attend
thet must be sought ahd sayed. 29
regularly at tlie school will inevitably lead to a for¬
feiture of parental rights and privileges, to the placing
of the children in a public refuge, and to a compulsory
weekly payment towards their support. Experience
has proved that there are some cases which can only
be reached by compulsion. The question, however,
still remains, whether compulsory measures should be
employed in any, even the worst cases. This point will
be fully discussed in a subsequent chapter. *
It has also been found that there are several shades
of parental neglect, which may be corrected, in great
measure, by visitation and persuasion. If, therefore,
our plans are to be at all complete, these little friend¬
less ones must be " sought and saved." The
remedy is most obvious, most simple, and would be,
in many cases, most effectual. Nor is the suggestion
altogether new. Paid agents are already recom¬
mended as visitors for some limited objects. House-
to-house visitation in time of pestilence is an old
remedy; and only thus can the great moral pestilence
that is raging in our large towns be got under and
subdued. Without it, there are heaps of vice and
ignorance that will never be discovered or removed,—
there are tens of thousands in imminent danger of
contagion and death, who will never be effectually
warned,—besides a great company whose only chance
of recovery is a better treatment. To this we may
add, that though it may be an expensive method, it
is "thorough." Only thus can the whole work be
done,—only thus can the minutiae of each case be
carefully gone into, and correct statistics be obtained.
* See Chapter xii.—Eagged Schools, etc., in relation to the
Q-ovemment.
30
THEEE KINDS OE VISITATION.
This visitation might be of three kinds, each having
an excellence peculiar to itself. The first purely
voluntary, having its origin solely in self-denying
love and missionary zeal ; the second still missionary
in its character, but composed of a staff of salaried
agents, having special qualifications for the work ; the
third is the representative of the State,—a company of
qualified inspectors, who, if the missionary visitation
fails in any particular district, on receiving information
to that effect, will proceed to the cautious use of more
rigorous measures.
That each of these has some special excellence and
worth, will appear on fuller consideration.
1. Voluntary visitors, prompted by pure Christian
love, will have a wonderful power to awaken in aU,
even the worst, some degree of genuine concern about
their own welfare and that of their children. It must
be admitted that the work is often neither easy nor
pleasant. Disagreeable sights and smells wül have
to be encountered. Suspicion wül need to be dis¬
armed by the overflowings of compassion and love.
The degraded and selfish sometimes abuse those who
are ^their best friends. But, though at times dis¬
agreeable and difficult, the work is not in reality
dangerous. In many parts of London the Bagged
School Teacher or the City Missionary has already
gone as our pioneer. He has made the first assaidt
on the citadel of Satan ; has scaled the high wall of
vice and sin by which it is surrounded on all sides ;
and is ready to become the guide of all those who
wish to share with him the labour and the recom¬
pense of saving the lost. "With him for our guide,
we may visit every cellar and garret, receiving only
VOLÜNTAET YISITATIOK.
31
tokens of respect ; we may converse with them freely,
reason with them kindly, plead with them affection¬
ately, and pray with them fervently. Thus we may
give them an unmistakable proof that there are at
least some who care for their souls and for the souls
of their offspring. And our guide will joyfully wel¬
come such fellow-workers ; for it may be his usual lot
to labour on, unseen, unaided, and almost unknown.
In this course of missionary visitation, almsgiving is
unnecessary, undesirable, and in most cases positively
injurious. Very few of those who seem so wretched
are sufficiently to be trusted on a first interview to
become at once the objects of charitable relief. There
are better gifts than money, food, or clothing, which
may, with safety and incalculable benefit, be freely
distributed ;—faithful expostulation, solemn warning,
and kind words setting forth the Message of Peace.
The excellence and the defect, the strength and
the weakness of this kind of visitation appear fi-om
the above description. Its chief excellence and
strength lie in this ;—being so emphatically a work of
love, it will awaken, if anything will, some better
feelings in the minds of even the most ignorant and
worthless ; it will form at least one link between them
and that society which has well nigh cast them off.
Again, from the fact that we Englishmen, as a nation,
are great regardera of rank and station,—a feeling
that extends to the lowest classes, notwithstanding
their vaunted freedom of political sentiment and their
Chartist associations,—when men of good standing, of
reputation, and of gentlemanly bearing, go among
them, such may count with certainty on a respectful
reception. Their words wül be with power, and their
32 ITS STEENGTH AND ITS WEAKNESS.
very presence will lielp on the work of reformation.
Earnest, loving souls, that thus find their way into the
dark corners of our great cities, are like those holy
angels, who by Divine command trod the polluted
streets of Sodom, entered the abode of the patriarch,
and hastened him and his family out of the doomed,
guilty city.
îsor let any suppose that this work, in itself having
so few charms, and undertaken for objects so purely
unselfish, will be without any special Divine recom¬
pense. They who labour in this cause fulfil some of
the highest claims of our holy religion, and are most
like Him who left his mansion in glory that He might
"seek and save the lost." They shall have a good
return. The Spirit of God shall enlarge their hearts,
and make their consolation in affliction and adversity
greatly to abound ; shall strengthen their Christian
graces, and give them at times a joy that is "unspeak¬
able and full of glory" iu their Master's service. Psalm
xli. 1-8.
The weakness of voluntary visitation consists chiefiy
in the difficulty that there always will be in finding
suitable men, who are able and willing to devote
their time and talents to this work ; and in the want
of experience that will often characterize such volun¬
tary agents. It must also be acknowledged that
between them and the poor degraded creatures whom
they visit, the moral and intellectual chasm is so wide
that sometimes the actual interchange of thought and
feeling would be but small. From these three con¬
siderations, especially the first, it appears that to rely
solely on voluntary visitation wül be to trust to a
broken reed.
SALAEIED YISITATIOE".
33
2. In addition to voluntary visitors, others who are
salaried ought to be engaged and constantly employed.
Their work and office should be precisely analogous
to that of the salaried teacher and the salaried
missionary. That this method would work well is
evident at first sight, and indeed has been proved to
some extent by experience. Hitherto the object has
been limited, as we learn from a note appended to
the last Heport of the Hagged School Union, to the
following efiect :—" In connection with some (schools)
a regular system of visitation is kept up to the homes
of the scholars, and even 2i paid officer employed to
check improper admissions ; a plan that would be
found most useful in all localities." Why should not
such salaried visitors be engaged at once and employed
in sufficient numbers, not merely " to check improper
admissions," but also to prevent any who ought to he
in the School or Mefuge from heing left out? Would
it not be comparatively easy for two or three Schools
in every bad neighbourhood to unite in maintaining
a paid visitor ? It begins to be an acknowledged fact
that even Bagged Schools do not above half meet the
evil that they were intended to cure. The perishing
class must be sought if it is to be '^saved?^ Why
then should not every nook and corner, every cellar
and garret of these criminal and neglected districts
be explored ? Since new plans must be tried, why
not this among the first ? The only reply that I can
think of to these inquiries is—"Want of funds ; " a
reply which the urgency of the case and the excellency
of the method join to overrule.
The warmest friends of the Bagged School move¬
ment freely admit that there are thousands whom
n
3á
MISSIONAET VISITATIOTT.
the attractions of a free school will not suffice to draw
into the paths of knowledge and virtue. We must
seek them out, and take some pains to woo them,
else they will not be won. The spirit in which we set
about this new task is, therefore, of great consequence.
We shall succeed or fail according to the fitness or
unfitness of our means. It makes all the difference
whether a right or a wrong method is adopted. As a
general rule we must, as far as possible, use persuasion,
and avoid compulsion. In every case in which kind
and gentle methods are successful, a double advantage
is secured. The power of Christian love, and the
streams of Gospel truth are brought to bear on both
parents and children. Our chief aim is the good of
the children, but we may so seek this by a mission of
persuasion, that in many cases the parents will be
themselves put upon a better track, and enlisted as
helpers in the better training of their offspring.
What we want, then, is a well-selected and well-
organized staff of men, having a good share of the
shrewdness and knowledge of the world that distin¬
guish the detective police, in combination with
Christian love and pity for the suffering, the neg¬
lected, and vicious. These, being entirely devoted to
this department of labour, would acquire an accurate
knowledge of the habits, modes of living, thinking,
and feeling ; as well as of the wants, woes, and crimes
that prevail in this part of our population. They
would do a work that no one else is doing now. It is
too much to expect that the City Missionary can
include this among his duties. He visits the sick, he
comforts the dying, and lays himself out for the
religious instruction and salvation, chiefly of the
ITS EXCELLENCES.
35
adults ; and if his heart is fully engaged in his own
sphere of labour, he will not have time or strength
to spare for any other purpose. These salaried
visitors might keep a careful record of their daily
engagements, might collect valuable statistics, and, if
they are judicious and kind, might exert an amazing
influence for good. While they are " beating the
bush," teachers and City Missionaries will catch the
birds. The teachers cannot do both. To systematic
teaching we must add systematic visitation from house
to house.
Anyone may see that this is just the kind of effort
that will be most of all required, when the appliances
for a thorough reformatory movement, teachers, day
schools, and refuges, have been provided. "Without
the visitor, such a visitor as I have described, we shall
still be far from our object. Voluntary agents will
not be forthcoming, in sufficient numbers and effi¬
ciency, to do the work. To trust this right of search
at once in the hands of the police will be to half
spoil the best intentions and the wisest subsequent
efforts. The officer of the law ought not to be the
first who enters the dwelling of an Englishman, how¬
ever low in the social scale, in order to demand an
account of his mode of living, and of training his
children. The mission of love must in every case pre¬
cede the mission of law ; and must be supported in its
persuasive eflbrts by the knowledge that if love fails
law will follow. It must be generally known among
parents, that if they wiU not be persuaded they will
be compelled. Their low moral state obliges us to
deal with them as wise parents deal with their
children,—when gentle means fail, others must follow.
D 2
36
DOMICILTAET IKSPECTOES.
And, as it is in the ease of parents so will it be in the
national family ; firmness and vigour in the discharge
of our obligations will arm even words and looks with
power, and we shall often be saved the necessity, always
disagreeable, of having recourse to severity, as our
last or only resort.
If we would carry out this scheme of missionary
visitation, an increase of voluntary contributions as
well as liberal aid from the Government will be
required. And surely in no department of the public
service will money be better spent than in ferreting
out these nests of crime, and in bringing the " young
ones" under the influence of those efficient reforma¬
tory institutions which must ere long be established.
3. There is a lowest and vilest class, that can only
be brought under training by the power of law. The
final appeal, in the case of many, must be compulsion.
In addition to these missionary visitors, the reforma¬
tory movement will require legally appointed inspec¬
tors. "When persuasion has been tried without success,
the next step must be taken iy the State, icJiich claims
justly the right of investigating every discovered case
of parental neglect or perversion. I would suggest that
there is no method of doing this so free from objec¬
tion, and at the same time so thorough, as by the
appointment of a few public inspectors, who shall be
supported by the police in the discharge of their
duties. These duties will lie almost exclusively among
that portion of the population which, though not in
prison or under sentence, is nevertheless criminal. It
will be their business to examine into every case of
reported parental neglect or crime, and to bidng the
offenders before a magistrate, who, guided chiefly by
VALUE OF VISITATIOK.
37
the opimon of the inspector, shall have power to
remove children entirely from parental influence, and
place them for the future in the juvenile refuge.
Only by an energetic and systematic visitation of
these districts can we eflectually " seek and save."
Our first eflbrts in this way should be entirely mission¬
ary ; if suitable voluntary agents are willing to under¬
take any particular district, so much the better. Only
let the visitation be thorough and several times
repeated. All such cases as are found to be beyond
the reach of persuasion, or too bad to admit of refor¬
mation in the children by day school training, should
be reported to the public inspector. His visit wül
be essentially legal ;—a course of virtual punishment
to the parents, and of forcible deliverance to their
oflspring.
In this way we shall reach every class ; we shaD.
adapt our measures to each stage of degradation and
sin ; we shall give the least possible shock to parental
feelings ; interfere as little as possible with personal
liberty; dive, without fail, to the lowest depths of
the social abyss ; and in less than the course of one
generation root out without fail evils that now per¬
plex even the wisest by their complication and malig¬
nity. Neither of the above plans, however, can be
carried out till schools have been built wherever they
are wanted, teachers and funds provided, as well as
further legal powers obtained.
"While thus insisting strongly on the value and
importance of special agents as domiciliary visitors,
that we may thoroughly search into and overtake
those various forms of evil which we are aiming to
reach, one may readily admit that there are means, less
38 HOW CAN WE KEEP CUE SCHOLAES ?
stringent and thorougli, which will be valuable auxi¬
liaries. Thus often the City Missionary will be a great
help to the missionary visitor. And in like manner
when boys or girls are found abroad as vagrants, or
are detected in crime, the police, by bringing such at
once before the magistrates, or by reporting them to
the public domiciliary inspector, will render valuable
service. Such casual efforts, however, must not be
our only reliance. If we would with certainty get the
children under good training, we must be vigorous and
methodic in our procedure.
The next question needs now to be considered,—
II. How can we keep them long enough under this
good training in order to secure their permanent
reformation ?
That this is a question of some moment appears
from the fact, that in both town and country districts,
a great proportion leave our National and British
Schools too soon, and go out ioto the world only half
taught. They do not get enough even of elementary
instruction to enable them to read our ordinary popu¬
lar literaturê with pleasure or with profit ; certainly,
they do not get their minds sufficiently awakened to
inspire them with a desire to carry on and complete
an education which at school is, strictly speaking, only
just begun. If such is the state of things among
those who are comparatively settled and respectable,
what may we reasonably expect of the ragged and
wild ?
1. In reference to those whom it is judged expe¬
dient to place in the public refuge, the answer is at
hand. "With such we can do as we please. We can
detaiu them as long as is felt to be necessary for
BT MAKING THE SCHOOL ATTEACTIVE. 39
their good and for the good of society. To a certain
age—say thirteen years—parents, if able, might be
compelled to pay for their maintenance ; and after
that period the produce of their own industrial efforts
might suffice for this object. They need not be sent
out into life till they are prepared to maintain them¬
selves.
2, In reference to such as attend the day schools,
there is no answer so simple ; no plan so " thorough."
The great complaint of our Bagged School teachers is
that, at present, owing to irregularity of attendance,
and early removal from school, nearly every depart¬
ment loses half its efficiency. "Whether it be reading,
writing, sewing, tailoring, or shoemaking, the lesson
is only half learnt. This is an evil we shall never
completely overcome. But something may be done,
surely, which will lessen what cannot be altogether
removed. In reference to this matter the following
suggestions may be made.
(1.) Much will depend, and ought to depend, on the
attractions presented by the school itself. A good
teacher will not want for scholars. A bad teacher
will ruin any school. However severe we may be in
our dealings with parents who are profligate and with¬
out even natural affection, with the children we must
ever be gentle and kind. Their little hearts must
be wooed and won. Let us never forget that the
treasures which we wdsh to lay up in their mental
storehouse are of no rude material kind; that the
power and influence which we hope to obtain is not
the dominion of fear, but the gentler sway of holy
love. Our method, then, must be in accordance with
our object. Bear may make slaves and criminals ; only
40
BY VAEIOUS EEWABDS.
love and kindness can change them into citizens and
Christians. If we wish to keep the school-room full,
and the attendance regular, we must make the place
and its occupations agreeable.
As they get older, and the temptation to leave the
school increases, it will be well if we can find some
counteracting infiuence. There might be special ad¬
vantages held out as a reward for continuance in the
school, and for increasing general proficiency ; such as
a free passage to one of the colonies, or an introduc¬
tion to a good situation at home ; or such a measure
of instruction in some manual occupation as will in¬
sure, to all who are industrious, constant employment
and a fair measure of success in some honest calling.
Might we not lay down the general principle, that ele¬
mentary instruction shall predominate in the earlier
y ear s ^ and industrial in the latter portion of their time?
Perhaps some may be so far raised and reformed, and
show such natural ability, as will justify their being
employed as stipendiary monitors and pupil teachers.
The possibility of attaining either of the above
rewards for good behaviour and regularity, would do
much to counteract the temptations to which they are
exposed. To this we may add, that the visits of those
who are interested in the school; occasional public
examinations ; and the periodical visits of the In¬
spector of Schools, will do much to keep alive the zeal
and interest of scholars, teachers, and managers. By
never-failing and unwearied kindness on the part of
the teachers, both voluntary and paid ; by liberal prizes
and exhibitions suited to the rank and station of the
scholars ; as well as by the general arrangements of
the school-room, we may clothe the place and the
WATCHFUL ATTEHTIOH.
41
work with, charms so great as to induce many to
remain a long time under instruction.
(2.) It will often happen that this attractive power
is not enough. Brutal parents will neither feel nor
appreciate it. Hence, there will be many cases of
absence and irregularity. "VYhat is to be done next ?
Shall we not say, then, that a visit of inquiry and per¬
suasion must be our next step ? Thus we shall keep
to one principle in our method, both of getting them
to school, and of iceeping them there. In this work,
the salaried missionary visitor, being in constant com¬
munication with the teachers of a certain district,
would be just the person to hunt up truants, and warn
the irregular. By gentle methods, thus, we may in
most cases attain our object, remembering how often
they are victims rather than criminals, and how much
they will need " lino upon line, precept upon pre¬
cept," from all who try to do them good.
(3.) In every case of incorrigible irregularity, we
shall have an unfailing resource. It can be reported
to the public domiciliary inspector. He may at once
take the usual legal steps for placing all such in the
national refuge, or public boarding school.
To this we may add that, when elder boys or girls
have entered on some honest calling which prevents
their attending the day school, we should keep them
as long as we can in our evening classes, or entice
them into a reading-room, well stocked with books
and periodicals for their entertainment. Thus the
work of education might be carried on and secured.
The upward and onward movement need not cease.
And when they can no longer attend at all during
the week, ovring to the increase of other claims on
é2
IMPEOTED SCHOLAES
their time and attention, we must do them all the
good we can on the day of rest. By means of that
day we must keep our hold upon them, ever seeking
their highest welfare. As long as they are within our
reach we must, on no account, let them go.
Before concluding this chapter, I must notice
another question that has arisen in the management
of Bagged Schools ; especially as it is one which can
only be satisfactorily solved by regular visitation.
The case is thus stated in the last Beport of the
Union:—"In almost all the schools care is taken
only to admit those who cannot get schooling else¬
where ; and though improper cases do sometimes get
in, yet they are removed when discovered; and for
the future more care than ever will be exercised in
keeping to the right class ; it is acknow¬
ledged that many children are now in attendance
who are so much improved in manners, morals,
character, and appearance, that they no longer seem
to a casual observer the proper objects for a Bagged
School.
" "When, however, inquiry comes to be made, the
real condition of these children is as poor, and their
parents and homes as destitute, and perhaps as
depraved as they were ; and what to do with such
improved children puzzles your Committee, and per¬
plexes the Committee of almost every Bagged School
m London," etc.—See pp. 7 and 8, Beport for 1853.
The perplexity that has been thus extensively felt
arises in part from misconception, and in part from
the present incompleteness of our educational system.
It arises, iu part, from misconception, for surely by
our use of the name "Bagged School," we do not
MUST BE EITHER KEPT OR TRAKSEERRED. 43
mean to afiSrm that raggedness and dirt are now, and
always will be, the only or the chief requisites in order
to admission to the free schools that have been thus
called. Extreme 'poverty^ inability to pay, is the
fundamental reason for admitting any child to such
schools. But this perplexity also arises in part from
the incompleteness of our present educational system.
Bor if the schools next in order above Bagged Schools,
and requiring a small weekly payment, ofíered superior
advantages, parents would feel the desirability of
transferring their children to them. In this way the
diflElculty would be greatly diminished, but not alto¬
gether removed.
In reference to all such cases there is only one
rule that is safe or expedient. If we do not wish
to lose some of the best and most pleasing results
of our toil, if we would not have them go back
again to degradation and dirt far more rapidly and
easily than they have risen to their present position,
if we would not deprive ourselves of the constant
influence for good which they exert in the school,
we must not part with them, or allow them to leave
the spot in which they have reformed,—the place of
their conversion and restoration to respectability and
virtue, till they and their parents are willing that such
a transfer should take place. Only by a systematic
course of visitation can enough be known concerning
the habits, circumstances, and wishes of the parents,
to settle a point of so much delicacy and importance.
If they are willing to pay the usual charge of the
school next higher in the social scale, the greater
advantages and better associations of such school
being felt to be a suflB.cient attraction, then, and not
44
IMPROTÏ:D SCnOLAES.
tiU then, should thej be dismissed from the one school
and transferred to the other. Every such transfer
should be made with due form, and may well be
regarded as just cause for congratulation and
triumph.
45
CHAPTER V.
bagged school teachebs,
Their qualifications—Modes of discovering and obtaining such
as are duly qualified—The missionary character of the work.
"We wish you in His name
The most divine success,
Assured that He who sends you forth
Will your endeavours bless."
The brightest point in the whole circle of Eagged
School operations is, that a large portion of the
teaching is a Christian free-will offering;—springs
from love to God and love to man, from gratitude to
the Eedeemer and pity for the lost. These volunteers
give a tone to the whole effort. Nor is it easy to
estimate the amount of self-denying energy thus con¬
secrated to the cause. To the honour of Christ and
of his Gospel, let it be told, that many who are edu¬
cated and wealthy leave the charms and joys of a
happy home, that they may carry thoughts of truth,
of virtue, and of heaven, to the outcasts of the city ;
and that others, who have driven the pen, or plied the
needle, throughout the day, give up all thought of
rest and ease that they may sally forth in quest of
those who are without knowledge, without friends,
"without hope, and without God in the world."
46
VOLTJNTAET TEACHEES.
When wo add, that there are more than seventeen
hundred voluntary teachers in the metropolis alone,
we have placed before the reader one great reason
why so much of success has been realized, and so
strong a hold obtained both on the hearts of the
scholars and on the mind of the public.
One great merit of those who began this noble
work is, that they saw the excellences of the old
Sunday School system and were not ashamed to copy
them, as well as its defects, which they resolved to
supply. For this object they grafted into the good
old tree their new ideas. They saw a lowest class of
society untouched and unsaved by any existing insti¬
tutions, and they resolved to reach them. Taught
themselves by a wisdom that cometh from above, they
saw that only by generous voluntary effort could they
make any deep impression on the souls of others.
Christian love had already overflowed in the Sunday
School ; it must overflow still more if it is to reach the
ragged and destitute. On this persuasion they acted,
and we now see the delightful results. And we may
add that, if the work is to be kept instinct with life
and power, there must ever be mingled with other
forms of labour a good share of those workings of
willinghood which gave to it so good a beginning.
As our plans become more complete a larger number
of paid teachers will be wanted and must be employed.
But we trust that many will still come, unpaid and
unsought, bringing with them the free-will offering of
their time, their knowledge, and their strong Christian
love. And let us never forget that, whether the ser¬
vices rendered are remunerated or not, there may be
the same excellent spirit, the same zeal, the same self-
QUALIFICATIONS.
47
denying efforts, tlie same Divine blessing, and conse¬
quently, the same success.
A short experience as manager of some National or
British School will satisfy anyone that good teachers
are not yet plentiful. Grreat credit, however, is due
to the Government and to the different educational
societies for aU that they have done and are still
doing in order to supply this deficiency. It is cheering
to know that a good work in this department is being
quietly effected ; for no other advantages will supply
the lack of vivacious and energetic teachers. Having
these, any school will prosper. A good teacher will
be a fountain of order and kind feeling, of intelligence
and piety, of peace and joy to the community over
which he presides, whether that community be a
small class or a large school. The form of govern¬
ment is essentially monarchical, and may be there¬
fore either paternal or despotic,—either a great blessing
or a great curse.
1. A few things may be fitly said; first, on the
qualities of mind and heart that are most likely to
ensure success in conducting a Bagged School.
The portraiture of a high standard of excellence in
any department has both its advantages and its dis¬
advantages. There are some courageous energetic
souls, whom it only stimulates ; and there are other
and feebler spirits, whom it depresses. Besides
which, it must always be remembered, that the weak¬
nesses and frailties of human nature hinder the fre¬
quent realization of any ideal picture. On the majority
of minds, however, the contemplation of great excel¬
lence exerts a healthful influence, and beckons them
on to yet higher attainments.
48
QUALIFICATIONS
Let US then endeavour to form some adequate con¬
ception of a good Bagged School teacher. He should
be one that is originally gifted with some aptitude for
teaching; should know how to simplify and explain
each subject that he needs to handle. Tea, more, he
should be able to clothe even the commonest things
with an interest that is not common. The power to
do this thoroughly, and especially for children, is in a
great measure native, and is seldom acquired. There
are born teachers, as well as born preachers. Per¬
suasive eloquence in addressing children is even more
scarce than that which captivates those who are of
riper years. Education, however, does much to qualify
those who are not possessed of any extraordinary native
talent. Our wisdom, therefore, will consist in making
the best of the materials that are witliin our reach.
If only those were engaged as preachers and teachers
who possess native talent and special aptitude, our
supply of both would be short indeed.
His education and general attainments should be
about the same as are required for the best of our Na¬
tional and British Schools. His manner and methods
should be distinguished by so mucli vivacity and cheer¬
fulness that school-hours become to the children the
happiest portions of the day. If he is wise he wiH
endeavour to convey to their minds a knowledge of
things rather than of icords. The realms of nature, as
well as of art, science, and religion, will combine to
furnish him with a never-ending variety of subjects for
collective teaching. Experience and study will enable
hiTn to find that aspect of every subject which is most
to the taste, and most within the comprehension of
their infant minds. He wiU study the lessons or
OF EAGGED SCHOOL TEACHEES.
49
lectures for the coming day ; will plentifully diversify
aU his instructions by questioning his youthful audi¬
ence, and by encouraging them to question him. He
will devote himself wholly to his daily duties, feeling
that it is a great work, that demands all his powers of
body, mind, and soul.
It is, however, in the moral and religious depart¬
ment that he will most excel. Here he must concen¬
trate all his powers in order to make a strong and
lasting impression. Grod forbid that ever, in any
educational movement for our lower classes, religion
should be excluded from the daily scheme of training
and instruction ! Sectarianism we may and can shut
out, without sacrificing that spiritual power and that
reforming influence which only religion and a religious
teacher can exert. Here, also, the judicious teacher
will be more concerned about things than words. His
aim will be to awaken the mind, to arouse the con¬
science, and melt the heart ; that he may graft on each
the great truth, that there is a God who made them,
and who sees and loves them still. The loading of
the memory with catechisms and creeds he will utterly
abjure, that he may, with pains-taking and prayer,
gently let fall into their souls living truths and holy
principles.
When we call to mind the condition of his scholars,
it is easy to see that the right and cheerful discharge
of his duties week after week, month after month, and
year after year, will demand no ordinary amount of
self-control and self-denial ; of unfeigned love for
the children, and for the work of teaching; united
with the still higher gifts, love to Christ and to im¬
mortal souls. He will require a zeal which not a
E
50
MOEAL POWEE OP TEACHEES.
little that is disheartening or disgusting will damp or
destroy. Perseverance, unvarying kindness without
indulgence, dignity and firmness without either dis¬
tance of manner or severity, and gentleness without
weakness,—these are only some of the qualities that
are absolutely demanded in order to success in his
work. "Well may they who are engaged in it exclaim,
with the holy and energetic Apostle Paul, "Who is
sufficient for these things?" Happy are they, if, in
the exercise of faith in the Redeemer, they can add,
" Our sufficiency is of God! " The wisdom that they
so urgently need cometh down from above, is Divinely
promised, and may be had in answer to prayer : " K
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it
shall be given him," James i. 5.
Teachers, who understand their work and are quali¬
fied for it, cannot labour long, even among the most
unpromising, without some manifest tokens of success.
When moral energy and unflinching determination
are united with Christian love, they cannot but be
powerful. Often have they proved strong enough to
tame the wildest and reform the most abandoned.
How much more then may we expect from them,
when brought to bear on the still somewhat suscep¬
tible minds of the young! Among boys and girls an
earnest and affectionate teacher will soon obtain great
influence. He will secure from them reverence and
respect, and, what is of still greater consequence, he
will win their confidence and love. In his radiant
countenance they will read the happiness that arises
from virtue and piety. His eyes cannot glisten with
satisfaction without letting fall a few rays of light on
HOW MAT TEACHEES BE EOTJND ?
51
their dark and often joyless spirits ; nor fill with
tears of sympathy and love without awakening in them
a new and more tender feeling than they have known
before. His words wiU be with power. When he
rebukes, the consciences of all will be involuntarily
summoned to confirm his decision. When he com¬
mends, the words he utters will have an unwonted
sweetness and value. The power of character will
pervade all that he says and does. To obey him will
be one of their first and readiest impulses. His
maxims will be remembered and treasured for many
days. In him the loveliness of honesty, diligence,
truthfulness, and godliness will begin to be seen
even by those whom society had almost given over to
inevitable ruin. And how sweetly will kind words
from him fall on the ears of the orphan and the out¬
cast ! With what joy will they behold in him father,
mother, and teacher, all joined in one !
The outlines above given convey, perhaps, some
definite idea of what the Eagged School teacher
should aim to be, whether voluntary or paid ; whether
his department is intellectual and moral, or industrial.
Character is of immense consequence in all who teach,
and exerts a subtle influence on the taught that ought
never to be overlooked or forgotten. Manifest and
genuine, indeed, must be the excellence that will not
only counteract unfavourable home and out-of-school
influences, but also, with the blessing of Grod, graft
itself successfully on the souls of the corrupt and
depraved.
2. Let us inquire for the methods by which a noble
band of self-denying and zealous teachers may be
created or discovered. When the work of juvenile
E 2
52
MEANS MUST BE EMPLOYED.
reformation is taken up in earnest "by the nation a
large number will be required ; and to find such as
are in every respect well qualified will be no easy
task. Our ultimate faith must be in the God of all
grace, who in every age of the world, and in all states
of society, has raised up agents for the work that
most needed to be done. With an unwavering confi¬
dence, therefore, let us " pray unto the Lord of the
harvest, that he would send forth more labourers into
his harvest." When we remember that success de¬
pends mainly on the character of the teacher, and that
the qualities of mind and heart most needed,—aptness
to teach, an afiectionate disposition, and Christian
love in the soul,—are in a special sense gifts, and not
acquirements, how frequently and fervently should we
pray that the God of all grace would implant in the
souls of many the disposition to consecrate themselves
to this cause, the powers of mind that ensure success,
and, above all, the right spirit for this great and noble
work !
If, however, we would find them, some suitable
means must be employed. Probably there are many
men and women, who, though engaged at present in
other callings, are of the right stamp, and might with
great advantage be trained and pressed into this
service. Inquiry might be made for them of ministers
of the Gospel, of superintendents of Sunday Schools,
and in our most efficient schools under regular
government inspection.
Something, too, must be done to retain them when
they have been found ; and to keep them " up to the
mark" when they have entered on their duties. Their
salaries must not be niggardly ; so small as to add to
HOW OAH TEACHEES BE ENCOUEAGED ? 53
their other cares and burdens a constant anxiety
concerning the support of themselves and their
families. A liberal public must liberally sustain them.
It is not fair to expect any one class of society to
become martyrs for the benefit of the rest ; or that
superior excellence in any department of life, commer¬
cial, mental, or spiritual, can be permanently secured
without the certainty of a proportionate remuneration.
Small salaries will inevitably produce, in the long run,
inefiS.cient teachers and unsuccessful ministers.
To this we may add that in a work so trying,—a
work that makes so great a demand on the bodily
strength, mental vigour, and moral power of those
engaged in it,—the occasional presence and sympathy
of kindred spirits must be most agreeable and en¬
couraging, This the teacher may have in several
different ways. It will be helpful if occasional or
systematic assistance is rendered in tuition. To a
good teacher, however, voluntary aid will hardly be
acceptable, unless it is rendered without interfering
with established rules and plans, and in a spirit that
accords with the self-denying and wholly benevolent
character of the work. It is hardly likely, however,
that there will be a redundancy of volunteers in any
district; so many and so various are the Christian
institutions that are calling for personal service in one
form or another, and so numerous the claims of daily
life in the majority of families.
A good infiuence also will be exerted, both on the
teacher and on the scholars, if the managers and sup¬
porters are frequent visitors of the school. Some of
these should occasionally address the whole school
on some interesting subject; or deliver an evening
54
IT IS A MISSIONAEY WOEK, AND
lecture, illustrated by pictures and diagrams, wbich
elder scholars and parents are requested to attend.
The zeal and interest, both of the teacher and of the
supporters of the school, might be renewed and
quickened by periodical tea meetings, devoted espe¬
cially to Bagged Schools and City Missionary opera¬
tions. A most salutary influence is often exerted by
the regular visits of Her Majesty's Inspector. By aU
means let our Bagged Schools and Befuges enjoy the
beneflt and stimulus that are thus secured.
If it be said that the above suggestions have none of
them the merit of novelty, it may be replied that their
excellence has been tested by experience. School-
keeping is always liable enough to settle down into a
dull routine of duties, without life or zeal ; in no case
is this so likely to happen as where the scholars are
ignorant and uninteresting ; hence there are but few
teachers of popular schools who will not absolutely
require the encouragements and stimuli that are here
referred to.
3. The great idea that needs to be wrought into the
minds of teachers, and, indeed, of all that take part in
this movement, is, that our work is essentially mission¬
ary, To overlook this in any of the arrangements made
by societies, or by the nation at large, would be a
fatal mistake. What the City Missionary, sanitary
laws, reading rooms, etc., are to the adult population,
all this, and more than this, must the Bagged School
teacher be to his youthful charge. It is on this
account that Bagged Schools and Beformatory Insti¬
tutions cannot be grafted into our state policy without
materially diminishing, if not actually destroying, their
chief element of living power. Assistance, to a liberal
MÜST BE CAEEIED OM" BT CHEISTIATT MEK. 55
amount, they will demand and deserve ; but the inter¬
position of law, except in the very worst cases, must
be deprecated, as being out of harmony with the funda¬
mental principle of the whole movement, and likely in
the end to do more harm than good. Our primary
object must not be the welfare of the State, but the
reformation and salvation of the individual. The
affections of individuals require to be gradually won.
They must be made willing agents in the work of self-
reformation. Hence our great reliance must be upon
the persuasive power of our teachers, visitors, etc.
The Christian church, therefore, through the agency
of associations composed of the wisest and best of her
members, must find the men and women who will
carry on this cause ; the State, however, if it is wise,
will help to find the means. The connection between
individual reform and social regeneration is so direct
and manifest, as to make the claim for pecuniary
grants irresistibly strong. In return for grants
annually made, aid that the State requires is—what
every other subscriber also expects in like manner—
liberty to look into the school-room, to question both
teacher and scholars, and see that the money so con¬
tributed is rightly applied.
If the reformatory movement, now gaining strength
in this country, is to be successful—if we are not to
repeat in a new form the failures of the past—we must
have the patience and take the pains that are necessary
to win the concurrence of individual minds and wills, in
our plans for their elevation and salvation. In order
to accomplish this at the greatest advantage, we must
commence the work in the early and susceptible period
of childhood ; and we must avail ourselves of all those
56
THE SCHOOL A MISSIOH-SCHOOL.
motives wTiicla long experience has proved to be most
influential. In other words, our chief effort must be
to teach and train the young, and in so doing religion
must have a prominent place. The work has two
aspects ; one that relates to society and to time—
begins and ends with man in his relationship to his
fellows ; and another, that comprehends in its scope
the well-being of the individual, both in time and in
eternity, the glory of Grod, the extension of the
Saviour's kingdom, and all the motives that may be
derived from His commands and example—from His
benevolent deeds. His sufferings, and His death. It
is easy to see which of these two aspects wiU give us
most power with those whom we desire to rescue—
will most influence their hearts and lives. Thus again
it appears that it is a mission^ and not a mere course
of state policy, that will meet the difliculties and the
urgency of the case. It is the absence of religion that
leads to the negation of all virtue. They do not " fear
God," and this is the great reason why they do not
"regard man." It is not, therefore, a mere school¬
master that is wanted, however many and great his
acquirements may be. In one person the missionary
and the schoolmaster or mistress must be combined.
Ignorance may be removed by the communication of
knowledge, but vice can only be dethroned by exem¬
plary virtue ; selflshness, by the purest Christian love ;
and inveterate depravity, by the brightest examples of
Christian excellence. Those who only know how to
scold and drive, who have neither tact nor patience
gradually to acquire influence and power over the dis¬
orderly and the disobedient, had better not enter our
Bagged Schools.
TEACHERS ARE MISSIONARIES,
57
Oh that all our teachers may rise to the full dignity
of their calling; may remember that they are not
merely teachers, but in the truest sense of the word
missionaries ; and that it is their chief and ultimate
object to gather these stray lambs into one fold, and
under one Shepherd !
The school is a Mission School, In it are en¬
countered the difficulties and trials of a missionary
life, blended with some of its purest joys, its most
glorious conquests, and its most striking results.
When teachers, both paid and voluntary, imbibe plen-
teously the missionary spirit, abound in love to Christ,
and love to souls, they cannot labour in vain.
While we write, some are exemplifying the zeal and
self-sacrifice here described :—" In the name of Jesus
we hail and congratulate you as being in intimate
.fellowship with the noble band of apostles and martyrs,
—all followers of Him who came ' to seek and to save
the lost,' A thousand difficulties beset your path, and
tend to discourage your hearts ; but in proportion to
the difficulty is the glory of surmounting it ; and
equal to every emergency is the Divine aid that you will
receive. Your fortitude and diligence, your abounding
love and unwearied patience, are Divinely observed,
Divinely approved, and will be Divinely commended,
Not one of your efibrts -will be forgotten by that Saviour
to whom you have dedicated your whole energies, both
of mind and body. Not one of your prayers and
tears over perishing souls will be wasted. Tour
' labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.' On earth
you shall receive some return. No small reward will
it be to see the fruit of your toils, to trace the
tokens of the Eedeemer's approving regard, and to
58
THE WOEK ITSELE HOBLE.
look forward to tlie great day of account, when you
will be able to say, ' Lord, here am I, and the children
whom thou hast given me.'
" In your labours, you bring together the opposite
forces of the moral universe, God and Satan, holiness
and sin, heaven and hell. The work must be arduous.
The struggle must be severe. But who can estimate
the greatness and the glory of the result in every
case of triumph? "Who can understand fully how
noble a work is done, when one of these young
outcasts is delivered from the thraldom of sin and
Satan, and becomes a citizen in the kingdom of Christ ?
—when the destiny, that would have been eternally
downwards, from lower to still lower depths of sin
and unutterable woe, becomes, under your guiding
influence, by a joyous inward transformation, an eter¬
nally progressive and ascending movement ; ever
onwards and upwards to higher and still higher states
of purity, joy, and love ?"
59
CHAPTEE VI.
THE SCHOOL-EOOM.
Appropriate buildings—Pictorial teacbing—Industrial apparatus.
The provision of suitable buildings in which to collect
our scholars, and bring them under the influence of
reforming principles and occupations, is a matter of
sufficient consequence to demand a separate con¬
sideration. If our plans are to be distinguished by
completeness as well as by fitness, we must have in
every district school-rooms for infants, boys, and girls ;
and a residence or residences for the teachers, which
might be sufficiently capacious and convenient to
allow of some of its apartments being used as a night-
refuge for the houseless and homeless that attend the
school. Besides which, there will need to be erected,
in regions that are healthy and pure in every sense,
a limited number of permanent refuges, or reformatory
boarding-schools for the reception of those who must
be removed entirely from corruption and contamination,
in order that we may have any chance of success.
To the carrying out of this plan, the expense has
hitherto been an insuperable obstacle, except in a
very few instances. Voluntary contributions have
been and will be totally insufficient to meet the
60
AID FROM THE STATE.
demand. Notwitlistanding the munificence of a few,
and the liberality of many, not a tenth part of the
work is yet accomplished. Indeed, the question needs
to be honestly met, whether it is fair to expect the
more benevolent and religious part of the nation to
bear the whole of the expense involved. Why should
all the burden be laid on willing shoulders ?—on the
shoulders of those who in the general way are least of
all chargeable with past neglect, either of tlieir own
countrymen or of heathen lands ? If the truth must
be spoken out plainly, would there not be a measure
of injustice even in permitting them to supply the
whole demand, if they were willing and able to do so ?
But however willing the friends of the destitute may
be, they have not the means. Hence both necessity
and justice unite in affirming, that a very considerable
proportion of the required outlay must come from the
public funds. The evil is national, its pernicious
consequences are national, and the efibrt for its removal
must be national also. In small towns and villages,
as well as in the worst of our city districts, the
erection and maintenance of a school for the poor is
felt to be a great tax and a heavy burden. There are
many interesting exceptions to this state of things;
but they are exceptions. Either there is a master and
mistress of unusual excellence ; or some influential
person, the clergyman, the squire, or the dissenting
minister takes an exceedingly active part in the school ;
or there is a managing committee that is unusually zea¬
lous and diligent.
The two chief reasons for the difficulty thus felt in
raising the requisite funds for building and main¬
taining schools in the poorer districts seem to be ;
THE YOLEFTAEY PEIHCIPLE.
61
rirst, — Sectarianism hinders various denominations
of Christians from supporting the same school.
Secondly,—The object itself seems to be wanting in
that power to call forth the liberality of the public,
which happily is possessed by institutions of a purely
religious character. Besides this, in all districts,
whether populous and wealthy, or thinly inhabited and
poor, there is a large number of persons who have
not love enough either for Grod or man to produce in
them any lively interest in schools ; and some few
who still oppose any further education of the people.
To rely, therefore, on the voluntary principle alone
for the extension and maintenance of the cause, is a
course that is neither just in itself, nor warranted by
the results of experience. Only by a wise combination
of national liberality with the zeal and benevolence
already at work in the country will the end be
attained.
As, however, I shall discuss the relation of Bagged
Schools to the Grovemment, all further argument may
be deferred till then. Suffice it to say here, that
school buildings, for the reformation of such as are
the special subject of this Essay, will not be found
without liberal assistance from the State ; and that a
further consideration of the subject will show, that of
all grants these are least open to objection or complaint
from amy class of the community.
The points to be considered in the erection of
schools, refuges, etc., are fitness, simplicity, and
economy. Those buildings are most appropriate, that
symbolize by their very appearance the objects that
we have in view. It is possible for even these dumb
walls to declare great truths and daily duties. "We
62 THE BUILDINGS MOST SUITABLE.
shall gain something if the children feel on entering
our school-rooms that they are in a new world of
order, cleanliness, and kindness, strangely and strik¬
ingly different from that in which their previous life
has been passed. Novelty and contrast may prove
most helpful agents in the work of reformation. Our
school-houses should not be on a large scale ; not
grand or expensive, but plain, substantial, airy
structures, declaring themselves to be the offspring,
not of condescending patronage, but of generous
Christian principle. TiU these are ready, it may
be well to hire the most convenient places that can
be had. But we must not rest tül, not merely the
metropolis, but also every poor district, in town and
country, is adequately furnished with the means of
obtaining a good plain education.
The interior of the school-room must be marked
by cleanliness, comfort, and cheerfulness. Cleanli¬
ness rightly stands first of these requirements. What¬
ever the condition of the children may be, this rule
must be adhered to. The work of reformation may¬
be in part carried on, by giving them a practical proof
that purity and pleasure are closely connected. We
may thus make them more dissatisfied with dirt,
either on their persons or at their homes. Cheer¬
fulness and comfort should never be overlooked, for
by their means the teacher wiU often be aided in col¬
lecting and keeping his pupils. Many, who are at
first attracted by that which ministers only to the
body, wül afterwards learn to value that which warms
the heart, cleanses the mind, and saves the soul.
And shall we not say that the very presence of
these hospitable asylums for the ignorant, in the
SCHOOL APPAEATUS.
63
midst of districts hitherto altogether neglected and
destitute, will be a standing proof to the lower classes
that neither the Church nor the State has utterly cast
them off ? Will they not eloquently assert that there
are wise legislators, Christian ministers, and a benevo¬
lent public, whose ardent desire it is to see them
closely united to the social body, and raised to circum¬
stances of respectability and enjoyment? If the site
of the " Free School " be fitly chosen, and the building
itself appropriate, one great step is taken towards
the abolition of raggedness, heathenish ignorance, and
squalid wretchedness, throughout all future generations.
The apparatus for teaching and the arrangements
of the school-room should agree with the general
principle that has been already laid down,—that
intellectual developement should be combined with
industrial occupation. The earlier stages must of
necessity be chiefly elementary, and in this part of
the course we shall find the value of everything that
will give fresh brightness to the eye, wiU arouse in
the mind new powers of reflection, and suggest new
trains of thought,—of everything that will awaken
pure and generous feelings in the heart, and give a
right tone to the conscience. As the scholars advance
in years and in knowledge, a larger share of their
time might be spent in industrial training; and for
this obvious reason, that the period is drawing nearer
when they must shift for themselves, and that it is
by their hoiïids and not by their wits that their liveli¬
hood is to be secured. Everyone knows that the
education of the middle and higher classes, which
begins with instruction in languages, science, etc.,
and includes throughout moral training, is afterwards
64 THE INTELLECTUAL AND MOEAL DEPAETMENT.
completed by the study of some special subjects, with
a view to commercial or professional duty. The mea¬
sure of our success depends, to a great extent, on
our being able to work out the same idea for children
belonging to the lower classes. It must be done of
course on a much narrower scale, suited to their lower
station in society. The means must agree with the
end. An honest craft must be acquired by even the
poorest and most neglected. When, after much careful
training and teaching, we take leave of our scholars,
it must be with the least possible chance of their being
driven again into the ranks of the necessitous and the
perishing.
For each part of the work wise and suitable arrange¬
ments will need to be made. Materials and apparatus
must not be wanting. What then will be most re¬
quired ?
(1.) A suggestion or two may be made concerning
the intellectual and moral department. Here it is
plain that the ordinary elementary subjects, reading,
writing, and arithmetic, must occupy the chief place.
A good work is done when any one of these arts is
thoroughly acquired. The great fault of most of our
schools for the people is, that these lowest of all
lessons are so imperfectly learnt. Take for instance
the first. How few boys and girls, on leaving British
and National Schools, can read oif with intelligence
and fluency the very things that might interest and
entertain them, and so carry on the work of edu¬
cation! Now, why is this? Is there any fault in
the methods employed, that so little real success
has followed ? (The same remarks might be made,
though perhaps with scarcely the same force, in refe-
PICTOEIAL TEACHING.
65
rence to writing and reckoning.) Perhaps our mode
of teaching has not been altogether without fault. We
have not enough striven to malee reading a source of
enjoyment to our scholars. Eeading-books have been
too often sucb as could not by any possibility have
possessed many charms for the minds of children. In
our own families we make constant use of pictures as
an unfailing resource in the work of rudimentary in¬
struction. Might we not use more freely, than we
have yet done, picture-books, and collective pictorial
teaching also, for the lower classes ? Here we have
one point at least in which children of every rank
agree ; yea, even those who, by means of early neglect
and early sorrows, have lost the childlike spirit. They
all are entertained and delighted with pictures ; and
if to that which pleases the eye we can add that
which will open and furnish the mind, a good work
will be gracefully done. And it will be thoroughly
done too, for lessons thus learnt would not be speedily
forgotten.
In Ragged Schools this system of pictorial teaching
would have a special efficacy, and might be carried out
with good results in a variety of departments. We
might have pictures of birds, beasts, and fishes ; of
trees, plants, and fiowers ; of scenes in other lands ;
mountains, waterfalls, and beautiful landscapes ; of
nature in all her moods ; of the placid lake, the
stormy ocean, and the wild tornado. Art and science
too might be thus illustrated and explained. What a
source of interesting collective instruction might be
found in a large drawing of a locomotive engine ! Tea,
even morality might be inculcated pictorially. The
terrible results of drunkenness might be illustrated
E
66
PICTOEIAL TEACHING.
by a set of pictures, suited to the comprehension of
children, and likely to impress their minds. And the
poor child might have a " Pictorial Sunday Book,"
similar in style to those elegant works which have
been published for the use of the wealthier classes.
No subject opens a wider or more fruitful field than
the Bible. Many have taken a dislike to the sacred
volume through its having been injudiciously used as
a school-book for ordinary reading lessons. More
wisely should we act if we taught our scholars early
to love it, as being the fountain whence their earliest
and purest enjoyments have been drawn.
A vivacious teacher, well-provided with the materials
above suggested, could hardly fail of inoculating the
minds of his youthful charge with a desire for infor¬
mation, and with a disposition to read books, not
merely as a duty, but for the pleasure and entertain¬
ment they afford. He is the best teacher, the force of
whose endeavours is apparent in the after-history of
his pupils ; who gives to them a movement in the
right direction, so lasting and powerful, that it may
be traced to the end of their lives. And, strictly
speaking, the good work does not cease then ; but is
carried on in waves of salutary influence, that pass
from soul to soul, and especially from father to son,
through many generations.
Doubtless there are many other innocent and
pleasing artifices which a teacher, who is 'up to the
mark,' would employ in order to engage the minds
and hearts of his scholars. Love is proverbially in¬
ventive, and there is no reason why this kind of love
should prove an exception to the rule. By teaching
them pretty songs ; by pleasant surprises in the sub-
IMPOETAKCE OF INBÜSTEIA-L TEACHING. 67
ject of collective instruction; by freqnent change of
occupation; and, above all, by good humour at all
times, and under all circumstances, he may endear
himself to them to an extent that neither tongue
can tell nor pen describe.
(2.) A more extended and careful consideration
must be given to the industrial department, for here
we meet with some of the greatest of our theoretical
and practical difficulties. As another ground for a
fuller illustration and more careful discussion of this
head, one might add its immense importance. One
great reason why so many fall into the ranks of poverty
and crime is, that it is impossible for them to do
otherwise. They have no alternative. Any other
course is a moral impossibility. Many are orphans,
and many more have parents that are altogether un¬
worthy of the name. Hence they have been brought
up in idleness, inured to the hardships, and exposed
to the temptations of a vagrant life. One great and
-prominent olject of Eagged Schools, and of any more
extensive reformative movement, must be to root out
the evils that have been thus engendered, and to
prevent the future growth amongst us of a class so
useless and dangerous to society. Hence it is most
evident that it is a prime object to prompt and pre¬
pare our scholars to obtain an honest livelihood for
themselves. It is not too much to say, that the
formation of honest industrious habits is even of
greater importance than book-learning, both to the
scholars themselves and to the weH-beiag of the
country.
The opportunity of learning and exercising some
honest calling, that will supply the worker with aU
E 2
68 NATT7EAL EIGHT TO HECESSAEIES.
the necessaries and a few of the comforts of life,
without crime in any of its forms, is a kind of natural
right, which no peculiar state of society can either
set aside or destroy. When even a few are shut out
from doing this, there is something fearfully wrong—
a great fault somewhere. It is a terrible state of
things when either theft or prostitution become,
even to a small class of society, almost a necessity.
Without at all verging towards the dangerous
fallacies of Communism, we may a£5rm that all who
are brought into being have a natural right, first,
during infancy and childhood to be cared for and
fed by others, and afterwards to be placed in such
circumstances as will enable them to get a livelihood
for themselves. Having been born, they have a right
to live. We do not say that they have a right
to any of the luxuries of fife,—no, not even to the
humblest of them. There are luxuries for the body,
for the mind, and for the soul. To none of these is
there any claim. But in each case there are neces¬
saries that cannot be denied without crime on the part
of society, and consequent punishment. It is the
leant of these necessaries for hody, mind, and soul,—
the neglect of a natv/ral and indestructible law, that has
filled these dark places of our great cities with poverty,
ignorance, and ungodliness.
Let me once more say plainly and emphatically,
that not the mere communication of knowledge, nor
the developement of the intellect, should be mainly
sought in Bagged Schools. Our great aim is to graft
on the wüd natures of the children useful habits,
sound principles, and industrial skül. Mere knowledge
will unquestionably be not a blessing, but a curse.
INJUDICIOUS TEACHING.
69
Apart from the consideration that without good moral
training we only make them thereby more dangerous,
there is another evil which we shall certainly have to
encounter—we shall be placing our scholars in a false
position, to their own injury, and to our own
serious discomfort. However contemptuously our
most enthusiastic educationists may think and speak
of the old objection that by giving knowledge freely to
the lower classes Ave till them with conceit, and unfit
them for their future duties and station, there is
some real truth in the charge. It is quite possible
to give such an education as shall, in a measure,
unfit them for one position, without fitting them for
another. This would be to spoil our scholars instead
of educating them. One is reminded here of the old
saying, " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
We must ever beware of making them superficial and
self-satisfied ; amazingly pleased with themselves, but
equally displeased with their station and its duties.
If we should fall into this error we shall have onlv
M
ourselves to blame. It is not that we do wrong by
educating, but hy educating injudiciously. It is one
essential part of the education of every girl and boy
to acquire some degree of fitness for the actual life's-
work which the future will proba;bly unfold. What¬
ever is done in the intellectual department ought
to be done well. Tree scholars on leaving ought to
be able - to read, Avrite, and cypher, well; and ought
besides to have attained a good amount of general
information. Having this as a kind of foundation,
our superstructure, in all free schools for the poor,
should be industrial. The means must agree with
the end j and the end is not to make them conceited
70 MUTUAL EELATIOKS OF EICH AHD PODE.
and insufferable as servants, operatives, or citizens,
but contented, bappy, and useful.
Our task is by no means an easy one. "We try to
obey, within reasonable limits, the natural law which
has given rise to differences of rank and station ; but
at the same time it is our direct aim to restrain some
of its extreme results. We see and uphold the
rights of the highest as well as of the lowest classes of
society. Finding two natural laws in conflict with
each other, we feel that they must be brought into
harmony again—so modified and adjusted in their
workings that the very poorest may obtain that which
is necessary for body, mind, and soul, and yet at the
same time the richest have the secure and undisturbed
enjoyment of his wealth. While some live in luxury
unbounded, all ought to be able to live honestly.
Tea more, we believe that the higher classes are only
safe when the poorest are fed, clothed, taught, and
employed. Hence appears the absolute necessity,
and the manifest expediency, of combining with other
instruction, especially in the case of elder scholars, an
extensive system of industrial training.
Supposing all theoretical difficulties to be either
overcome or disregarded, one of a practical nature
still remains—How shall we find employments that
wül afford sufficient scope for the formation at school
of good industrial habits, and at the same time prepare
our scholars for the day when they must be thrown
entirely on their own resources ? This great question
has already been the subject of much and anxious
discussion, but it has not yet received a full and satis¬
factory answer It is true that both boys and girls
learn to make and to mend their own clothes j that
EEQIJISITES or lîTDtrSTEIAL LABOUE. 7l
cliopping wood, mat-making, carpentering, tailoring,
and skoemaking have all been tried, and each with a
measure of success. But as yet some more compre¬
hensive plan needs to he brought out and carried
into vigorous execution.
The thing wanted seems to be, a system of healthy
activity on works of real value and usefulness ;—such
work as will not merely form habits of industry, but
also afford the persevering and diligent a fair oppor¬
tunity of success in life. I say " a system," for it
would be impossible for all our scholars to find occupa¬
tion in any one trade or calling. And the works in
which they are engaged must be productive of a tona
Jide value, else the chief stimulus wiU be wanting.
Not by merely building up walls and pulling them
down again, or by digging over and over again ground
that does not require digging at all, shall we make
industrious scholars. It is not merely work, hut
remunerative work that is required. Eurther, any
system will be well nigh worthless, that fails to pro¬
vide for their future prospects. Out of the training
school they should go at once into some private
family, farm, workshop, or factory, with a good pros¬
pect of clearing their way in life.
"We may illustrate these general principles by a
special reference to one of the most interesting and
successful industrial efforts that have been originated
by the founders and supporters of Bagged Schools—
The Shoe-black Society. This institution, so happily
conceived and so zealously carried out, combines in
itself, more than any other plan that has yet been
adopted, the great requisites for success. It is super¬
intended personally by Christian gentlemen, who daily
72
THE SHOE-BLACK SOCIETY.
give to it a portion of their time. The occupation
is healthy and remunerative. It promotes mental
activity and industrious habits, and allows of just that
measure of exposure to temptation, which is necessary
for the strengthening of moral character ;—an advan¬
tage scarcely enjoyed by those who are continually
shut up in the Eefuge-manufactory. Honesty,
industry, and frugality, are all taught by the daily
arrangements of this society. The hoys earn on an
average about two shillings a day, the greater part of
which is either paid back to them at once, or put into
the bank for their future wants. Thus, by their own
daily toil they maintain themselves and begin to save
money. To all this we may add, that it secures the
attendance of the boys at an evening class for moral
and religious instruction, and helps to bring them to
a place of worship on the Sabbath day. On the other
hand, it must be acknowledged that the operations of
the society are of necessity limited, and that the work
itself demands more of self-government, and a higher
moral standing, than can he expected from the
majority of Eagged scholars.
In the evidence given by John Macgregor, Esq.,
before a Select Committee of the House of Commons
in 1852, on the subject of juvenile crime, he thus
sums up the results furnished by the experience of the
Shoe-black Society :—" That the actual nature of the
occupation is comparatively unimportant if industry is
immediately rewarded, and not merely enforced; if
permanent employment is held out in prospect ; if good
and bad conduct are made directly apparent to the other
lads, and to the managers; emulation promoted by
classification; honesty, by constant money transactions,
THE SHOE-BLACK SOCIETY.
73
where trust is involved ; economy, by daily saving ;
attention to respectability of appearance, by enforcing
proper clothing ; punctuality, by fixed hours ; steadi¬
ness, by requiring prolonged attention to duties at
a certain post ; learning, by promoting to stations
requiring it ; love of home, by providing for those who
would be otherwise without shelter."*
But though the Shoe-black Society, and one or two
other efiorts have been made self-supporting, it may be
afiirmed as a general rule, that industrial teaching
having the necessary requisites cannot be given with¬
out considerable outlay. Indeed, the expense of the
industrial department has hitherto been the greatest
obstacle to its full developement. The benevolent
principle must therefore be as much grafted into this
part of our work as into the intellectual and moral.
In some form or other there must be a systematic
blending of benevolence with either trade, gardening,
farming, or some other business of life. The recogni¬
tion of this necessity will greatly simplify the subject.
If any substantial and lasting good is to be done two
things that are ordinarily kept quite separate and
distinct must be combined—business with benevolence ;
commercial dealings with Christian consideration. Our
only alternative is either to allow things to remain
much as they are, or to admit a new principle, which
many have hitherto considered unsound. Let it, how¬
ever, be remembered that the remedy would not be
required were there no disease. It is only as a
remedial course, as an exceptional and temporary
arrangement rather than as a general rule, that we
* See " Blue Book," containing the evidence ; or " Bagged
School Union Magazine," vol. v. 1853, pp. 63, 67.
7é TEADE BLENDED WITH BENEVOLENCE.
propose any scheme that will interfere with the
ordinary working out of the principles of political
economy.
The question then is, " In what form can this
combination of benevolence with trade, etc., most effi¬
ciently and most economically take place ? Are there
any comprehensive methods which none but the selfish
and heartless would oppose ?"
Answers to this question are in part supplied by
experience.
1. In some cases the managers of a Ragged School
agree amongst themselves to give a measure of indus¬
trial teaching to the more deserving scholars, and
to furnish them with work ; the unavoidable expenses
being defrayed out of the current income of the
school.
2. Manufacturers or merchants may be found in
some districts, who are able and wüling to devise a
liberal scheme of employment for the whole school.
Such a course might involve some considerable incon¬
venience and delay at first, but after a time might
work exceedingly well, and even prove a profitable
speculation, as well as a method of doing an incal¬
culable amount of good. If the work were simple,
and the manufacturer willing to sacrifice the conve¬
nience of having the work done by more regular
hands, he might pay at a low rate for the work that
is done ; a proportion of the money so earned might
be given to the workers, or invested in the penny
bank in their name, and he might have the double
satisfaction of a successful merchant and a benevolent
Christian.
3. J£ no other work can be obtained of the right
INDrSTElAL PLAIS^S.
75
kind, the Eagged School or the Eefuge may be itself
converted into a manufactory. According to this
plan the Committee becomes a kind of company, and
finds such materials, apparatus, and instructors as are
necessary in order to carry out fuUy this department
of the work. Surely, under competent masters and
managers, this might be done without any very great
outlay or loss ; perhaps such a scheme might ulti¬
mately pay its own expenses. The great point wiU be
to find work that is easily done and that will yield a
good profit. Under good management the work of
the scholars would yield at least enough to pay for
the materials that are used, and for the industrial
instruction and superintendence required. It is in
this way only that our reformatory institutions, when
organized and in full operation, are at all likely to
become self-supporting. When the work is exceed¬
ingly simple, and pays well, the inmates all acquiring
proficiency by keeping to one thing, there is no reason
why the profits of their labour should not almost or
quite pay all current expenses, including food and
clothing. But however anxious we may be to make
our Eefuges and Industrial Schools self-supporting,
let us never sacrifice, even for an hour, the moral and
religious welfare of the scholars to the desire of con¬
verting their labours into a profitable speculation.
4. Another question of some importance is, in what
way the produce of Eagged Schools and Eefuge-
manufactories may be most advantageously sold. In
what way can we best find a market for our goods
when they have been turned out of hand ? This point
has also been in great measure cleared up by ex¬
perience. Most of the articles hitherto completed
76
EAGOED SCHOOL DEPOTS.
have been sold at the institutions where they were
made. Members of the Committee, or friends and
supporters of the school, are more disposed to over¬
look little blemishes that may be detected in the
workmanship of young and inexperienced hands. In
this way not only have sales been effected without any
loss to the school, but also a deeper and stronger
interest in particular schools, and in the reformatory
movement generally, has been kindled in the minds of
many. The excellence of this method needs no further
proof. But it will often happen that friends and sup¬
porters are not able to dispose of all the articles that
are made. A stock accumulates. To meet this
difficulty a shop or depot has been established, and
thither goods have been sent for sale ; not, however,
with any great amount of success. Unquestionably a
shop, in some good situation, and under judicious
management, may render most valuable help in the
sale of school produce. But if it is to be successful
as a commercial enterprise the same rules must be
observed as govern the undertakings of private in¬
dividuals. The schools must only send things that
are in constant demand. The goods offered for sale
must be put up at their ordinary market value, and no
more ; and the general appearance of the premises
must be made as attractive as the nature of the stock
will permit. We must not regard so much the cost as
the real worth of each production. On a few things
made by the youngest and least expert of our scholars
we must be content, perhaps, to make some small
pecuniary sacrifice. If we open a shop and seU dear
goods, we shall fare as we might expect. But if we
observe the above rules, our Bagged School depots
BAGGED SCHOOL DEPOTS.
77
will stand at least as fair a chance of success as any
other shops. With the right kind of merchandise, at
fair prices, we shall not want for purchasers ; and if
we can by persuasion convert some of these into
friends and subscribers, so much the better. There is
a strong feeling among all classes against buying in a
bad market. Many a man would sooner give half-a-
guinea as a donation than pay half-a-crown more for
an article than it is honestly worth. We must yield
to this feeling, if our depots are to prosper. In this
way the sale of surplus stock will be extended to those
who as yet are not reckoned among the friends of the
cause. A wider market will be opened, equal to the
increasing produce of industrial teaching. And let it
be remembered, that though in many cases there may
be no pecuniary gain, yea, even a trifling loss, there is,
nevertheless, a great gain in a moral point of view, in
the employment that has been given, and in the
industry that has been called forth. Even v^dth the
best possible management we can hardly expect that
this department will clear all expenses. That it will
nearly do so has been proved more than once already.*
In some instances a considerable profit has been
realised. This, however, is not our aim. Such profit
should in general be employed as a means of stimu¬
lating and encouraging the workers.
Whatever deficiency arises in the industrial funds
as the result of selling produce at its fair value, should
be supplied by voluntary contributions. Good manage¬
ment will often remove this difficulty altogether. A
* See account of Industrial Schools at Liverpool and Edin¬
burgh, " Ragged School Union Magazine," vol. v. 1853, pp. 36,
72, 73 J and at Manchester, vol. iv. p. 232.
78
IKDUSTKIAL PLANS.
large depot in a good situation, presided over by one
who is well fitted for bis position by business talent
and missionary zeal, could not be otherwise than
successful.
Against these plans the objection is occasionally
urged, that they interfere with the trade—that they
are contrary to sound commercial principles ; and
some will, perhaps, refuse to aid in carrying them into
effect from a persuasion that it is neither wise nor safe
thus to blend benevolence and business in one institu¬
tion. To this objection I have in part replied by
anticipation, showing that it is in this combination
only that we have any hope of success. "Without
benevolent aid these neglected ones will never be
gathered at all ; never taught to read or to "write ; to
regard man, or to worship Grod ; to täte care of them¬
selves by honest labour, or to respect the rights and
privileges of others. If there is any force at all in the
objection, it lies against the whole movement. We
either ought to interpose all the benevolent aid that is
required for success, or none at all. Free lessons in
the one department are as unsound as they are in the
other.
Since however some may be hindered from helping
by the repetition in various forms of this objection,
let us canvass its worth a little more fully.
It is not strictly true that the principles of political
economy, and the impulses of generous sympathy with
the suffering, are directly opposed to each other. More
correctly might they be said to lie in different regions
altogether; yet so as to allow the higher and more
heavenly principle to soften that which is more purely
earthly and human. This gradation of laws and general
POLITICO-ECONOMISTS.
79
principles I have already referred to, as a fact that
can onlv be felt, not demonstrated. If the reader
does not feel that there are higher laws than any that
ever have been, or wül be made known by political
economy—if his own consciousness does not echo to
the sentiment, that mercy to the perishing, the aveng¬
ing of the oppressed, and compassionate care for the
widow, the fatherless, and the orphan, are above even
the most favourite maxims of social science, there is
no help for it ; we must leave him in the cold and
heartless region in which he has chosen to dwell.
Most clearly it was never intended that any of the
lower principles on which our social institutions are
founded, whether commercial or ecclesiastical, should
be separated altogether from those which are higher
and more expansive. Such a divorce can never take
place without most disastrous results. In religious
matters it leads to bigotry, persecution, and acrimo¬
nious controversy, and ends in moral and spiritual
death. So also in commercial transactions we have
lately seen that it breeds strifes both prolonged and
destructive, ruinous to the very life and existence
of the commercial body. When the same spirit per¬
vades society generally, it swells the number of the
perishing classes, who are daily punishing us for our
past neglect. Only when the maxims of trade are
ennobled by something higher than trade can gene¬
rate ;—by good nature, by strong moral principles, by
Christian truth, Christian forbearance, and Christian
love, will they work harmoniously and prosperously.
Because, in years that are past, this has not been
enough remembered and acted upon ; because com¬
merce has not been enough influenced by the higher
80 TEADE MUST BE BLENDED WITH BENEVOLENCE.
principles of justice, mercy, and love, there is only the
greater need for advocating a practical combination of
the two in all the ordinary duties of life. The work
we are engaged in is, strictly speaking, not an attack
on the commercial world and its maxims, hut an honest
endeavour to supply its short-comings, and heal its
diseases. If there had been no past neglect, there
would not now be any urgent need for corrective
measures. Industrial schools are the remedy, and the
only appropriate remedy, as far as the juvenile popula¬
tion is concerned. Even admitting that they are, in
some respects, objectionable, the great question to be
answered is— Will the harm that they produce for a
moment compare with the ruinous consequences of un¬
checked vice, vagrancy, and crime?
We are compelled to admit that the generally sound
principle, that " one is justified in purchasing in the
cheapest market, and in selling in the dearest," has
been pressed too far. Who of us has not painfuUy
felt this as we ha^ e read of the wrongs of distressed
needlewomen, and of the crimes to which, by the very
scantiness of their wages, they have been inevitably
driven ? Does it not at any time harrow up our very
souls to read that " Song of the Shirt," in which these
cruel workings of a sound commercial principle are so
faithfully pourtrayed ? Might not remarks almost as
strong be made concerning governesses, their ordinary
treatment and salary? Have we not in these things
a standing proof that there is a law of kindness, a law
of justice and mercy, that ought always to blend its
influence with the laws of supply and demand? What
saith the Scripture, the law of Grod, on this matter ?
" Masters, give unto your servants that which is just
WHAT SATTH THE SCETPTÜEES ?
81
and equal." Is it "just and equal" to give tliem
wages so small, that they must either hover about the
very borders of starvation, or eke out a living by the
produce of crime? Ought any of the men or women
that Grod has endowed with immortal souls, and bought
with a Saviour's blood, ever to be so treated by a
Christian nation, and by Christian masters ? Is it
"just and equal" that souls should be ruined, that
garments may be cheap and trade prosperous ? How
does it agree with that other beautiful Christian rule,
" As ye would that men should do to you, do ye even
so to them?" In these things we see the same prin¬
ciple carried out to its legitimate results—the very
principle which is involved in this objection to a bold
and comprehensive system of industrial teaching for
the destitute and perverted. Do we need any further
proof that the objection itself is essentially unsound?
Besides, whatever may be the plans adopted in
order to teach habits of industry and to confer on
them the means of living, it may be safely afíirmed
that they will not interfere at all materially—certainly
not injuriously—with the general relations of trade.
The produce of these schools, of whatever kind it may
be, will be but as the drop of a bucket compared with
the consumption of the metropolis alone. It is only
the establishment of another firm—the entrance on
the stage of another competitor for public favour—and
certainly not a very formidable one either. Our
Ragged School depots need not undersell the regular
tradesman. If in this way we can find employment
for the poor little ignorant boys and girls who are
neglected and abused by their parents, or roam the
streets in homeless and friendless misery, uncared for
&
82
INDUSTRIAL TEACHING A NOBLE WORK.
either by religion or civilization ; if we can teacb tbem
to be diligent, honest, and respectable ; who is there
that will stand up and say that the combination which
produces these results is unprincipled and unsound?
Who is there that will prohibit Christian benevolence
from doing a work which all parties and all principles
have hitherto left undone? Can we not almost hear
the voice of Him who " came to seek and to save,"
and was the friend of sinners, mildly rebuking the
objectors, and saying, " Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the
kingdom of heaven?"
We therefore conceive that just as it was deemed a
noble work that the British and Foreign Bible Society
should, by the voluntary contributions it secured,
freely and cheaply distribute the bread of life ; thereby
directly interfering with the ordinary rules of trade ;
yea, even getting its donations and subscriptions from
all quarters, for the express purpose of underselling
all regular tradesmen ; so also is it a justifiable, yea
also, a noble work that a Christian nation and a bene¬
volent public should by their contributions originate
and maintain in full efficiency such a course of indus¬
trial training as shall rescue the perishing from the
paths of the destroyer, and, in connection with the
means of grace, open to them the gates of eternal life.
Scarcely then can there be any doubt either of the
propriety or of the ultimate success of a comprehen¬
sive industrial scheme. Difficulties of many difierent
kinds will arise in the working of it out in detail ; but
to earnest-hearted philanthropic minds, none of them
will be insurmountable. The outlay will be consider¬
able, especially at first, in providing the necessary
WHO CAN OBJECT TO THIS WOEK ?
83
apparatus. Towards this, however, a liberal Govern¬
ment grant may be fully counted upon. Much will
depend on the management ; especially in the selection
of work given out to the schools. Let such articles
only be made as the public constantly demand.
Linally, something must be done. Eeformatory
measures must be adopted. Surely no trade preju¬
dices, no abstract laws of political economy, no diíB-
culties of management or detail, ought for a moment
to hinder us, if extensive and systematic industrial
training is found to be, on the whole, our best and
surest means of conquering and eradicating juvenile
crime.
84
CHAPTEE YII.
the bagged shndat school.
By wlaom conducted—On what principles—A scheme of Sunday
engagements.
That day, whicli brings so many valuable privileges,
and so many holy joys, to the Christian part of the
community, ought not to come in vain either to the
Eagged School teacher or to those under his charge.
To hbn it ought to bring a measure of rest—a season
of holy calm and worship—a time when he may "wait
on the Lord, and renew his strength;" and to them
special religious teaching, suited to their tender age
and peculiar circumstances.
The teachers' work—such a work as we have been
contemplating in the preceding pages—cannot be
carried on continuously, for months and years, without
a constant waste of spiritual strength, which can only
be replenished by regular and copious supplies of
grace and spii'itual vigour from above. Only thus wül
their souls be like " wells of water springing up into
everlasting life," fountains ever flowing, streams of
living water whose channels are never dry. To expect
of even the most zealous, an incessant discharge of the
same round of duties, without a perceptible flagging
of their energies, is to make an unwarrantable demand
THE PAID TEACHEE'S SABBATH.
85
on tlie powers of human nature. After six days of
toil and self-denying exertion, the teacher should secure
the seventh as a day of rest, of invigorating quiet, and
of refreshing intercourse with the Christian commu¬
nity. Then, in the house of God, under the hallowed
influence of its worship and its teachings, the soul
must be fortified and sustained in her holy resolves
and self-denying exertions, by drinking at the very
fountain of all power and goodness. Any other course
than this, except in particular cases, will prove both
burdensome and ineflicient ; for although, to some
extent, it is in working that the Christian grows
stronger, holier, and happier, yet it is also certain
that active duty invariably produces a waste of
spiritual as well as bodily energy, which only the spi¬
ritual food and rest of the Sabbath will renew and
restore. As a general rule, therefore, the salaried
teacher should be set at liberty, and discouraged from
undertaking any onerous duty on that day.
But how can he be spared ? Is he not more accus¬
tomed to the children than any others? Aj'e they to
be sacrificed for his sake ? Should not this day
awaken, more than any other, in their souls, those
holy principles on which alone a new and improved
life can be safely begun and persevered in? And
besides, if we give so much time during the week to
industrial teaching, shall we leave them to infer that
we are more concerned to save them for this life than
for the next—about the prevention of crime, and the
welfare of the State, than about their salvation? By
no means. Providing weU for the teacher, we must also
provide well for the scholars. But how ? By volun¬
tary tuition. However much we extend our plans for
86
PLANS AND METHODS.
daj schools, our arrangements for Sunday teaching, of
a purely voluntary character, must be extended in the
same proportion. On this day there is a much larger
number of voluntary helpers at liberty. These must
come in, and relieve guard—must share the difficulty
and the delight of this most Christian work. That we
may have a sufficient supply of such, two things are
necessary, the cordial co-operation of all denomina¬
tions of Christians ; a thing which may be the
more hoped for now that the urgency of the claim is
so generally admitted ;—and the exercise of a careful
economy in reference to the time and strength of
voluntary teachers, a subject on which something
more will be said in the course of this chapter.
The success of any plans that are formed or even
suggested as expedients depends so greatly on the
discovery of suitable agents, that one scarcely likes to
affirm that any one plan is better than another. Often
does it happen that a method which works well in one
locality, owmg to the presence either of a vigorous
superintendent or of a staff of teachers above the
ordinary standard, wiU faü entirely in another through
the absence of these advantages. Nevertheless, it is
unquestionably true that there are some principles of
juvenile religious teaching that are essentially sound;
and some methods that are inherently good. Only so
far as we develope these right principles, and carry out
these best methods, shall we be really successful.
Let us inquire first into the principles, and then
into the methods that wül be most efficient in the
Eagged Sunday School.
1. If we would win the souls of these little outcasts,
we must most scrupulously avoid anything like an
A SERIOUS INQUIET.
87
overtaxing of their small powers of endurance and
attention. This has been too much the fault of our
Sunday School system hitherto. Little children have
been shut up—we might almost say, imprisoned,—
have been kept in a most unchildlike quietness for
three or four hours together, during the whole of
school time and public service, in a way that not
even adults could endure, though better able to
understand what is going on, and perhaps also
more deeply interested in it. How often have we
heard complaints that Sunday scholars as they grow
older in many cases break through all restraints, and
become as irreligious and immoral as other children—
sometimes even more so ! How, though this does not
actually prove the existence of any defect in the sys¬
tem, but may result from the innate evil tendency of the
human heart, and from the manifold temptations of
life, yet we may well be prompted to a careful inquiry
whether these numerous failures are at all traceable
to our method and plans. How is it that, notwith¬
standing the promise, " Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old he wül not depart from
it," many who have been brought up in pious families
and in Sunday Schools do turn out badly, and most of
them reach adult age in an unconverted state ? Leav¬
ing the doctrine of divine sovereignty, as not being
within the range of human comprehension or calcu¬
lation, is the human agency anywhere manifestly at
fault ? Is it not a solemn and a suggestive fact, that
in the great conflict between the powers of light and
the powers of darkness, fought out in reference to
every soul coming under Sunday School influence,
Satan and his legions have triumphed so often, and
88 CHILDEEir MUST BE IKTEEESTED.
we have been so often defeated ? May it not be that
the nature and tendency of a child's mind have not
been enough taken into account—that our treatment
of them—especially of the little ones, has been too
much of the dame-school style ? Have we not been
trying to make them passive and quiet, when we
might have known that children will be active and
volatile ? If we have thus repressed their busy little
minds, instead of turning their thoughts and feelings
into the right channel,—have made it a great virtue to
keep them silent and almost motionless for an hour or
two together, when they ought to have been hearing
lis and asking us questions,—what wonder if, under
such discipline, they have taken an early dislike to
religion, instead of associating it with all that is lovely,
gladsome, and joyous ? How can a sermon, intended
for grown people and advanced Christians, be otherwise
than useless and wearisome to these children? How
can they join with heart and soul in the prayers and
})raises of the sanctuary, when both the words and the
thoughts lie altogether beyond the horizon of their
mental and spiritual vision ? Is it fair to expect any
very great results from means so little agreeing with
the end?—that minds will be opened or hearts won
by threatening looks and words ?—or that souls will
be saved by sitting in vacant stillness ?
Doubtless there are many Sunday Schools in which
the teachers are doing their utmost to obtain a real
spiritual power over the scholars. The eyes and
hearts of infants are won by the letter-box and by
Bible stories ; the minds of elder children are awakened
and their souls deeply impressed by illustrations, by
anecdotes and aifectionate appeals both to the reason
YIVACITT IK TEACHIKG.
89
and conscience; and the "separate service" system is
here and there adopted. But in too many instances
superintendents and teachers keep fast by the old
routine. Custom and prejudice close their eyes
against any improved methods, to the great loss and
injury of the scholars, and of the Sunday School
system.
But whatever may be our future methods of con¬
ducting ordinary Sunday Schools, it is certain that
only a lively and winning style will make any lasting
impression on our ragged scholars. If we would do
them any good, a juvenile service, specially adapted to
them, is our only chance. The powers of evil in them
and around them are too busy and too strong to be
counteracted without vigorous effort and cheerful piety.
All the temptations by which they are assailed during
the week are such as lay firmly hold on their
thoughts and feelings. There are pictures, songs, and
penny theatres, all plentifully spiced with obscenity
and profanity, that awaken in them more or less of
activity,—activity, alas ! of the basest and vilest kind.
The children of darkness " are wiser in their generation
than the children of light." If preachers and teachers
would cope successfully with these most powerful
forms of human depravity, they must make that Avhich
is really good as entertaining and impressive as it is
instructive.
2. The second great principle, needing to be more
constantly remembered and more fully carried out,
is the essentially and exclusively religious character
both of the end we seek and of the means we employ.
The Sunday School should be to the child what the
church or chapel is to the adult. Sunday School
90
ADAPTATION.
teachers, if they are to succeed nobly in their work,
must think nobly of it, and spare no preparation
that will fit them for their classes. They are " minis¬
ters of the G-ospel" to their youthful charge, and
should have no lower aim than that of bringing
them to Jesus. It is purely religious teaching, warm¬
hearted and zealous, that is required of all our Sunday
volunteers.
3. The other general principle, which, in fact, has
been in part anticipated in treating of the first, is that
all that is either taught or done should be carefully
adapted to the minds of children. Applying this to
the devotional engagements, the prayer should be so
simple in its words and wishes as to be understood by
them all ; the hymns such as their young souls can
chime in with; and the address of a kind that will
bring into fuU play a child's whole mind, imagina¬
tion, inteUect, heart, memory, and conscience. Adapta¬
tion is the great secret of success in preaching the
Gospel to grown people, and why should it be other¬
wise among children ? When our methods have more
of fitness they will be crowned with richer fruits.
We need to get a stronger and more lively faith in
the power of the Gospel over the minds of the young ;
then shall we teach and pray under the fuU persuasion
that ere long we shall see the work of the Lord pros¬
pering in our hands. It is a good thing when pro¬
digals return after having long wandered and grown
weary of the ways of sin; but it is a letter thing^
a far better thing, when Divine grace falls like good
seed into good ground during the years of childhood,
when young hearts open gently and beautifully under
the kindly rays of Him who is the Sun of Eighteous-
MOENI]S"G TEACHING.
91
ness, as the bud expands into a bloom, or as the
dawn glides into open day.
Thus we have seen that the great requisites are,—
brevity, since little minds must not be over-taxed ;
religious impression, since it is a Sunday School ; and
simplicity both of thought and language, so as to
reach even the younger scholars. The application of
these principles needs now to be considered.
Perhaps this question cannot be better answered
than by a short sketch or outline of a Sabbath
day's proceedings in a school conducted on the above
principles.
At nine o'clock, superintendent, teachers, and chil¬
dren are all assembled in the large room, and the work
of the day begins with singing and prayer. The elder
children then go to their classes, and the younger
to the infant school-room, where one of the most
talented and lively of the teachers receives them all,
and, with the aid of the letter-box, helps them to
spell on the board such truths as, " Grod is love,"
" Jesus said, ' Suffer little children,' " etc. As the
letters appear one after another on the board, new
religious ideas are stamped one by one on their minds
and hearts. Sometimes the subject selected is his¬
torical ; if so, the names of patriarchs and kings, pro¬
phets and apostles, appear on the board, and a sketch
is given of those parts of their history most fitted to
entertain and instruct the young. In this way they
make their acquaintance early with Noah and his ark,
Moses among the bulrushes, David killing the giant,
and Daniel in the lions' den.
Meanwhile, the voluntary teachers, with their active
superintendent, himself a fountain of order, cheerful-
92 " THE CHUECH OF THE CHILDEEN."
ness, and love, are making good use of the time allotted
to them. Their well-prepared lessons, like good ser¬
mons, tell on the children and delight them, all the
more through being short. In this way an hour is
spent to good purpose, and seems soon to be gone.
Kow it is a quarter past ten. All meet again in the
large room, and after singing a verse of a hymn, a
short interval is allowed for change of engagements,
during which such of the teachers as wish to attend
divine service elsewhere depart. Having given a lesson
to their several classes, they go that they may obtain
lessons for themselves.
At half-past ten, order is again restored in the
school-room, for teaching is now to be followed by devo¬
tion, work by worship. One or two of the teachers,
more gifted than the rest as instructors of youth,
remain to lead the singing and to officiate as chap¬
lains of " the church of the children." Some of the
parents have now come in that they may listen to these
sweet young -s oices as they sing the praises of Grod,
and learn the A B C of the Gospel of Christ.
These older hearers feel, perhaps, that these addresses,
though dehvered to children, are well suited to them¬
selves, more so than the sermons that may be heard
in the neighbouring churches and chapels. Besides,
in this neat and humble sanctuary they feel at home ;
hither they send their little girls and boys every day,
and as they stand, and look on, and listen, they grow
in attachment to the school and its founders. Some¬
how the affectionate and interesting address of this
voluntary missionary to young sinners goes to the very
core of their old, stubborn souls, and at times they are
melted even to tears.
" THE CHURCH OF THE CHILDREN,"
93
In this service the hymns are in the langnage of
children; the prayers short and simple; and the address,
often enlivened with questions and pleasant stories,
and sometimes broken into halves by singing a few
verses of a hymn, fixes all eyes on the speaker, and all
minds on what he is saying. In this way the time
passes so quickly and delightfully, that before either
the teacher or his congregation are aware, it is nearly
twelve o'clock. At that hour he sends them home
with a blessing, and they leave their humble school-
house as much interested and benefited, in their way,
by the service of God, as those older worshippers who in
an hour's time will be pouring out of yonder elegant
Gothic structure, with the silvery tones of its eloquent
and popular minister still vibrating in their ears.
And even the parents, who came in rather as listeners
and spectators, full-grown and perhaps hardened in
sin, as they gaze upon the glistening eyes and earnest
features of the little ones, are home irresistibly back
to the days of their own happy childhood, spent, it
may be, far away in some country village, and in a
pious family ; live for a little while amid the echoes
of the past ; and leave "the church of the children"
with a sadness and thoughtfulness that prepare them
to listen as they have never done before to Him who
said, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest."
The afternoon teaching, like that in the morning,
lasts about an hour ; after which an address is de¬
livered to the whole school, interspersed with questions
and anecdotes, etc. They conclude with prayer ; and
the whole engagement does not exceed an hour and
a half.
94
THE BAGGED CHHECH SERYICE.
Again, in the evening, the doors of the school-room
are open, and some of the elder chüdreu are assem¬
bling, accompanied by a larger number of the parents
and near residents than were present in the morning.
The morning service was intended for the children,
though parents were invited to come; the evening
service is intended for adults, but many of the children
are again in their places. Simplicity is still aimed at,
and so the young and the old can with profit worship
together. The leader on the present occasion is a kind
and warm-hearted Christian, who, though not called
exclusively to the ministry of the "Word, is willing and
able thus to work, without a salary, in the cause of
Christ. The service is short. The place of meeting
is in the midst of these " pnblicans and sinners."
The congregation is composed of them. Xo grandeur
in the building repels them ; no gay dresses, no
wealthy worshippers prevent their feeling at home.
Here their children are kindly treated. They know
that the workers in this enterprise are their best
friends, and come to their help out of self-denying
zeal and strong Christian love. Considering all these
things, who will say how mighty a power wiU be thus
exerted in awakening and emancipating those who
have long been the abject slaves of Satan and of sin ?
The sketch above given may be improved, without
doubt, in many respects ; and in some of its particular
arrangements would need to be modified, in order to
suit the necessities of difierent neighbourhoods ; but
it helps to show the way in which right principles
might be applied. By some such method as this,
the children would be interested and impressively
taught, while their parents would also receive a bless-
ADVANTAGES THES SECEßED.
95
ing, and would be led to feel a more lively concern
for the welfare of their offspring.
Other great points will also he gained. These may
be summed up under the head—Economy. Thus we
shall effect a great saving of time, money, and spiritual
strength.
Of these, the great saving of spiritual strength
thus effected stands first in importance ; for of all who
attend our places of worship, none more need to be
profitable hearers than Sunday School teachers.
The Biblical instruction then given they are in daily
need of, and the holy influence that may be then
enjoyed, they, of all others, would find most refreshing
and encouraging. Yet how often it happens that
they are, either in part or altogether, deprived of both !
and if morning teaching at the Bagged School is so
arranged as to rob all who engage in it of their usual
morning service at church or at chapel, the number of
volunteers will be greatly diminished ; and those who
do give themselves to the work will make an extra¬
ordinary and unreasonable sacrifice. But according
to the suggested plan, at least three-fourths of the
teachers can be spared to attend their usual place of
worship, both in the morning and in the evening, and
will there have an uninterrupted enjoyment of its
ordinances. Thus their own spiritual progress will
not be hindered ; they will be doing a good and great
work at a less sacrifice than is involved by teaching
in an ordinary Sunday School. Probably a much
larger number would help in our Bagged Schools, if
the work but seldom involved the loss of either
the morning or evening service.
Again, the method suggested would open a wider
96
THE PEEACHEE FOE THE CHILDEEÎf.
field of usefulness to those who have a special aptitude
for the instruction of the young, than is supplied
either by a single class in the Sunday School, or by
the opportunity of occasionally addressing the whole
school. Whenever there is found in the Church
one who has received this special gift,—one who can
filterest and fascinate the minds of children, why
should he be hindered from ministering in his par¬
ticular order to fifty, to a hundred, or even to two
hundred of the lambs of the fold ? Is it not one of
the great principles and secrets of extensive usefulness,
that to the most qualified agents the largest possible
scope should be afforded ? Who would for a moment
wish to limit eminent preachers to little congrega¬
tions ?—or the sale of valuable books to a single
edition ? On the same principle, when we meet with
eloquent and persuasive teachers of children, ought
we not to make the most of them, and find for them
congregations every Sabbath day ? When such a
teacher can be found,—one with a heart large enough
to win and keep their affections, and with a mind weU
enough furnished to interest them, Sunday after
Sunday, no other plan would so much awaken in them
a personal interest and attachment, or on the whole
work so well. But, let it be understood and felt,
that it is no ordinary gift that, in such a case,
would suffice. In the general way, an alternation
of two or three of those best qualified to conduct
such a service would be most practicable and most
successful.
Whenever this system is boldly begun, and zealously
carried out, in humble dependence and earnest faith,
the God of all grace wül assuredly raise up men to
SUCH PEEACHEES MAT BE EOUÎTD.
97
carry it on. New powers of usefulness, hitherto
unseen, and almost unknown, will come to light.
Many a young man, and many a kind-hearted
Christian father, will step forward out of retirement
and obscurity to take part in feeding these lambs ;
and though all might not be suitable for the work,
yet it is clear that, allowing for all mistakes and short¬
comings, more, much more will be done in this way,
to draw the poorest of the people and their children
to Christ and to his Church, than has been effected
hitherto by our ordinary church and chapel services.
And may we not be sure that God will own a new
effort, thus earnestly and devoutly made, to bring those
who are being trained in the school of Satan into the
school of Christ ?
Again, there will be also a great economy of time
and of money in reaching the adult population. In
this way some of our E-agged Schools have already
become the best and most successful ragged churches.
As fast as voluntary contributions come in, let us
build ; but let it be for the double purpose, a school
and a church ; a place of teaching for the very poorest
of the land, and for their children. The work cannot
weU be too comprehensive. Provision for both worlds,
and for all ages, may be made under one roof ; and in
making this provision for the very poor, all true
Christians may have some share. It will be a great
misfortune if sectarian jealousy should close Ragged
Schools on the Sabbath day either to adults or
children. The Government grants that are needed
must not thus impair the efficiency of the system.
To do so would be a moral and religious suicide.
Rather than submit to this, let us refuse the grants
H
98
BAGGED CHDECHES.
altogether. Let religious instruction given on the
Sabbath day be altogether voluntary and vmectarian ;
and let schools that have been erected and are
maintained partly by Government aid be free of
access on the Sunday to such as are disposed to
co-operate with each other, and with the managing
committee, for the benefit of the neighbourhood.
Thus the Gospel, in a form suited to the most unedu¬
cated, would be brought to the very doors of the
poorest and vilest, in a building to which they are
already accustomed, and with which some pleasant
associations are already connected. All this may be
done without a farthing of extra expense; for the
building is already provided, and the ministrations are
all to be labours of love.*
The writer, being strongly convinced that the
foregoing principles are sound, and that the plans
described might be adopted extensively with great
benefit to the lower classes, and especially in cities
and large towns, earnestly recommends them to the
candid, careful, and devout consideration of aU who
are toiling on behalf of the children of the poor.
When we remember how great an addition must be
made to the apparatus of usefulness, that aU destitute
districts may be supplied with general and religious
instruction for themselves and their children; when
we remember, also, how large a number are already
engaged in Sunday Schools belonging to existing
* The writer has since discovered, with pleasure, that the
same course has been recommended by others, especially by the
Kev. W. E. Eichardson, b.a., of Northampton, in a Letter to the
Eight Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury : published by Hatchard.
Or, see " Eagged School Union Magazine," vol. v. p. 45.
ADTAÎÎTAGES THTIS GAINED.
99
places of worsllip ; and that as yet but few ragged
churches either have been or can be buüt, owing to
the multiplicity of calls on Christian benevolence,—is
it not most clear that any plan that will enable us to
make the most of our money, of our labourers, and of
our buildings ; any plan that will draw a larger
number of voluntary teachers by lessening the sacri¬
fice involved; any plan that will link together both
parents and teachers in the work of evangelization, is
of unspeakable value ?
Above all things, we must never forget that chil¬
dren must be interested if we would do them good.
The Sunday service must be made so pleasant and
agreeable to them that they would not willingly stay
away. This can only be done by brevity, simplicity,
and adaptation,^—by the alternation of singing and
prayer with interrogative and narrative teaching.
It is an unprofitable and a not very agreeable task to
keep children quiet while others are worshipping; but
it is a glorious work,—one full of interest, and having
in itself a holy recompense,—to engage their atten¬
tion, to let fall rays of heavenly light on their active
minds, and to foster into genial warmth their still
budding affections.
These views are so earnestly supported by Edward
Baines, Esq., one of the warmest and most zealous
friends of popular education, in a long and forcible
Letter, addressed by him to the superintendents and
teachers of our Sabbath Schools, that I cannot forbear
transcribing one or two of the most important para¬
graphs, ere I conclude this chapter. After a careful
examination of the Census returns, comparing the
number of Sunday scholars with the whole population,
n 2
100 EDWAUD EAINES ON SENDAT SCHOOLS.
and especially with that portion of it which is within
the ten years of life usually called the " school-age," he
arrives at the following conclusion :—" These circum¬
stances, some on one side and some on the other,
prevent us from forming an exact estimate ; hut the
great and important fact is this, that the 2,407,409
children in Sunday Schools, give an average of more
than eight j-ears of Sunday School instruction for the
whole of the working class children ; and though
some stay more than eight years, some less, and a few
never come at all, yet such is the average, and that
average proves us to have at one time or other nearly
all the working class children in our schools."
" There, teachers and superintendents, take that
fact and think upon it. In one view does it not
shame us ? In another view, does it not show what
is possible of future achievement ? AYe have the
children ! Kepeat it to yourselves, till the mighty
import of the fact is fully understood and can never
be forgotten. AYe have the children, just at an age
when they are most susceptible of kindness, and most
amenable to authority. AYe have the children before
they become Sabbath-breakers. AYe have the children
before they become drunkards. How often have phi¬
lanthropists, and reformers of every class, sighed over
the adults, and said, ' Oh ! if we could but have begun
our softening, enlightening, and evangelizing influences
when they were children, before they hardened into
shamelessness and recklessness ! AYell, we have them,
under our hands, within oiu* walls, in presence of our
Bibles, hearing our ministers. AYe have them, on the
right day in the right place, and under every good
influence. AYe have them, and yet we lose them!
EDWAED BAINES OK StTKDAT SCHOOLS. 301
Multitudes of them slip out of our hands, escape our
observation, and re-appear as the millions of ' habitual
neglecters of Divine service !' "
He then thus appeals to Sunday School teachers :—
Stand forth then, young guard of England! Tour
country needs you. To your arms ! The enemy is
among you. Tes! the strongest, subtlest, basest
enemies of our honour and welfare—drunkenness,
sensuality, infidelity. Sabbath desecration, dishonesty,
profanity, godlessness ; against these, and against
their prince, you are sworn to wage eternal war,"
Having commended the cause of Sunday Schools
to the especial attention of ministers, deacons, and
Christian churches, he adds;—" "We may also suggest
for the consideration of ministers, superintendents,
etc., whether it is not possible to devise some means
of making the service of the sanctuary more interest¬
ing and useful to the Sunday scholars. Separate
services for the younger children are, I am sure, of
great value, because there everything is adapted to
the understanding and attainments of the children.
But it is to be feared that much of the service and
sermon for adults is beyond the comprehension of the
majority of the scholars, and that their attention,
once lost, can hardly be regained. ATould it be wise
to extend still further the system of the separate
service ? But the desideratum
is to make the children feel it a privilege and plea¬
sure to attend public worship ; which, it is to be
feared, from their ceasing to attend when they leave
the school, is hardly the case at present."
" It is obvious that every efibrt should be made to
render the discipline of the school good, and the
102 EDWAED EAINES ON STJNEAT SCHOOLS.
instruction given there in the highest degree effective.
But how much does this imply on the part of super¬
intendents and teachers ? What invariable punctuality
and regularity of attendance, what conscientious
study to win the hearts and impress the consciences of
the scholars ; for this end what cheerful kindness,
combined with self-respect ; what steady firmness,
what quick vigilance, what scrutiny of the characters
of the children ; what diligent preparation of the
things to he taught; what care to fix and sustain
attention, what ingenuity to enliven the instruction
by questions, by anecdotes, by collateral information ;
what personal inquiries and appeals, what promptness
to seize every circumstance that may aid impression ;
what a devotional spirit, what solemn representations
of eternity, what constant recollection of the grand
objects of all teaching, the conversion and salvation of
the soul!" "An experience
of six and tliirty years in connection with Sunday
Schools, has emboldened me to declare with confidence
the good they have effected ; and the position they
are now officially shown to occupy relative to the bulk
of our population, has stimulated me to appeal thus
earnestly to my fellow-labourers to make the schools
all that they might and ought to be. Humble and
recent in their origin, they are already an honour and
blessing to our land. "With the improvements of
which they are capable, they would be still more our
glory and defence."
These words are full of meaning and of power. All
religious teachers, whether of the young or of adults,
will do well to ponder them carefully, and take them
seriously to heart. If our Sunday School teachers
EDWAED SAINES ON SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 103
would but tbink nobly of tbeir work and ofEice, and
unceasingly cultivate the excellences that the above
paragraph describes, they would unquestionably be, as
Mr. Baines says, not merely the most numerous, but,
in reality, the most powerful moral agency in aU
England. In this prosperity and eíEciency may our
Eagged Sunday Schools abundantly share !
lOé
CHAPTEE VIII.
eeftjges.
Their nature and objects—Objections—The principles on which
they are founded—Are they necessary?—and expedient?—
How should they be conducted ?
The great worth of Eefuges as auxiliarj institutions,
we might almost saj, as a part of the Eagged School
system, and the practical difficulties which will always
he found in making them really helpful as well as
humane, join to demand for them a separate chapter.
The circumstances in which they take their rise are
so forcibly and feelingly told in the last Eeport pre¬
sented by the Eagged School Union, that I cannot do
better than quote the passage as it stands :—
" The Committee could give many whose cases no
existing institution really meets, and which are con¬
stantly occurring amongst those who attend Eagged
Schools. "When, for example, a girl has dissipated
parents, whose cruel conduct drives her from home,
and whom the workhouse will not admit ; or when a
girl has run away from home, and is refused to be
taken back, or from the workhouse (where, perhaps,
her parents are), and will not return to it, but roams
through the streets as a vagrant, exposed to vice in
every form, and starving for food ; what can be done
HOW EErrOES EEGAK.
105
for sucli a girl ? She may come to the E/agged School
on a winter evening, drawn thither, perhaps, merely
by the comfortable appearance of the fire and the gas¬
light ; but she is evidently sinking for want of food
and shelter, and the hour arrives when the school
must close, and all who are inside must go out and
face the bitter cold, or, perhaps, endure the soddening
rain. The teachers prepare to go to their own com¬
fortable houses ; but what can they do with that poor
deserted girl, that stands there shivermg, without any
other friend in the ' wide, wide world ' but them¬
selves ?
" Once or twice they may smother their feelings, and
permit the lone outcast to remain on the step of the
Eagged School, or retire to some damp arch close by ;
but again and again she comes to school ; and though
her cheek is pallid, and her body weak, she seems to
try to please, and to try to read her Bible. Again
and again the sad scene occurs ; she is turned into
the street, till kind-hearted teachers can stand it no
longer ; and after every effort is made in vain to get
her wants supplied elsewhere, a lodging is provided
by the teachers themselves ; and, whüe she continues
to behave well, the poor forlorn and friendless one is
lodged and fed by them. But others soon are found
as destitute and as deserving, and soon some half-
dozen or more such cases arise, and a dormitory must
be provided for them, and food must be supplied, and
a fund must be raised to pay such expenses. Again,
if their teaching is to go on successfully, they must be
looked after by day as well as by night, and industrial
work of some kind taught them, for their clothes need
mending and washing. ' They that wül not work,
106
NATtTEE OE EEETJGES.
neither should they eat.' To accomplish all this,
house-room and careful superintendence are required ;
and thus it is that Ragged School Dormitories and
Refuges arise."
From this passage it appears that the object sought
is partly humane, and partly reformative. It is the
offspring of a kind-heartedness that can weep over the
woes of humanity, united with a Christian love and
wisdom that woiild not willingly sever the material
and temporary help that is rendered from that which
is spiritual and eternal. One great object, therefore,
of the following pages will be to insist upon and illus¬
trate the fundamental principle, and indeed the only
principle upon which these institutions can be safely
carried on—that reformation and benevolent sympathy
must he invariably and inseparably united. If these
two ideas are not closely and constantly blended in
all our plans, refuges will be in danger of becoming,
both in their immediate and in their more remote con¬
sequences, social nuisances, and not social blessings.
Some of our readers wiU, perhaps, be pleased if we
add a few words more on the nature of this depart¬
ment of the work.
Refuges, then, are of two kinds ; the Night Refuge,
or Dormitory ; and the Refuge, properly so caUed, or
Reformatory Institution.
The Night Refuge, or Dormitory, corresponds in
some respects with a well-conducted lodging-house.
Here shelter is found for those who, being destitute
and houseless, without its timely relief would be
either exposed to great hardships, or forced into the
haunts of crime. "With the nightly sleeping-berth a
small quantity of food is given, that they may not
TTATTJEE OF BEFUGE S.
107
pine with hunger. Here young girls driven from
home by wicked parents may rest at night safe from
the well-known perds of the street. And here, also,
outcast and orphan boys that desire to be taught, and
to live honestly, may be saved from a course of theft,
wretchedness, and woe, and brought into the narrow
way that leadeth to life eternal. These dormitories are
most valuable helps in the discovery of suitable objects
for the daily watchfulness and care enjoyed by inmates
of the refuge, properly so called.* Those who are found
to be really orphans, and without a home, or are known
by the inspectors and visitors to be surrounded com¬
pletely by vicious influences, should be transferred to
the second kind of refuges, now to be described.
The E-efuge proper, or Reformatory, corresponds on
the one hand to the children's ward in the union
workhouse, and on the other, to the boarding-schools
of the middle and higher classes. Here a certain
number of children and youth of either sex are pro¬
vided for entirely. Here they are fed, clothed, and
taught. Here they come under the constant influence
of Christian example and of G-ospel truth. Grood heed
is given to all their wants. Vigorous means are thus
taken to cut off their connection with the haunts of
sin, and check their further progress on the road to
destruction. We may add that, expensive as this
method must necessarily be to those who carry it out,
it would cost the community far more to leave them
uncared-for and untaught, the slaves of sin, and the
pests of society. It is an effectual method, if it seems
* In this respect the Field Lane Night Eefage, which has
accommodation for more than one himdred men or boys, may be
quoted as having already done good service.
108
OBJECTIOKS TO EEPUGES.
extravagant ; and more than this, in many eases it is
the only one that will be effectual.
But the mere description that I have given of this
department of Christian philanthropy will awaken in the
minds of many, especially among the more thoughtful,
doubts, objections, and questionings ; and some few
will perhaps say at once that they " have no patience
with the many schemes now being laid for the benefit
of the worthless and vile." I will, therefore, endeavour
to meet fairly the objections of all such by a candid inves¬
tigation of some such questions as these—Is this refuge
system built on a solid foundation ? If refuges are
sound in principle, are they necessary ?—Grranting an
apparently urgent necessity, are they really expedient ?
—Will they in the long rim, after novelty, and the zeal
it helps to engender, have passed away, be really
beneficial ?—And in order that they may be so, on
what principles must they be carried on ?—By what
means are abuses and indirect evil consequences to be
avoided ? To these queries I think we may find in
every case a satisfactory answer.
I. Is there any sound principle at the basis
of the refuge movement ? or, speaking with greater
philosophical accuracy, if we weigh carefully against
each other those conflicting principles that need to be
considered, do the arguments in favour of the refuge
system without doubt press down the scale ?
A little thought will convince any one that refuges
and Bagged Schools rest on precisely the same foun¬
dations, are surrounded by the same social difficulties,
open to the same objections, and liable to the same
abuses. It will also be seen, as we must acknowledge,
that refuges, being a further development in the
FOUNDATIOÎT PEINCIPLES,
109
direction of merciful consideration for the depraved
as well as the ignorant, are beset more closely by
these difficulties and objections, and are more liable
to these abuses than mere E-agged Schools. But it is
the common lot of all remedial efforts, either in the
living body or the body politic, especially if the disease
is either acute and dangerous, or chronic and deeply
seated, that they should be, to some extent, both
painful and dangerous too. Tumours and cancers
cannot be taken out by any perfectly safe or painless
operation, nor ought we to expect that great social
ills can be subdued without running some risk, and
exposing onrselves to some imminent perils.
The great argument in favour of this work may be
thus stated : that juere punishment or the fear of it
never vñll reform the depraved, either old or young ;
and that mercy and love, judiciously interwoven with
a kind of parental discipline, wiU in most cases suc¬
ceed. The reformation of those who are adults and
criminals is often, if not always, hopeless ; therefore
we fix our eyes and lay our hands on the young.
Some of these are surrounded on all sides by most
pernicious infiuences ; others are utterly destitute, and
unable to get a living honestly. They are thrown on the
mercy of society, and on society they will live. Shall
fchey live ignorantly, wretchedly, wickedly—a curse to
themselves and to others ? or shall we, at some risk
of doing harm as well as good, endeavour to pick them
out of the mire and the gutter, and do our best to
make them wise, and useful and godly ? Humanity,
mercy, and Christian love all affirm that the risk,
whatever it may be, must be run, and the danger,
however great, cautiously braved. The remedy, at any
110
NATIOITAL DTTTT.
rate, need not he,—will not he,—cannot he so had as the
disease.
To this we may add that our duty as a Christian
nation in this matter, and indeed in every matter, is
in perfect accordance with our safety and welfare.
This duty is already to some extent acknowledged and
discharged by the legislature. Notwithstanding all
the difficulties and dangers of public benevolence, the
whole country is covered with expensive establish¬
ments for the relief of the poor, in which they receive
food, clothing, and instruction in their duty to God
and man. The institutions that are included in the
Eagged School and refuge movement do but complete
a circle of most extensive benevolent operations
already existing and long established amongst us as a
people. That it is a hard matter to conduct refuges
wisely, we freely grant ; yet surely difficulties are no
excuse for neglect of duty. The reformatory work
does require greater delicacy and skill than any other
national duty, but happily it does not cover the whole
of the land like the general relief of the poor.
The general principle on which the whole structure
of national charities ultimately rests is, that mercy
and love, as well as truth and justice, should run
through all our laws and institutions, so far as the
welfare of the whole nation will permit : a principle
which needs only to be stated that its soundness may
appear. A national effort to reform the depraved and
criminal portion of our population will carry this prin¬
ciple to its furthest limits, and therefore, as a natural
consequence, will run the greatest risk of doing harm
indirectly and impalpably, while aiming at a direct and
palpable good. In the case of adults, these difficulties
CHILDEEK MAT BE HESCUED.
Ill
and dangers are almost, if not quite, insuperable, for
sucb prison discipline as will deter from crime by its
severity is altogether unsuited to the work of reforma¬
tion. This sad but weighty conclusion is thus stated
in the able prize essay by Mr. Cornwallis,* on " The
Treatment of the Dangerous and Perishing Classes of
Society —
" Thus we see that in consequence of neglecting the
great law of human nature, that pleasure shall be the
normal, pain the abnormal state of man, and that,
therefore, if we would induce a return to the normal
state we must make it pleasurable, we have rendered
it almost impossible that reformation should be effected
under prison discipline ; and if, on the contrary, our
prison discipline is to be made reformatory, it would
require to be made so lenient and pleasant that it
would no longer be an object of dread, and would,
therefore, be wholly ineffectual in deterring from crime.
We are thus on the horns of a dilemma, and can only
avoid the one by falling on the other."
The case of children and youth, however, is essen¬
tially different. Here we maintain that it is possible
to be discreetly benevolent,—to befriend the almost
criminal, and reform the altogether depraved, without
either pampering indolence or putting a premium on
vice,— without disheartening the industrious and
careful, or lowering their self-respect. But while we
hold that it can be done, we acknowledge that many
obstacles and dangers beset our path. We are well
aware of these rocks ahead, and desire never to lose
sight of them, lest at any time we should unwittingly
be doing more harm than good. We feel that it will
* See " Essay on the Perishing Classes of Society," sec. 48.
112
ABE EEFTJGES NECES8AET ?
need the utmost caution lest we excite the envy of the
honest and frugal by our treatment of the dishonest
and wasteful,—lest we make the path of life easier and
pleasanter to the offcast children of prostitutes and
thieves than it is to the much-treasured sons and
daughters of those who are battling nobly by their own
thrift and toil against want and wickedness and woe.
2. But some will ask, Is there any proved necessity
for this form of benevolence ? Is not enough already
done for this class of society by private charity and
by the poor-laws ? If the dangers stand so thick in
this path, why walk in it at all ?
The remarks already made in this chapter, and in
the earlier portions of this Essay, serve to show that a
case of necessity is established ; that notwithstanding
all that has been done in other ways, these dormitories
and reformatory institutions are essential to the resto¬
ration of national health and soundness. To enter at
all fully into this part of our subject is beyond the
compass of the present work. And besides, it is un¬
necessary to do over again what others have already
done so well. But since to Bagged School teachers
belongs the credit of haAung brought to light both the
disease and the only eifectual cure ; since they have
done more than any others to help forward the refor¬
matory movement ; and since it might be shown also,
from the experience of those best acquainted with the
whole matter, that refuges are absolutely essential to
the completeness and success of Bagged Schools them¬
selves, this part of the subject must not be left alto¬
gether in the hands of others.
It is not at all strange that missionary effort, either
at home or abroad, should involve kindly thoughtful-
AEE EEETJGES NECESSAEY ?
113
ness, and care for the body as well as for the soul.
The E-edeemer of the world ministered tenderly to
both, and has left us an example that we may walk
in his steps. He healed diseases and removed bodily
defects, as well as corrected errors and pardoned sins.
More than once did he multiply for hungry thousands
the "bread that perisheth," as well as feed them with
"that bread which endureth forever." Nor has the
Church altogether forgotten the lessons thus conveyed
by the ministry and example of her Lord. It has
been felt and understood since he came, in almost
every age, that homes for the destitute and hospitals
for the sick are fit companions for the houses of
prayer.
The desirability of a dormitory in connection with
every Bagged School, for at least a few persons, is too
eHdent from the extract already given from the Beport
of the Union to require further proof or illustration.
Beside the temporary shelter thus afforded to the
homeless boy or girl, it is a place of probation for the
various reformatory institutions.
With equal clearness has the working of Bagged
Schools established the urgent necessity of the other
kind of refuges, as homes for the outcast and the
orphan, and as the only means of helping those poor
children who are perverted by those who ought to be
their best friends. We have already seen (chap, iv.)
that the only chance for such is the reformatory
boarding-school.
Apart from the benevolent teachings of the Gospel
of Christ, and that natural kindness which inclines us
to pity the distressed and suffering, a strong argument
in favour of this cause might be drawn from the fact,
I
114 RAGGEDKESS ABOLISHED.
that our criminals are no longer to be sent to other
lands, but must in some way be disposed of and main¬
tained at home. We are compelled now to "consume
our own crime." Who is there that does not plainly
see that it will, therefore, be our wisdom to reduce its
amount by every method within our power ?
Let it ever be remembered, that the necessity for
Eagged Schools and refuges arises from a state of
things that ought never to have existed at all. The
poor we shall always have with us ; but such a class
as we now find in our great cities chiefly—so ignorant
and so vicious ; so filthy in their persons and habitations ;
and so devoid of all fear, either of God or man, is an
altogether unnatural thing.
When this great evü has been once thoroughly got
under, there will be no further need for such strong
remedies as now need to be applied. There is no
reason in the world why the work of reformation
should not be briskly, vigorously, and well-nigh uni¬
versally done ; why the poor of future generations
should not be in such circumstances as not to require
either refuges or Eagged Schools. Surely this is a
consummation that may be fairly hoped for and ought
never to be forgotten. None of our plans must pre¬
suppose the everlasting continuance of raggedness,
filth, and vice, or in the least degree foster the evils
that we seek to cure. A time wül come, we hope,
and that before very long, when the school-houses and
reformatories, now built for the outcasts of society,
will contain such as are neither ragged nor depraved ;
when filthy dens and crowded cellars wül be altogether
things of the past ; when the "free school " wül contain
the clean and healthy chüdren of the poorest of our
eertraes must do good.
115
population, no longer neglected nor perverted ; when
the reformatory will become a people's boarding-
school, at a low charge for such of the poor as prefer
thus to place tlieir children away from home ; and
when the union workhouse will more than contain all
such as, owing either to old age, or the unavoidable
casualties of life, are dependent on the public. But
at present it is not so. Partly from want of suitable
dwellings, or lodging-houses ; partly on account of the
depravity of parents ; and partly owing to the past
misconduct of the children themselves, there are many
who are destitute, houseless, homeless, and friend¬
less ; who, nevertheless, either will not or cannot
obtain admission at the union, but who may be
reclaimed and reformed by the combined agency of
the refuge and the school. And what man or woman
is there that would close the door against them ?
What Christian that does not pray that these prodigals
may be restored ? What statesman that would not
delight to take part in fixing them again in their
places as useful members of society ? What father,
what mother, that does not rejoice in the opportunity
thus given for these children of woe, and want, and
sin, to come again and shelter themselves under the
wings of virtue, godliness, and love ?
3. We now come to the third inquiry. In what
way, then, must refuges be conducted, so as to prove
blessings to their inmates and to society at large ?
The general principle on which alone refuges can
be safely carried on has already been thus stated :—
" That reformation and benevolent sympathy must be
invariably and inseparably united." Another way of
affirming almost the same thing is, " That we must
i 2
116
PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES,
avoid most carefully every course tliat tends to encou¬
rage idleness, vagrancy, and crime." The inexpe¬
rienced may suppose that, as these principles are
simple and obvious, they are also easy of application.
Such, however, is not by any means the case. It often
needs great practical wisdom, an extensive knowledge
of particular localities, of the past history of the
reformatory movement, and of human nature. Each
particular rule or plan needs to be viewed in aU
its bearings before it is tried; and after it has been
tried, must undergo a further scrutiny in reference to
its actual results. All that can be attempted within
the narrow bounds of this chapter is a kind of cursory
survey of the practical part of the subject, with just a
hint here and there in reference to those abuses which
are most likely to creep in with the lapse of time, and
those human frailties which the refuge system is most
in danger of feeding. Perhaps even this brief review
may also suggest truths and maxims not actually
expressed.
The mode in which refuges are conducted is every¬
thing. According to this will they be either blessings
or curses to society. Only a strong moral and reli¬
gious power ever at work will preserve them from
generating evil instead of doing good. The import¬
ance of a right method is so great, that I shall be
excused for placing the subject before the reader in
several different aspects. In this way we shall be
enabled the more readily to understand the influence
exerted by refuges on the inmates themselves and on
the community generally.
The reception of a child into either a dormitory or
a refuge may be regarded as an act of consideration,
A.LMSQIYING.
117
lying somewhere between judicious almsgiving and
admission to a union workhouse. It will help us,
therefore, in getting at right views and in devising
good plans, to compare these things together. These
comparisons we shall find all the more instructive from
the fact, that the principles involved are throughout
substantially the same. Any course that is mis¬
chievous when pursued by an individual becomes only
so much the more so when pursued by a number of
individuals associated together, and is most of all
dangerous and pernicious when adopted by the State.
Let us take the simplest case first—almsgiving. Of
this there is a large amount that does more harm than
good. So much roguery and deceit is there among
those who beg, that we may lay it down as a rule, that
indiscriminate charity is altogether mischievous in its
tendency. It helps the profligate and worthless to
hold on in their indolent and abandoned courses. It is
worse than thrown away. How often will the public
need to be warned against the manifold impostures of
London thieves and mendicants ! How long will the
kind-hearted continue thus to waste their resources in
unconsciously doing mischief! In more comprehensive
plans let us avoid this error. The public and private
benevolence by which refuges are established and
maintained must be as free as possible from this charge.
Opened as they are for the express benefit of the worst
classes of society, they can only avoid doing harm by
most resolute efibrts to do good ; by mingling with
all their plans a good share of that moral and religious
element, the tendency of which will be either to repel
or reform. The humane and the corrective must not
be separated. Let them not savour of weakness and
118
THE POOE-LAWS.
effeminate sentimentality, but prove themselves to be
the offspring of sound common sense and strong Chris¬
tian love. Judicious almsgiving and well-conducted
refuges will be found to agree in almost every point.
Refuges may also be fitly compared with the
national provision for paupers. The dormitory bears
some resemblance to the casual ward, and the reform¬
atory school to the children's department of the
union workhouse. As it regards internal arrange¬
ments, many of the rules that have been proved to be
good in the one case may be safely applied in the other.
To this point, however, we shall return shortly. A
word or two may be said first on the influence of the
poor-law on those who are neither inmates nor reci¬
pients of out-door rehef. We aU know that unless great
prudence and firmness are manifested in the adminis¬
tration of this law,—unless the guardians are men of
experience and good sense as well as kind feelings, a
most pernicious influence will be exerted on the parishes
in the union. The honest pride that glories in self-
support and independence wül gradually melt away
under a regime of careless and easy benevolence.
Indulgence in the management of a family or of a
parish are alike ruinous ; only judicious firmness,
united with kindliness, is for the real welfare of the
poor. In like manner our refuges must not be too
inviting. We must even run the risk of being thought
harsh by some, rather than ruin the future prospects
of any part of the national family by a weak and
tender-hearted indulgence. It is possible for us to
weave into the refuge system so much of the moral,
religious, and industrial element as to repel the indo¬
lent, rebuke the vicious, encourage the penitent, and,
UNION WOEKHOUSES.
119
with the blessing of Grod, foster, not merely among the
inmates, but also in the whole community, the seeds of
virtue and the first principles of religion. It is in
this respect more than any other that they will difier
from the national refuges already provided,—not by
being more comfortable, but in being pervaded through¬
out by living healthful godliness.
And here we cannot help asking, whether it would
not be possible to turn the present workhouse system
to a better account in a moral and religious point of
view ? Could not more be done to encourage industry,
virtue, and religion, in these large, expensive, but only
too often corrupt establishments ? Could not some
effort be made to introduce into these also the volun¬
tary labours of Christian men of aU denominations ?
The want of these is at present the great defect of the
excellent and abundant provision made for the poor.
Bad characters here meet together as a matter of
necessity ; they mingle with the rest of the inmates,
which also cannot be helped ; the work of contamina¬
tion goes on, and there is no strong counteractive
influence. It is not to be expected that the weekly
visit of the chaplain, or the daily reading of prayers
by the schoolmaster, will produce any great results.
Probably many would help to conduct a Sunday School
in " the house," and others would preach the Gospel
to the poor inmates without charge, if such efforts
were permitted and encouraged. Tül this is done ;—
till teachers, scripture readers, and preachers are
made welcome at these " houses of the poor," their
moral and religious tone will, we fear, be low indeed.
Every Bagged School should have a dormitory
annexed ; the boys' ward being under the care of the
120
DOEMITOEIES.
master, and tlie girls' under the care of the mistress
of the schools. The sleeping apartments need not be
extensive. This plan would lead to many good results.
The teachers would have a fine opportunity for doing
good among those who would be brought for a time
more constantly under their care. Character might
be studied, confidence secured, and religious influence
exerted, without any very serious addition to the
teachers' labour or responsibility. The dormitory
would add to their authority, and so would open to
them a fresh avenue of usefulness, since it would give
them a great increase of moral power over all those
who occasionally required a night's lodging, or a crust
of bread. So far as the wants and comforts of the
body are concerned, these dormitories ought not in
any respect to surpass the provision made in the union
workhouse. Cleanliness should be rigidly insisted on
as an indispensable requisite for remaining in the
institution. Those who are utterly destitute, and not
old enough to maintain themselves, even in part,
.should be transferred, after a careful examination of
their whole case and circumstances, from the dor¬
mitory to some day refuge, or reformatory boarding-
school.
The refuge system is at present far from being
complete. In the whole of the metropolis there are
only three dormitories, or night refuges ; and only
sixteen refuges, properly so called. Of these, eleven
are for boys, and five for girls.*
The E,agged School with its dormitory must be in
the midst of the neighbourhood where it is wanted.
* See Appendix, Note C, for further particulars and statistics
concerning Refuges.
BITE OE EEEUGES.
121
It is by going into the very heart and core of all this
vice and wickedness, that our greatest chance lies of
doing good. Eefuges, on the other hand, need not be
tied down to any particular street or locality. There
will be great gain in the mere bringing the boys and
girls away from the closely-packed dwellings of the
city into open fields and clear country air. So will
they be more healthy both in body and mind. The
change is precisely what they want. How can a poor
child thrive in a cramped building up some narrow
court ? How can he grow ruddy and rosy in the
thick and smoky atmosphere of any large town ? To
get them out into some open country, where they will
be away from contamination, and where there need be
no stint of out-door exercise, as an interchange and
sweetener of in-door labour ; this is a point at which
the founders, supporters, and committees of refuges
should steadily aim.
At the same time it is equally clear that no site
wül do that is hard to get at. Distance will be a
formidable obstacle, not merely to the getting the chil¬
dren backwards and forwards, but also to the visits
of friends who are interested in the cause. On the
whole, it would seem best if they were built a few
miles from town on some line of railway ; and even if
this did render them somewhat less accessible, the
scope for out-door industry thus afforded would be
an ample compensation.
In reference to the occupations of the inmates of
refuges, some lengthened remarks have already been
made in the chapter on Industrial Operations. It may
now be added, that such works as a country life only
will afford—gardening, farming, or brickmaking,—
122
OCCUPATIONS.
have an especial fitness, and are most natural for
several reasons. They help to fill out and build up
the bodily frame. They increase the strength of the
scholars. They are the best possible school for future
emigrants ; and they are equally suitable as a prepara¬
tory course for situations at home in private families.
On the other hand, some in-door manufacture would
perhaps yield the best return, and, if well conducted,
most tend to make the institution self-supporting.
Besides, even on a refuge-farm, much time must of
necessity be spent in-doors. Putting these two
together, we see what ought to be done. Not the
farm or garden exclusively, nor the manufactory
exclusively, wdll yield all that is wanted ; the true and
wise course lies between the two : let both kinds of
work be constantly going on ; let every refuge have
scope for field and garden work, so as to keep the
inmates well employed out of doors in the summer,
and on fine days ; as well as in-door manufacture for
wet days and for the winter.*
In these refuges there might be a full development
of the system of classification already in part adopted.
There might be separate and suitable treatment for
orphans, vagrants, and criminals.
Bich and valuable fruits have already been gathered
in from this field of Christian benevolence. Though
hitherto conducted only within narrow bounds, great
numbers of poor neglected children have found in
these hospitable asylums both a home and a school.
Thence some hundreds have already been sent forth
* See the account of the Keformatory Sehool at Saltley, near
Birmingham.—Bagged School Union Magazine, vol. v. 1853,
p. 195 ; and at Perth, vol. ii. 1850, p. 227.
PLEASING EESULTS.
123
as emigrants, and still greater numbers bave taken
situations at home, and are filling them with credit to
themselves, and with satisfaction to their employers.
Just two instances may be given here, by way of
showing the kind of work thus taken in hand, and a
few others will be given in the Notes at the close of
this volume. *
The following are two of thirteen interesting cases
of usefulness narrated in the Reaper's Corner of the
" Ragged School Union Magazine," vol. v. 1858, p. 176.
" A boy, not fourteen years of age, stole half-a-
crown from his master; the money was spent in
treating some companions to beer and tickets for the
theatre. "When the money was gone, he was told to
steal more, and on his refusal to do so, one who had
shared the spoil betrayed him, and he was taken before
a magistrate. His widowed mother begged that he
might not be committed till she had made another
effort to save him. She applied at the school, and the
next day the superintendent saw the magistrate, and
obtained the boy's discharge. A week in prison had
sadly hardened him, but a short time at school had
such an effect upon him, that he sought for and
obtained admission to the refuge for the destitute,
from which institution he was bound apprentice to a
shoemaker, and has now served about six years of his
time."
" M. B. (a young woman), aged twenty-four, left
home quite young, and went to live with an aunt—
came to London, and got a place—was taken ill, and
forced to leave—lived by the sale of her clothing, and
then went on the streets. For three years she was
♦ See Appendix, Note D.
124
PLEASING EESELTS.
either on the streets or in prison—wilfully incurring
imprisonment, by breaking street-lamps, to get rid of
the filth and vermin she gathered in her wretched
course. At the end of three years she was a servant
in an infamous house at the east end of London,
where she became such a drunkard that she could
drink a pint of gin before breakfast ; but, tired of her
course of life, she obtained admission to the refuge.
She had been a Sabbath scholar when young, and the
good seed, though buried so long, was not dead, for
she became anxious about her soul ; and being sent as
a servant to a pious family, was enabled to improve
her condition by removing to another, in which she
was three months, and was subsequently taken to
Australia by her third master and mistress, who paid
her passage."
These are two instances of success out of many
that have gladdened the hearts of the conductors of
the Dolphin Court Eagged School and Eefuge.
One question remains. How can refuges be founded
and sustained ?
The Earl of Shaftesbury and Mr. Adderley have
both brought the reformatory movement before the
legislature, by carefully prepared Bills, the success of
which is doubtless only postponed. Lord Palmerston,
in his capacity as Home Secretary, has also still more
recently assured the deputation from the Birmingham
Conference, lately held, that the Government feels
strongly the importance of the subject, and will
endeavour to take up the matter in the course of the
present session.* Advocacy and proof are therefore
* This promise Lord Palmerston has fulfilled. See Appendix,
Note E.
FOUNDING OF EFFUGES.
125
now not so much needed, as practical wisdom in the
things that are planned, attempted, and accomplished.
The Government and the nation are alike convinced
that something must be promptly and vigorously
done.
Private benevolence has founded a few such
reformatory institutions in our own country. They
exist, however, in greater numbers and efficiency in
other lands—in America, Prance, Germany, Holland,
and Prussia ;* and they are found to work exceedingly
well. Hitherto the English have not taken their share
in this benevolent work. We have clung tenaciously
to the old way ; cruel, harsh, and worthless as it has
been proved to be. Judges, recorders, and magis¬
trates, are often grieved to their very hearts when a
case of juvenile depravity comes before them ; for they
know that the jail will only harden the young offender,
and confirm him in his evil courses. Tet, at present,
the only alternatives are, either to send him thither,
or let him go again to the sinful haunts and vile com¬
panions among whom he has grown precociously
wicked.
But now we will hope that this great national defect
is about to be supplied, and that the recollection of
past neglect will soon be effaced by the vigour and
completeness of our future plans.
The great point in the management of all schools
or asylums for juvenile criminals, and for boys or girls
of an unusually depraved character, is to have at the
head of them a master, mistress, or matron of the
right stamp. In the principals, considerable discre-
* See " Hill's Essay on Javenile Depravity," chap, vi., for a full
and careful account of them.
126
MAITAGEMEKT.
tionarj power will need to be vested. The qualities
of mind and soul described* as being most desirable
in the ordinary Ragged School teacher, are still more
to be desired in those who are masters or mistresses
of reformatory institutions. To govern such a com¬
munity wisely and successfully, what qualities of soul
are wanted—what kindness—what patience—what
self-control—what penetration—what good temper—
what common sense—what experience of human
nature—and, to render all the rest complete, what
unfeigned piety !
None of these institutions should be too large to
come entirely under the government and oversight of
one mind, whether matron or master. Probably they
wiU succeed best if we keep up the idea of a family ;
for so wiU it be easier to obtain good discipline and
exert a strong moral influence on the children. This
course is adopted in some continental establishments
having the same object, with great success.
It is not too much to say, that success or failure
depends on the selection of suitable masters, mis¬
tresses, matrons, and governors. They should be, to
each several establishment, the fountains of order and
of intelligence, of virtue and of godliness. Under
their guidance, enjoyment and healthful recreation
must be freely blended; the lessons of the school¬
room with industrial operations. Crime and want
have made many of the children prematurely men
and women; let us try to restore to them the
innocent playfulness of childhood; let us bear with
them patiently, love them tenderly, and never loosen
our hold upon them, or slacken our interest in them,
* See chap. v. pp. 47—50.
HOW TO EAISE THE FUNDS.
127
till they are fairly launched on the world, with a good
prospect of a fair and prosperous voyage.
Hefuges are too expensive a mode of benevolence to
be carried on by the voluntary principle alone. Great
honour is due to those who have already most munifi¬
cently contributed to this work. Only with delight
should we hear of other noble instances of self-denying
generosity ; provided always that the fundamental
principles of all safe benevolent effort are not trans¬
gressed. To the State, however, we may justly look
both for measures and for money, to aid in carrying
out thoroughly, as becomes the English nation, those
plans that have been so well begun by private benevo¬
lence. Eunds in aid of such institutions, to the extent
of one-half or three-fourths of the total expense, should
be granted either by a county rate, or by an annual
vote in the House of Commons.
Tet it is of the utmost consequence that the life and
warmth that is generated and fed by the voluntary
principle should not be sacrificed. To those whose
love for the cause prompts them to subscribe for its
maintenance, and who prove themselves to be deeply
interested in the rescue of juvenile offenders, should
the working and management of each refuge and
industrial school be committed. Though they may
contain many young criminals, let them be considered
altogether as schools, and not at all as penitentiaries
or jails. The only right which the State should have,
is the right of inspecting them as frequently as shall
be deemed advisable. Such masters and mistresses
as are required by Eagged Schools and refuges, can
be neither found nor appointed by any Government,
however careful or disinterested. The spiritual power.
128
GOVEEIiMEIîT AID.
whicli alone can make this movement successful, took
its rise among tke more benevolent members of the
Christian Church, and only by them can it be sustained ;
though sufficient funds cannot be raised without
liberal grants from the State. So important is this
point, that at the risk of quoting too frequently from
others, I shall conclude this chapter by giving the
opinions of two who are most worthy to be reckoned
as authorities on the subject. M. Hill, Esq., in his
" Essay on Juvenile Depravity," thus writes :—" Even
when sanguine hopes are entertained of eventually
rousing the public sense of responsibility, a dread of
delay is realised. During the interval, schools wül
perhaps be closed ; and juvenile depravity become too
great an evil for either State or society to root out of
the country. In confirmation of this view, we need
not quote pathetic appeals from the reports of every
school of the kind, supported by voluntary contri¬
butions. The reader who is doubtful on this point,
has but to consult the documents referred to, to dis¬
cover the general accuracy of this statement.
" But, on the other hand, a prominent interference
on the part of the Grovernment wifi have a pernicious
efiect. The most obvious reason of this is, that the
very nature of the discipline required in these insti¬
tutions needs a class of masters that neither gold nor
State power can provide."*
A. Thompson, Esq., thus spoke at the Birmingham
Conference :—" Such schools need to be carried on with
no ordinary energy ; they require the constant exercise
of no ordinary amount of Christian perseverance and
principle. It ought to be made known, that aU we are
* See "Essay on Juvenile Delinquency," p. 308.
GOYEENMENT AID.
129
desirous of obtaining in the way of aid from the
Government is, that parliament should authorise the
expenditure of public funds in aid of local exertions ;
that when our industrial school has been established
in a suitable district, then the local committee should
be entitled to look to the public funds for a certain
determinate proportion of the expense ; but that the
whole carrying on and working of the school be left
to the unfettered energy of its subscribers and sup¬
porters, Government only exercising the right of
inspection, as at present in schools partly supported
by grants from the Privy Council."
Thus we have seen that dormitories and reformatory
asylums rest on sound principles ; are necessary and
expedient; may be conducted in such a way as to
encourage neither pauperism nor vice ; and, like
Ragged Schools, can only be founded in sufficient
numbers, and maintained in full efficiency, by the joint
agency of voluntary spiritual power and liberal
Government grants.
K
130
CHAPTEE IX.
moeal and eeligiotjs powee in eagged schools
and eepitges.
The danger of contamination—Overcoming evil with good—
Insufficiency of mere knowledge—Modes of increasing and
sustaining moral and rehgious power—Incentives to virtue—
Satisfactory results.
The object of Eagged Schools and refuges is purely
good and kind. They will have to be measured, how¬
ever, not by the worthy intentions of their founders,
but by the fruits they have actually borne. At the
same time, it is altogether unreasonable to expect that
these fruits will be only good and pleasant. This cannot
be said of the best and purest of earthly institutions.
That the good should abundantly outweigh the e\dl is
the most that any thoughtful man wiU count upon or
require. Tried by this standard, Eagged Schools have
been crowned by extraordinary success. Instances of
contamination there have been, no doubt, but they are
few indeed compared with the thousands who have
been reformed ; a fact which is as surprising as it is
delightful.
A great moral power must have been brought to
bear on these young outcasts, else the assembling
NEED OF STEONG PEINCIPLE.
131
together of such would have led only to the faster
growth among them of all wickedness. Without a
strong and all-pervading moral influence, we shall he
planting nurseries that will hasten the growth of crime,
instead of rooting it out, according to our hopes, and
plans, and prayers. The corrupt influence of had
example is the thing most dreaded hy the respectable
poor in ordinary National and British Schools ; how
much greater then must the danger he where the
scholars are almost all more than usually sinful and
depraved !
Besides which, all teachers of youth know to their
sorrow that evil propagates itself freely and without
care ; while that which is good only obtains a hold on
the mind hy slow degrees, after much labour, watch¬
fulness, and prayer. Not without a spiritual might,
most real, most earnest and zealous, enlivened and
strengthened hy frequent draughts from the great
fountain of revealed truth, and hy sweet communion
with the Grod of all grace, can those who engage in
this warfare successfully storm the citadels of Satan,
governed, garrisoned, and defended as they are in ten
thousand ways hy the unseen powers of darkness.
It is not enough to say that truth is stronger than
error, and God greater than the devil ; hut in the
souls of those who thus battle for God and for truth,
there must he a good measure of spiritual strength,
courage, and skill ; of confidence in Him who is the
Captain of our salvation, and in the efficient power of
the Holy Ghost. If these things are wanting, the
unclean spirits will not he cast out ; the legions of
Satan will obstinately stand their ground, and hut
little real good will he done. They who engage
ic 2
132
POWER GE CHARACTER.
in this war must have in themselves such a temper
and spirit as will fit them to " overcome evil with
good;" to grapple with the hosts of Satan by living
faith and fervent prayer ; to wrestle, not merely with
spiritual wickedness in high places, but also with
most carnal, and we might even say, bestial wicked¬
ness, in the lowest and foulest places on God's
earth. Anything short of spiritual life and power
will utterly fail. Only by real godliness can their
appalling ungodliness be successfully assailed ; only
by virtue the most genuine can our labours be made
to tell on so vast a mass of vice and crime. A
cold and almost lifeless formalism may indeed pass
muster in the smoother and calmer waters of more
decent society ; but it will be altogether worthless in
this close conflict—tliis deadly struggle between good
and evil.
Oh that our Bagged School teachers. City Mis¬
sionaries, and voluntary helpers in this work, may
drink plentifully of that spirit which filled the souls of
martyrs in days gone by ; a spirit of fortitude and
faith, of self-control, self-denial, and self-sacrifice !
One great secret of moral power and influence over
the children, either in a school or a refuge, is the
sway of religion in the teacher's own soul. True
Christian teachers will carefully watch against every
thing that tends to lower either their own spiritual
state, or the tone of the establishments under their
care. It will be absolutely necessary that whatever
excellence there is in them ; in the books and subjects
of instruction ; yea, even all that can be found in the
scholars themselves, should be brought out, made the
most of, and placed in direct antagonism to the sinful-
EELIGIOUS TEACHING.
133
ness and vice thus unavoidably congregated together.
Eagged Schools demand, more than any others, that
religious teaching should take the lead. And the
reason is obvious. No happy homes await these poor
children. No kindly domestic influences soften their
natures. No mother's voice teaches their infant lips
to pray. No father's example points out the road to
respectability and comfort. No family altar raises
their thoughts to heaven. Often it will happen that
the school is the only place where the slumberiog
conscience is awakened, and opens its eyes to the
beauty of truth, virtue, and piety ; the only place
where the aflections reveal their hidden treasures of
gratitude and love.
The school must, therefore, be a kind of family, of
which the teacher is the foster-parent. In him or her
must be supplied that personal object and medium
which human nature, especially in childhood, requires,
that it may pass over to the love of truth, of gooduess,
and of Grod. "What our great Eedeemer has been to
the human race, they must be, in some humble mea¬
sure, to their youthful charge—teacher, example, and
medium of renewed intercourse with God.
May it never be forgotten, in the formation of plans,
in the choice of teachers, or in any other arrange¬
ments, that the primary aim of Eagged Schools is to
bring out the conscience and the aflections ; to call
forth the better feelings of human nature, and to lead
the soul to God. Without this, even the most
attractive and intelligent teaching will utterly fail.
To lead these little ones, step by step, on the upward,
heavenward journey ; to show them how broad and
clear is the line between right and wrong ; how well-
13á
KNOWLEDGE NOT ENODGH.
known to God are all our words and deeds ; how dis¬
pleasing to Him and dishonourable among men is all
wrong-doing ; how able and wüling to save is the ever-
blessed Redeemer ; how many even in this life are the
rewards for virtue and piety, while " the way of trans¬
gressors is hard how surely the righteous when they
die go to a world of joy and love, and how dreadful
will be the lot of the wicked in a world of sorrow and
despair : all this will be to a good teacher his daily
duty and delight.
Actual experience has proved that mere intellectual
culture does not prevent crime, or scarcely even lessen
it.* Nor is this at all surprising. Do any of us at
all expect that the moral faculties are brought into
play by the exercise of the memory, or the develope-
ment of the intellect ? On the contrary, is it not a
notorious fact that some of the finest intellects and
best scholars have prostituted their brilliant powers
to the service of sensuality and infidelity ? If this has
happened, notwithstanding the many restraints im¬
posed by refined society, and the easy circumstances
in which their lives were spent, is it not certain that
it will happen on a much wider scale in the lower
ranks of society, where there are fewer restraints and
many more temptations ? If we rely on mere know¬
ledge, we shall make them sharper, but not better.
We shall only give a keener edge to the blade that
will ere long be thrust into the very heart of society,
and will let out its life-blood of truth, goodness, and
godliness. We shall foster the adder in our very
bosoms, only that it may give us a more deadly and
poisonous bite. If these things are true of schools in
* See Appendix, Note F,
MOEAL AND EELIGI0U8 INFLUENCES.
135
general, they are most of all true of Ragged Schools,
pauper schools, and refuges.
Let us ever keep in mind the great object we have
in view, and adapt the means to the end. "What we
most of all wish and work for is the complete conver¬
sion or moral transformation of those who come under
our care, that they may cease to be a curse to them¬
selves and to others, and become a blessing,—that,
being already shrewd, they may become honest and
diligent, so as to take their places as respectable
members of society,—that having been endowed with
immortal souls, those souls may be eternally saved.
With these ends knowledge is closely connected as
one important means. But the chief department must
ever be the moral and religious. In every possible
way this must be strengthened and sustained. Here
a suggestion or two may be thrown out ; but it is only
actual experience in the work, and a fertile invention,
that will clear the way in this matter.
Those points which are most obvious, however, are
also of the most consequence. Such, for instance, are
the selection of teachers and lesson books, and the
adoption of a right system of discipline. In each of
these the moral element should be chiefly regarded.
Thus, it is more necessary that any teacher who offers
himself as a candidate for engagement in a Ragged
School should possess earnestness, affectionate sym¬
pathy with the woes and wants of these outcast
children, an eloquent persuasive power, unimpeachable
moral character and sincere piety, than that he should
be able to pass any prescribed examination in certain
branches of knowledge. The books in use and the
general teaching, lectures or addresses, should be
136
POWEE OF EEAL EELIQION.
sanctified and ennobled by religion. An excellent
moral influence might also be interwoven with indus¬
trial occupations. Real religion and ardent benevo¬
lent feeling will both find expression for themselves in
connection with every subject. They will be felt
rather than seen. They will be the secret springs of
healthful energy, of life and cheerfulness. The forms
of religion, its mere externals of creed and catechism,
have too often had a first place in the education of the
poor, without exerting any beneficial interest what¬
ever,—often to the ruinous exclusion of nearly all
useful knowledge. But it does not, therefore, follow
that our only remedy is to run to the other extreme, and
give them only a secular education. The one course
would be as ruinous as the other. If we would suc¬
ceed, the teaching of these little ones must be shaped
as much as possible after the model of the most suc¬
cessful family training. How rapidly do some children
imbibe learning and goodness from an intelligent and
pious mother; from an afiectionate and judicious
father ! It is not that so much is said on purely reli¬
gious subjects ; but the quiet influence of earnest
piety, combined with parental love, makes all the work
of teaching delightful and successful.
Another method of increasing the moral power of
the teacher, and, indeed, of the whole system, is by
a more frequent awarding of testimonials and prizes for
good conduct or proficiency. There can be little
doubt but a most healthful stimulus might thus be
given to the cause of popular education. The middle
and higher classes are spurred on in their intellectual
attainments by emulation, by the love of approbation
and honourable distinction ; yea, even by the desire of
PEIZES AND CEETIPICATES.
137
such substantial prizes as bursaries, exhibitions, scho¬
larships, and fellowships. It is not easy to say how
great a falling off there would be of hard students at
either of our universities if gentlemen were left without
any other stimulus than the pure love of study, sup¬
ported by those distant rewards which are sometimes
obtained in commercial or professional life.
"Why should not the people as well as the aristocracy
have their class hsts, their certificates of honour, their
prize medals, and more substantial rewards, answering
to fellowships, etc., of a kind suited to their station ?
Grreat credit is due to the Committee of Council that
they have to some extent struck out into this path.
Much more, however, might yet be done. A certain
number of public ofiSces in the Customs, the Inland
Eevenue, the army and navy, etc., could be thus
employed, being thrown open to public competition^
and offered to those who have most distinguished
themselves in " the schools of the people." * It might
also do good if a systematic register were kept in
every school of the conduct and acquirements of all
the elder scholars, monthly class hsts being hung up
in a conspicuous part of the room; and if suitable
prizes were publicly presented to the most deserving
at an annual meeting of the patrons, committee, and
subscribers, held for the purpose. By some such
plans as these new life would be given to the whole
educational system.
Nor should Bagged Schools be omitted in any such
movement. In the case of those w^hose very character
and position furnish but few handles by which we can
* It is with pleasure we note that somethiog of this kind is
being now attempted by the reform of the Civfi. Service.
138
CLASS-LISTS AND CEETIFICATES.
lift them up into the regions of decent self-respect
and honest self-support, there is only the greater
reason for availing ourselves of all those principles
which afford us a chance of doing them good. These
little ragged urchins strive to excel each other, are
fond of praise, and wide-awake to the chance of get¬
ting some, to them, most honourable and lucrative
employment.
In our Ragged Schools, class-lists of elder boys and
girls might be carefully kept ; distinction and reward
might follow good behaviour and regularity, being
graduated according to the degree of merit in every
case. In every award, regard should be had rather
to moral conduct than to the extent of knowledge
acquired ; and so another powerful moral lever might
be introduced. A system of marks might be adopted,
and a monthly list suspended in the room, for the
inspection of visitors and of the whole school. At
the annual meeting, special commendations and public
honour might be conferred on the more deserving;
and, if possible, also some stiU more palpable proof of
the goodwill and satisfaction of the managers. The
mere awakening of a spirit of good-natured emulation
is in itself a conquest, and will be fruitful in good
results.
These lists, if carefully kept, would also be of great
service as helping to show which of the scholars are
most worthy of being recommended to situations, or
to the still higher privilege of emigration. The mere
chance of getting to the top of the school, especially
if this insured some good opportunity of getting on in
life, would exert a powerful influence for good on the
boys and girls, and on their parents too. Most satis-
PRIZES.
139
factorily would this system work also in the industrial
department. A variety of prizes, certificates, and
rewards might be employed to promote industry and
skill. That such a system of rewards and distinctions
would work well, can scarcely be doubted. It is so
much in harmony with the whole system. One great
object gained thereby will be, that learning will become
more pleasurable and attractive. Emulation, and the
expectation of reward, will infiuence many, who other¬
wise would not take any special interest in the lessons
or the school-room. Many of our readers are aware
that prizes and certificates have already been given by
the Eagged School Union to those scholars who have
remained in one situation a clear twelvemonth, and
conducted themselves during that period to the satis¬
faction of their employers. This also is good. It
may be doubted, however, whether the certificate, and
the public notice connected with it, is not in itself
distinction enough. This is a point which only expe¬
rience will settle.
More need not be said to prove that rewards, certi¬
ficates, and prizes might be made most helpful in
bringing out the better principles of the children, and
in hastening the growth of diligence, honesty, and
steady perseverance in their hitherto unsettled spirits.
The moral power of the Sagged School ought to be
greatly augmented by all they hear and do on the
Sabbath day. AU the children should be urged, though
not compelled, to attend the Sunday classes. Accord¬
ing to the description already given, the Sabbath
engagements should be so interesting and pleasant
that but little persuasion is required. The voluntary
teachers wül then tell them of a Saviour's love, explain
140
ETIL s PEE VENTED.
the glad message of the Grospel, and lead them to the
cross of Christ. This day ought at least to equal in
interest and surpass in usefulness all the rest.
Such are some of the methods that might be adopted
and combined for awakening and sustaining right
principles among the scholars of our Ragged Schools
and refuges.
Most certain is it that refuges and schools, if
wisely conducted, will yield a noble return for whatever
outlay they may involve of time, money, and personal
effort. The blessing of God has rested, and will rest,
to an unusual degree, on a course that is so much in
harmony with his own glorious plan for the redemption
of mankind. An incalculable amount of crime will
thus be prevented. New forms of excellence will be
called into being, and a fearful waste of talent and
strength will be stayed. Souls that were just entering
on the paths of sin and sorrow will be led into the
way of righteousness and peace.
A large proportion of those who assemble in our
Ragged Schools would otherwise be under daily
training of the most ruinous character. Educated
they certainly will be, either in the school of Satan or
the school of Christ. Let them alone, and society
will soon hear of their doings. Cases of petty theft
will rapidly multiply; quiet families will be disturbed
and alarmed by daring burglaries and cruel murders ;
complaints will be made of the insufficiency of our
protective and detective police-force; we shah, want
new jails, heavier county rates ; and be continually
weighed down with the thought that crime is gaining
rapidly upon us. Besides which, to our continual
loss, discomfort, and disgrace, as long as this state of
SEEDPLOTS OF CEIME.
141
things lasts, the vicious and worthless portion of
society will be living upon the rest ; stealing, in order
to live, and living in order to steal. When caught
and convicted, they can only be punished at an
immense expense to the State, with the certainty that
as soon as they are again set at liberty, they will go
through the same round of wickedness and punish¬
ment over and over again.
The cost of crime to the public is enormous. " The
Eev. Mr. Clay, the Chaplain to the Preston House of
Correction, estimates the loss caused to the public by
fifteen pickpockets, whose course he has traced,
including the value of the property stolen, expenses
of prosecution and maintenance in jail, at £26,500 !"
Prom first to last, the criminal portion of the com¬
munity are silently and secretly draining the resources
of the nation, while they are openly destroying its
comfort and peace. To a great extent this giant evil
might be nipped in the bud—stayed at the very
fountain.
It is well known that, in farming or gardening,
a neglected plot of ground brings harm to all. It is a
seedplot of weeds, a source only of vexation and
mischief. Most certainly is this true of the class
whom we seek to reach and reform. They are the
very " seat of Satan." They have a most prolific
power. They are generating evil enough to pollute
the whole land. Prom this great seminary of crime
there go forth the emissaries of evil, at one time to
infest the ordinary marts of commerce, and at another,
to break in on the midnight peace of the honest, the
worthy, and sometimes even of the eminently good.
If this seedplot of evil is not brought under culti-
142
CHIME.
vation, we may still carefully weed our towns and our
counties of the crime that they generate, but our
work will never be done. Our surest, safest, and
easiest method will be to make a hold and persevering
effort to drive the plough through " these waste
places," whence the seeds of vice are blown and
scattered over the whole country. This is the remedy
that the case demands, and which if we could overcome
or lay aside our jealousies, crotchets, and prejudices,
might be at once applied.
Or, we might illustrate the subject by reference to
another class of natural phenomena. It has been
well argued, that the offensive odour of decaying
matter of any kind, either animal or vegetable, teaches
us that we ought to bury it in the ground ; which,
experience has proved, will thereby be fertilized and
renewed in productive power. And might we not
learn a similar lesson from those forms of depravity,
so hideous and offensive, that are continually coming
to our knowledge ? Is it not amongst us, breeding
continually a moral pestilence, and crying aloud for
removal ? Husbands brutally murdering their wives !
wives poisoning their husbands ! and, shocking to
confess, mothers murdering their own children for the
sake of the burial club-money ! Instead of deodorizing
this mass of moral corruption, we have hitherto tried
to wall it in by laws and police regulations. "Whatever
escapes all our endeavours to confine it, is abroad
doing mischief; and that which is shut up in our
strong public buildings, only increases in offensiveness
and destructive power. And some we have removed
to our colonial possessions, where it poisons the very
fountain-head of those new streams of liberty and
THE PEEVEHTIOH OE CfîlME.
143
•wealth. Men are no'W beginning to see and feel that
jails and legal restrictions do but imperfectly check
the gro-wth of crime,—often even helping to increase
it. Only by early reformative training can we hope
to subdue this grievous national disorder. If we had
not been so slow to try this remedy, those who are a
source of sorrow and disgrace might have been changed
into useful and industrious members of society, at one-
tenth of the expense involved by leaving them uncared-
for and untaught. "We have erred in the past; let
us learn wisdom for the future.
It may be affirmed with certainty that we shall only
repeat the failures of the past, if our new plans are not
based on the missionary principle,—if moral power
and vital godliness have not a very substantial pro¬
minence in the agents and instruments that are em¬
ployed. Mere hirelings and placemen -will altogether
fail as heads or managers of reformatory institutions
of any kind. Enthusiasm, zeal, and sympathy with
the cause, warm and genuine, are absolutely neces¬
sary, or the powers of evil will be too strong for us.
So inveterate is the disease, that only the invincible
power of goodness and love will elfect a cure. Thus it
appears that if our schools and refuges are to prevent
crime, their moral power must be often renewed and
vigorously sustained.
The prevention of crime is one of the first, and, in
some respects, one of the lowest of our aims. But
even this is inseparably connected with a large amount
of positive good, though itself only observable as a
negative result. We cannot cure these children of
vice without having implanted the seeds of virtue;
we cannot remove them from the list of criminals
POSITIVE RESULTS.
■without adding them to the number of those who are
useful and respectable. Thus, to change those who
would become thieves, pickpockets, and prostitutes,
into artizans, operatives, and domestic servants, is
seen to be a noble work. Tet it is in the very nature
of preventive measures that they should yield no pal¬
pable and demonstrative results. Whether the thing
counteracted be the invasion of a foreign foe, the
growth of sedition and discontent among our own
people, the insidious progress of a deadly disease, or of
an equally deadly moral pestilence, the triumph being
altogether of a negative character, there will always be
some who deride the very measures which have helped
to secure their own safety. Of late years we have
seen several illustrations of this. Precautionary mea¬
sures always run the risk of being most laughed at
when they are most successful. They who work in
this cause do not labour for the praise of men ; they
will have it, nevertheless, in due time, if they persevere.
The absence of juvenile crime wül soon be regarded
by judges, magistrates, and a discerning public as an
unspeakable positive good.
Let us, however, look at that side of the subject
which is, strictly speaking, positive ;—the manifest
good effected, as well as the expected evil averted.
The negative result that we have just discussed is most
regarded by the State ; but the true philanthropist, in
his efforts, contributions, and prayers, contemplates
chiefly these other and more visible results. He
desires to see these children, not merely saved from
being perverted, but actually converted,—not merely
leaving the ranks of Satan, but becoming disciples of
Christ and members of his church. To this end how
SEEMING EAILUEES.
145
mucli of earnest faith and moral power, how many
incentives to virtue, how many eloquent pleadings and
fervent prayers will he required, and how much of the
blessing of God ! But a glorious work it will be !
Vagrants and thieves will be changed into labourers
and domestic servants, who will either go themselves
to our prosperous colonies, or will supply the places of
those who are already gone ; foes will be changed into
friends ; plunderers into producers ; criminals into
Christians ; and a curse into a blessing. Into this
gulf of misery and ruin there is annually drawn by
intemperance and sin a vast amount of talent and skill,
much of which is lost, chiefly because no adequate
endeavour has been made to rescue and save it.
Going one step further, who among us can at all
estimate the gain of one single case of entire and
complete conversion ? — when the little reprobate
child, precocious in vice and crime, is not merely
restored to the bosom of society, but also to the flock
and Church of Christ ; when the better course of life
that began in the Bagged School or refuge is carried
on in the regions of the blessed for ever and ever ?
How can we expect this kind of success among
children naturally so depraved, if great pains are not
taken to engrave Gospel truth on their minds, and
most patient and prayerful endeavour put forth to
ingraft it on their hearts ?
But, even when the eflbrts of teachers seem to have
failed, it must not be hastily concluded that no good
whatever has been done. Something is done if the
conscience is awakened, the affections called out, and
the religious principle aroused, though only for a
time. The impressions thus made do at least still
L
146
GOOD SEED ONLY BTIEIED.
exist within ; though they may afterwards be crossed
and written over by many others. Though set aside
or neglected for years, they are not annihilated.
"The Prodigal" will some day call to mind "his
Pather's house." A long course of sin may bury
these lessons of love; floods of crime may roll over
them ; but all this while, they are still under God's
keeping in the store-house of memory. There they
lie deeply and solemnly. Now and then, it may be,
a voice out of the depths of the soul cries to God for
pardon, and to the conseiencé for amendment. "Whether
they give forth any such utterances or not, there they
are and will remain,—yea, even to the judgment day.
It sometimes happens, however, that their presence is
proved and their power shown in a most unexpected
and marvellous manner. The child that was brought
under holy influences and religious training, either
in the family or the Sunday School, contains within
elements of moral combustion, which even a spark
may kindle into a flame. That spark may be the
mere recollection of days long gone by, quickened by
the sight of some old familiar spot ;—or it may be a
tract, a sermon, yea, even a single word fitly spoken.
While they whose whole lives have been spent in
the midst of folly, vice, and crime, and whose igno¬
rance is only equalled by their wickedness, have a
consciousness that is undi vided in its allegiance to the
powers of darkness ; they who have been at any time
brought under better influences, and into a diflerent
region and moral atmosphere,—who have there known
what it is to enjoy the approving smile of a good
teacher, and the commendations of a good conscience,
will always be subject more or less to that internal
THE PAST BEOHGHT TO MIHD. 147
strife which the moral powers wage with inclination,
and with the lower propensities. It is something to have
produced a little discord in that otherwise too unani¬
mously wicked soul ; something to have called out,
though only for a little while, the ideas of right and
truth ; of God and of a Saviour ; of heaven and hell.
It is somethmg to have produced even a faint impres¬
sion, on its sordid sinful tablet, of truths so glorious
and so divine. Tor even to the worst, those that
jfc '
appear to be total failures, there may come a time
when they will heartily sicken of the ways of sin ; when
they will "come to themselves;" will bethink them¬
selves of school days, of the teachings then received,
of kindness then shown, of comforts then enjoyed,
of glad tidings of the Gospel then listened to, of
inward peace then felt, and of a rest in heaven then
promised ; and it may be, even then, not too late to
make the happy resolve, " I will arise, and go to my
Father, and will say unto him, ' Father, I have sinned
against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son.' "
Experience has proved that many who enjoy reli¬
gious advantages go astray after all ; but it has also
proved that all such become sooner than others weary
of their sinful courses, ashamed of themselves, and
anxious to amend.* They go through the course of the
prodigal son ; and it is weU for them that there is "a
Father's house" in the past, that they can look back
upon. Satan's service is found to be as irksome as it
is degraded; yet if the hand of Christian love had
never been placed upon them, in that service they
would live on and die. But the light that once shone
* See Appendix, Note Q-.
L 2
148 THE PAST BROUGHT TO MIHD.
brightly within, still glimmers tremidously through
the darkness ; the echoes of an affectionate teacher's
voice have scarcely yet died away in the distance;
old scenes and joys still haunt the imagination ; the
school, the Sabbath day, the song of praise, and the
fervent prayer ; and sometimes, even in the midnight
of their guilt and self-abandonment, thoughts of the
past rush in with all the fury of a tempest, anon flash¬
ing like lightning, arid then rollmg with awful thun¬
ders. Then from their agonized souls there issues
the anxious and heart-broken cry, " What shall I do to
be saved?"
149
CHAPTEE X.
collateeal and adxiliaet eeeoets eoe the
destithte and depeayed.
The City Mission—Sanitary movement—Improved dwellings—
Temperance Societies—Mothers' meetings—Entertainments.
Hitheeto we have been occupied chiefly with the
internal arrangements of the school. We have con¬
sidered separately, the scholars, teachers, and school¬
room ; together with the best way of conducting day
schools, Sunday schools, and refuges; and in the
last chapter, we have endeavoured to show the absolute
necessity of weU sustaining the moral and religious
power of every reformatory institution. "We now turn
to the adult population, and to those external agencies
for good, which either are or may become helpers in
this work.
Among these, the foremost and nearest of kin are
the City Mission, the sanitary movement, eflbrts in
various forms for the improvement of the dwellings of
the poor, and Temperance Societies. Here we may
also treat of mothers' meetings, libraries, lectures,
reading rooms, etc., all which are justly esteemed
necessary to the completeness of our Eagged Schools.
These will form the subject of the present chapter ;
and, in the two foUowing, we shall inquire somewhat
150
THE CITY MISSIOK.
carefully into the relation of the E-agged School move¬
ment to the Christian church and to the State.
It has been already remarked, that the condition of
the perishing classes involves a combination of diseases,
which can only be cured by a combination, most
vigorous and earnest, of appropriate remedies. On
this point we do not despair, since we see how much
has already been done, and receive continual proofs of
the untiring energy of the benevolent band that has
hitherto led the way, headed by so good a general as
the excellent Earl of Shaftesbury.
Of parallel institutions, collateral and contem¬
poraneous with Eagged Schools, the City Mission
stands nearest to them in relationship, and closest in
actual daily working. As mother and daughter, they
seek the salvation of the neglected portions of our city
population, one toiling chiefly for adults, and the other
for children. Between them the bonds of Christian fel¬
lowship cannot weU be too strong or too close, for they
may always render most valuable assistance to each
other. Is there any reason why this co-operation should
not be carried out more completely than it has ever yet
been ? "Why should not every destitute district of the
metropolis and of our large towns have its mission
premises, with a complete system of operations, includ¬
ing a missionary, teachers, both voluntary and paid,
salaried visitor, school-rooms and dormitories, with
library, reading room, clothing club, and dispensary ?
The buildings might, in every instance, be so con¬
structed as to serve all the purposes of either society,
thus blending economy with efflciency.
There is nothing more to be desired than that both
these societies, the City Mission and the Eagged
LIBEEALITT OP SENTIMENT.
151
School IJiiion, should he animated by a spirit of self-
denying enterprise, of generous unsectarianism, of
sympathy with suffering and woe in all their forms,
and of unfailing compassion for sinners even of
deepest dye. Liberality of sentiment and unsec¬
tarianism are of great consequence ; for in all poorer
districts, without these, schools wül either languish
and drag heavily for want of funds, or else die a
natural death. Want of co-operation is sometimes
the result of conscientious conviction ; but the result
is none the less to he lamented, though the cause
is in the highest degree excusable. JSTo man can
draw for his neighbour the line that separates
between conscientious conviction and bigotry. There
have been faults on all sides. It is hard to say which
is most chargeable with bigotry, the staunch church¬
man, who will not unite with other denominations
in building a free school for his parish, or the ultra-
dissenter, who will not subscribe to any such school
because it is to be placed under the inspection of the
Government.
Happily these institutions have hitherto soared
above aU narrow-minded boundaries, into the free air
of unsectarian Gospel truth ; and we hope that a like
freedom and liberality will ever distinguish them and
their agents—City Missionaries and Eagged School
teachers ; together with the leaders and supporters of
both societies. While the one seeks to win the adult
population in the spirit of universal charity and true
catholic simplicity of purpose, may the other, with
equal noble-mindedness, seek the salvation of the
young. Tea, we even have some hope that, ultimately, a
spirit of greater concord will jgervade the whole nation
152
8AKITAET MOVEMENT.
in its educational institutions ; that the time will come
when no avenues of knowledge or public honours,
either for the aristocracy, the middle classes, or for
the poor, will be encumbered with a single sectarian
restriction.
It is, in a measure, to the labours of Bagged School
teachers and City Missionaries that we are indebted
for the sanitary movement, which, of late, has been
prosecuted with diligence. A dread and most malig¬
nant disorder has now, more than once, appeared
amongst us ; a disorder which, if not actually origin¬
ated, is fed and strengthened by the presence of either
animal or vegetable filth. This awful visitor has
hastened the steps of many in this matter. Happily
for those districts that most need cleansing, and are,
therefore, most liable to its ravages, they are com¬
pletely interwoven with other and better neighbour¬
hoods. Wealth and poverty, grandeur and squalid
wretchedness, luxury and destitution, are within a few
yards of each other. If it were not so, there is reason
to fear that sanitary measures would have been but
feebly carried out even to this hour. But it is impos¬
sible for the rich and honourable to take care of them¬
selves, without making equally strenuous efibrts for
the good of others. Nevertheless, the work is not yet
half done. Further progress, of a more substantial
and expensive kind, must be made, before we can at all
plume ourselves on the cleanliness and health of the
towns and cities of Great Britain.
Among other improvements, which are urgently
demanded, so urgently that without them Bagged
Schools and City Missions wül be greatly impeded in
their operations, is a better class of dwellings for the
IMPEOVED DWELLINGS.
153
poor. Those who have been most respectable and
cleanly in their habits hitherto, are often completely
overborne by the utter impossibility of continuing so,
owing to the filthy state of the neighbourhood in
which they are obliged to live, and the difficulty of
obtaining either a clean house or a constant supply of
pure water ! Doubtless there are some to whom dirt
is no discomfort or distress. They have grown as
familiar with it as with vice and crime. But such is
not the general rule ; the majority only desire an
opportunity of inliabiting neat and airy dwellings,
near enough to their work, and they would at once
abandon those loathsome dens and alleys in which
they now reside.
Something has been done in this department also.
The " Common Lodging-House Act"* has already
cleared out many a pestilential den, that for scores
of years has been over-crowded with filth and wicked¬
ness. It is not easy to say in what way the evil
that remains can be most speedily and eflfectually
removed. At Manchester, the subject has been
taken up vigorously by municipal authority. Surely
London has both the wealth and the power that
are necessary for such reforms as these, and need
not be outdone even by the most prosperous of pro¬
vincial cities. Probably further legislation wül be
necessary; so strong are the private interests that
interfere with any change in the existing state of
things.
Private enterprise has also embarked in this work,
in company with benevolence and philanthropy.
Doubtless more would be done in this way if it were
• See Eagged School Union Magazine, 1853, vol. v. p. 145.
154 THE TEMPEEAJTCE MOTEMEHT.
not for some legal difficulties arising out of the law of
partnership. If the evil could thus be overtaken, so
much the better ; as there are so many other claims
on the attention of the legislature, and on the benevo¬
lence of the Christian church. Some of our readers
may not be aware that there is an association, or com¬
pany, having this express object, under distinguished
patronage, and offering a sure investment for money ;
though, as might be expected, not yet making any
very remunerative return.* Capitalists, who are
deeply interested in the elevation of the lower classes,
cannot do better than become shareholders in this
society.
From the dwellings of the lower classes we may
pass to their habits, and to that Society which has for
its object the promotion of temperance in the use of
intoxicating drinks. It is the opinion of some who
have good opportunities for judging in the matter, that
the presence of disagreeable miasmata produces a state
of the whole bodily system, and especially of the
nerves and brain, that demands strong liquors as an
antidote. That the inhabitants of these districts both
say and think so is a fact.f Whether this is a mere
fancy, or a physiological truth, I do not pretend to
determine. But in either case, we may regard this
impression as a remarkable ülustration of the way in
which the various foes which must be encountered are
leagued and linked together ; for there is either a
* The Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings
of the Industrious Classes. Patrons :—The Earl of Carlisle ;
Sir Robert Q-rosvenor; Sir Ralph Howard, M.P. ; Sir S. M.
Peto, Bart. Chartered to the amoimt of £500,000.
t See Vanderkiste'a " Dens of London."
THE ADULT POPULATION.
155
hurtfiil prejudice that ought to he removed by educa¬
tion, or there is another strong reason for carrying
out with vigour all sanitary measures.
Among the lowest class of our city population,
intemperance is a most destructive and deadly vice.
The extent to which it exists is dreadful. The evil
consequences can scarcely be overstated. Hence,
though we may not feel that total abstinence is a duty
devolving upon ourselves, yet we can appreciate and
greatly admire those who, solely for the good of others,
have thus limited the number of their enjoyments. In
this cause example goes further than precept ; and it
is a fact that, for the drunkard, total abstinence is the
only remedy. Ragged School teachers, therefore, and
City Missionaries, have in many instances become
members of this society ; and, whether members or
not, they all welcome the temperance lecturer as a
brother and a friend.
It is absolutely essential to the success of any plan
for the reformation of the children, that contempora¬
neous efforts should be made on behalf of the adult
population. Only when the combined influence of the
City Missionary, the sanitary commissioner, and the
temperance lecturer, is brought effectually to bear on
the parents, is there good reason to expect that their
offspring wiQ be rescued and reclaimed.
Deeply impressed with this truth, the founders of
Ragged Schools have in various ways shown their
desire to beneflt those who are no longer children.
Many such are receiving instruction at the evening
schools. A more direct effort, however, is made on
behalf of parents by means of the Mothers^ Meetings.
There is scarcely any branch of Christian labour more
156
MOTÏÏEES' MEETINGS.
likely than this to yield lasting and valuable fruit. It
will be a happy thing when every Ragged Sfhool has
not merely its dormitory, but also its adult classes
and its mothers' meetings.
We learn from the last Report* that this part of
the work is making progress.
" Mothers' meetings are on the increase. Twenty-
four schools now have such associations in connection
with them, attended by 770 poor mothers, who come
to be assisted in making and mending their clothes ;
to hear the Scriptures read ; and to receive words of
sympathy and advice from the ladies who kindly carry
out this good work."
The number of such associations cannot increase too
rapidly. Their worth will be seen at once by aU who
consider how much it is in the power of mothers either
to deepen or to destroy the good impressions made
at school, and how hard it is either to give full proof
to them of the interest we take in the welfare of their
children, or to secure them as helpers in this work.
It is when, treading in the steps of their great
Redeemer, Christian gentlemen and ladies are willing
to sit down with publicans and sinners, and occa¬
sionally eat and drink with them, that a power is
brought to bear on their minds, and a hold gained on
their hearts, altogether beyond the reach of any
ordinary ecclesiastical or official provision. All this is
very .pleasantly done for poor mothers at the periodical
tea-meeting, which is usually held once a quarter,
when infants in arms are brought, and devotional
exercises are blended with industrial and religious
instruction.
* See Ragged School Union Magazine, vol. v. p. 104
AN" APPEAL TO MOTKERS.
157
O ye Christian ladies, to whom God has given kind
hnsbands, a healthy family, and easy circumstances, is
there any better way in which you can prove your
gratitude and love to the Hedeemer, than by sharing
in this benevolent endeavour to lift out of their sins
and sorrows those of your sisters that are indigent,
ragged, and slovenly ? It is wonderful how much
good you may do if you enter on the work with a
zealous missionary spirit. Tour kind words may save
many daughters from ruin, and many sons from jail or
the gallows. Tour guidance and counsel may often
point out the road to cleanliness, health, and respect¬
ability. Tour prayers may so reach the hearts of
these poor women, and so prevail with the Author of
aU. good, as to bring down the best of all blessings
upon them. In your classes, and listening to your
teaching, they may become, in every sense of the
word, "new creatures"—"new creatures in Christ
Jesus." Most eifectually will you be pleading the
cause of their husbands and children ; and whole
families will reap what you have sown. Under your
own eyes the good seed will spring up, and the harvest
will ripen ; "first the blade, then the ear, after that,
the fuU corn in the ear."
Can you look at your own dear rosy healthful
family, God's good gifts to you, without some sym¬
pathy for the pale and sickly children that are pining
in want and wretchedness not far from your door ?—
at your daughters, as they bloom into all the charms
of womanhood, free from woman's greatest danger ;
adding to the beauty of their persons the still greater
beauty of a pure and virtuous mind,—without pitying
those poor girls whose very childhood is beset by the
158
SAVINGS BANKS, ETC.
most ruinous of all temptations ?—at your boys, as
they romp in the nursery, or come bounding home
from school, without a kindly thought for those little
urchins, all pinched with cold, untaught, unloved,
hourly scolded, and daily driven out to steal ? Can you
fondly gaze at your babes, with their cherub faces,
without being reminded of those thin and haggard
infants that tell of their misery, hunger, and disease by
a feeble cry ? No tongue can tell how much good you
may do, or how many evils you may prevent, by per¬
sonal activity in this cause. Then will not you also
go forth and help to seek and save the lost ? Of all
teachers and missionaries you may be the best and the
most successful. Tour loving words and work will
form a new link between the Ragged School teacher
and his class, as well as between the city evangelist
and his flock. Only take up this cause, con amove ;
constrained by the love of Christ ; feeling tenderly for
the sorrows you seek to alleviate ; dealing gently with
the weaknesses and prejudices which you seek to
remove ; and determined to persevere, though the path
at flrst is neither smooth nor inviting : only do this,
and you will not, you cannot, labour in vain.
Efforts are also made by the Ragged Schools of
some localities to inculcate prudence and economy by
means of penny savings banks, clothing clubs, and dis¬
pensaries ; each of which may doubtless be extended
with advantage as far as funds will permit.
Nor has the question of entertainment been alto¬
gether overlooked, though, owing to other more press¬
ing claims, and the obvious difficulty of the subject,
not much has yet been attempted. Entertainment
should always convey at the same time some degree of
EEADING-aOOM, MUSIC, SPOETS, ETC. 159
health and strength, either to the body or to the mind.
"We trust that attention will, ere long, be given to this
subject by those whose practical wisdom and piety
qualify them to lead the way. Reading-rooms, lec¬
tures, and singing classes wül probably be found the
best resources for the winter ; and out-of-door sports
for the summer. Connected with every school might
be a library and reading-room. Here, to awaken in¬
terest and give delight should be the leading object.
The books and periodicals should not be chiefly or
exclusively religious. Popular magazines and illus¬
trated newspapers will do good service in this depart¬
ment. The lectures, in like manner, should, in general,
be on such subjects as will admit of illustration by a
good set of diagrams. And the singing-classes should
not attempt to teach the difficult, and, to many,
almost unattainable art of reading music with correct¬
ness, but rather aim at the education of the ear, so
that many might leam to sing together, not only
hymns and sacred music, but also some of the
sweetest and best of our popular airs. Why should
not music, which is so much used for the worst of pur¬
poses, also contribute its quota towards the work of
reformation? Why should the " children of this world"
be in this respect also " wiser in their generation than
the children of light ?" Why should not English, as
well as German peasants, grow fond of singing, and
feel the sweet influence of melodious sounds ?
In the summer there is nothing so healthy, so
enlivening, or so likely to invigorate both mind and
body, as some good out-of-door game in the parks,
certain parts of which ought to be freely opened for
this purpose. Instead of shutting the mass of the
160
THE CEICEET-GEOEHD.
people out of any real enjoyment of these healthiest
enclosures of our great city, we ought, in every pos¬
sible way, to entice them away from their narrow
streets, and still narrower dwellings, that on the broad
open plain, under the blue sky of heaven, they may, in
an hour or two of sport, forget the factory and the
workshop, and drink in health, and life, and joy.
In reference to the value of this part of the refor¬
matory and educational process, we have the testimony
of one whose hearty efforts in this cause have earned
for him a right to be heard with attention, Mr. J. P.
"Wilson. He says, " I look upon the cricket game as
one of the very happiest parts of all we have been
doing, and have never had any misgivings about in¬
ducing our boys to take to it (which at first sometimes
needs a little persuading), and to give up a deal of
their spare time and attention to it." After quoting
the above extract, Mr. Hill says, " Now, as we have
excluded children from the only places in which they
could enjoy themselves, are we not in justice bound to
make some compensatory provision ? If the cricket
field has ensured the happiest results, we have not
the slightest doubt but that the formation of public
play-grounds, in suitable localities would
ensure some of the highest benefits."*
Not until we know something of the immense
mischief done by low theatres and other places of
amusement, and become deeply impressed with the
magnitude of the evil, do we feel the absolute neces¬
sity of finding some suitable recreation for the people.
How shall we effectually check the demoralizing in-
* For a further treatment of this subject, see Hill's Essay on
Juvenile Depravity, pp. 165—173.
NO MEANS MUST BE LEFT ITNTEIED. 161
fluence of these abominable places ? How shall we
preserve our scholars from being drawn into these
snares by sinful associates ? Surely not merely by
schools and churches, but also by finding some
allowable outlet for the recreation-loving propensities
of childhood and of human nature. The same kind
friends that find for them schools and teachers, must
also secure to them places of innocent enjoyment
both for the summer and the winter. In doing this
some risk of abuse, of doing harm as well as good,
must be run. Courage, as well as caution, is neces¬
sary whenever we strike out any new plan of doing
good.
Field-sports, singing, music, lectures, library books,
and reading-rooms, all of a purely moral character,
hut aiming chiefly to supply cheerful recreation either
for the mind or the body, wül help forward the work
of reformation among those who during other parts of
the day are under more formal instruction. So far
from the good paths of cleanliness, respectability,
intelligence, and godliness, are these poor children
and their parents, that it needs no little patience,
ingenuity, and love, that we may bring them back. So
low is their condition that one needs to lay hold of
every handle and use every lever by which they may
be raised, even one degree. Every motive must be
appealed to that wül enable us to get a hold upon
their minds and hearts ; at one time it may be their
love of pleasure, their self-interest, or their natural
afiection ; and at another, their consciences and their
reasoning powers.
M
162
CHAPTEE XI.
bagged schools ahd eeehges, in eeeation to
the cheistian chhech.
The evil and its remedy near to each other—The co-operation of
different denominations of Christians necessary and desirable.
AVe have already seen that the reformatory work can
only be accomplished by the united labours of the
Christian church and of the government. The share
which belongs to Christian societies, though referred
to more than once in the foregoing pages, needs some
further illustration. Since it is only in the Christian
church, and in the truths of the Grospel, that agents
and principles can be found competent for the suc¬
cessful execution of any part of the undertaking, it is
but just and expedient that her place should be first
and jforemost, while that of the government is subor¬
dinate in this cause. To the government we may
fairly look for legal and pecuniary aid, but only the
different denominations of Christians can furnish that
spiritual power which no money can buy ; those men
and women able, competent, willing, yea, even enthu¬
siastic and ardent ; who will become directors and
managers, visitors and inspectors, " voluntary and
salaried teachers, masters, and matrons. That the
THE WOEK LIES NEAE.
163
various sections of the church may furnish each
their full contribution of agency, there will need to
be much of Christian forbearance, mutual respect
and loving charity, resulting in cordial co-operation.
So much has been already said and implied con¬
cerning the duty and office of the Christian church in
this cause that here I shall confine myself to two
prominent points.
I. The facility for effective operation that arises
from the fact, that the evil and its remedy lie so close
to each other.
II. The absolute necessity, as well as propriety and
moral beauty of Christian charity and cordial fellow¬
ship in doing good.
I. It is an encouraging as well as a suggestive fact,
that the objects of benevolent concern dwell hard by
those who are most able to help them. Utter wretched¬
ness and want may be found within a few minutes'
walk of the mansions of the wealthy ; heathenish
ignorance exists in the very centres of learning and
intelligence; the most polluting vices are practised
in those very cities which contain bands of noble-
hearted men, eminently good, and perpetually toiling
in ten thousand ways for the welfare of their species ;
and the most daring profanity and godlessness have
their abodes in those very cities whence rays of
heavenly light are ever going forth to all nations and
kingdoms on the face of the earth. The work and
those who ought to be doing it are close to each other.
And why are these things so, if it be not to render
us inexcusable if we shirk or neglect the task ? Why
has God so blessed the inhabitants of this nation? "Why
has He given us forty years of peace and of unexampled
H 2
164.
VOLTTNTAET CONSECEATIOH".
prosperity ? And how is it that to some so large a
share of this prosperity has fallen, if it be not that
those " who are strong may bear the infirmities of the
weak," may dedicate liberally to God that which he
has given so liberally to them ?
■ Surely we ought to learn that religious liberty and
religious duty go hand in hand. It is not much that
the true Christian is obliged to suffer for Christ in
these days. He may be a wealthy merchant, an
eminent physician, or an hereditary possessor of vast
domains. His attachment to the cause of Christ does
not involve the sacrifice of any private or public good.
The highest honours that a Christian nation can
confer are within his reach—the civic gown, a seat in
Parliament, or in the cabinet. T'or this very reason
more ought to le voluntarily done. In days of perse¬
cution the cross was laid on many, whether willing to
bear it or not. How, by all our liberty, civil and
religious—by all our personal and national prosperity—
by all the evils Divinely averted, and by all the gifts
Divinely bestowed — the call of duty is distinctly
uttered, " Deny thyself, and take up thy cross and fol¬
low me." Surely the martyr-spirit ought not to be
confined to those hard times that have passed away.
If we have less than our ancestors to suffer, it is also
certain that we have more to do. They, like Joshua
and his armies, took possession of the land by hard
fighting, pouring out their own life-blood as the most
precious gift that they could lay on the altar of God; let
us not be unmindful either of their sacrifices or of God's
goodness; but, like David and Solomon, in the days of
our national prosperity bring forth the silver and gold,
the cedar-trees and precious stones, with a willing and
EEÀSONS FOE LIBEEALTTr.
165
joyful mind, that we may build his temple, (1 Chron.
xxix., 2 Chron. iii.—v.)
Shall His rain fill our rivers, that they may he fit
channels for trade and commerce, and may multiply
for us wealth by their onward flow, so placing us at
the head of all manufacturing nations ; and shall we
refuse to hear his voice saying to us, " Occupy
till I come?" Shall these streams, by every inch
of their fall in our factory districts, turn myriads
of spindles, keep employed a host of industrious
operatives, and increase daily the accumulation of
personal and national property; and shall not the
broad river of Grospel truth and love, that flows deeply
and nobly through all the regions of our public,
social, and domestic life, impel thousands to toil, with
holy activity and self-denying industry, for God, for
Christ, for souls ? Or, again, shall that law of nature,
and of God, which gives to water the bulk and the ex¬
pansive power of steam, carry men hither and thither
in their money-making and money-spending schemes—
supply a new and inexhaustible power with which to
drive their mills, and convey their manufactures to
the very ends of the earth—give a mighty impulse to
commerce, and so exalt our merchants, that they
possess at once the luxury and the honours of princes,
—and shall not the expansive principle of Divine love
in the souls of believers, and in the heart of the
Christian church, give fuU proof of its power to
drive the spiritual machinery which has been set up
for the increase of the Saviour's kingdom, and the
salvation of the world ?
The Christian church has yet a great work to do
both at home and abroad. Much will yet be required
166
CO-OPEBATIOÎT POSSIBLE.
of her, both in the way of pecuniary contributions and
of personal service. It is one great advantage of the
Eagged School movement, that they who most need
sympathy and help are to be found side by side with
those by whom they ought to be promptly befriended.
II. Something should also be said concerning the
hearty co-operation of all true Christians in this cause.
The possibility of this has been already established by
the actual experience of the Eagged School Union,
of the City Mission, and of the Bible Society. Eor
more than fifty years have Christians of different
denominations shared together the good work of print¬
ing and publishing the "Word of God in this country,
and throughout the world.
The success of the City Mission in this respect is
matter for special congratulation, since there is no
small likeness between its object and operations, and
those contemplated by the Eagged School Union.
That which appears so beautiful in theoiy, has been
proved to be as beneficent in practice. Bigotry stands
back ashamed and confused ; while those who differ in
ecclesiastical opinions, work together harmoniously,
not for one hour merely, but for many successive
years, on behalf of the needy and depraved. At the
same time we see and feel that this merging of minor
differences cannot be cordial and pleasant, without
a constant exercise of forbearance, meekness, and
Christian love.
The necessity, propriety, and moral beauty of this
fellowship in works of mercy, can scarcely be said to
require any proof. Are we not the rather compelled
instinctively to exclaim, Behold how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to worTc together in unity ?
CO-OÍEBATION inSCESSAET.
167
The necessity for an unsectarian basis arises chiefly
from two causes, the magnitude of the evil, and the
multiplicity of claims now being made on the resources
and energies of the Christian world. No single
denomination either can or wiU take up the cause.
It is mainly a religious and missionary work, and
therefore cannot be done exclusively or chiefly by the
state. Hence the only way of raising power enough,
both spiritual and pecuniary, is by giving to Eagged
School and reformatory operations the broadest pos¬
sible basis ; a course which is facilitated by the
elementary nature of the religious instruction required
in Eagged Schools. Only those doctrines need to be
put forward in which all Protestants are substantially
agreed.
It is a terrible fact, that the combined eflbrts of aU
denominations will not generate a power for good
equal, humanly speaking, to that which Satan is con¬
tinually, and in countless ways, exerting on these
classes for evil. If the disciples of Christ have been
unusually busy of late, so also have been the children
of the devil. We may have relaxed our efforts but
seldom—he, never. After aU that has been done by so¬
cieties and Sunday schools, there is a numerous class
as yet unreached, unevangelized, unsaved ! There
is reason to fear, that active as the last half-century
has been in works of benevolence and piety. Christians
have not done much more than maintain their ground,
and keep pace with a rapidly increasing population.
Thanks be to Grod, they have done this, as is satisfac¬
torily proved by the Census tables now published.
In our cities and large towns, there is stiU a great
work to be done, not merely in providing schools.
168
CO-OPEEATIOK A DUTT.
chapels, and churches, hut also in finding, preparing,
and sustaining a strong body of missionaries and
teachers. That we may successfully lay siege to those
citadels of Satan, in which dwell the most ignorant
and vicious—those who either are at present, or will
shortly become, the pests of society—there will need
to be a concentration of all the moral energy, bene¬
volence, and spiritual power, that can be mustered
and spared from other objects, by the whole body of the
Christian church.
That which is so necessary to success, bears also
the evident marks of propriety. In these circum¬
stances how can really earnest souls do otherwise ?
A necessity is laid upon them. The cry is urgent.
Dwelling together in the very midst of evils so great
and so appalling ; possessed alike of the only efficient
remedy; sharing together the inward principle of
allegiance to the same great Lord and Master, and
that compassion for the perishing which his service
inspires, how can they any longer waste their time
and strength in controversy and strife ? What
wonder if the conviction should arise and become
general among them, that contention must give place
to holy emulation in doing good ?—if these differences,
which will not avail to separate them in the rest and
reward of the next world, should also fail to prevent
their working together in this ?—if minor distinctions,
such as High or Low Church, Independent, Baptist,
or Wesleyan, should fade away and be well nigh for¬
gotten in the presence of those great fundamental
principles which they aU believe and obey, and of that
one noble work in which they are all engaged ?
Tea, this fellowship in doing good is more than
CO-OPEEATIOTT BENEEIOIAL.
169
proper. It is as lovely and beautiful as it is necessary.
The truest of all evangelical alliances are those holy
objects which furnish Christians with the opportunity
of feeling and working together. Thus points on
which they agree are brought out. Thus they obtain
intercourse with each other of the best and sweetest
kind. Smaller differences are thrown into the shade,
and shrink into their own true littleness. Those
whose hearts have warmed towards each other, as
fellow-workers on the same committee, or in the same
school, will be the better for so doing every way.
Tea, whole denominations and important sections of
the church have by these means been awakened to
new spiritual life and power. They who abandon for
a while the more selfish purpose of building up
their own temple, whether that temple be their
own spiritual nature, or the more extensive fabric of
their own party, find that they are unwittingly, and
more successfully accomplishing these very objects by
their new and more generous course of procedure.
They learn, in company with the angels of God, to
"rejoice over one sinner brought to repentance more
than over ninety and nine just persons and in doing
so, it is wonderful to observe what a heavenly trans¬
formation comes over themselves. Ministers and con¬
gregations, going with heart and soul into some new
field of missionary labour, as they work together,
begin to glow with a healthy warmth, quicken the
circulation of their whole spiritual system, and so find
just that kind of exercise which their souls required.
In this way they shake off the coldness and deadness
of which they had often complained, and against
which they had often prayed, apparently in vain.
170
CORDIAL TELLOWSHIP.
In their history some of the pleasantest of God's
promises have been fulfilled. They have found that
" it is more blessed to give than to receive," and that
" the liberal soul shall be made fat ; and he that
watereth shall be watered also himself," (Prov. xi. 25.)
Thus have many of the workers on behalf of the
perishing, either in our own or in other lands, already
found what they were not seeking,—^warmer hearts,
holier thoughts and aspirations, greater peace of
mind, a higher tone of spirituality, and a fuller enjoy¬
ment of the privileges and prospects of the Divine
life. Some have even found in this way happier
homes ; for what makes any family circle so happy as
the difiusion among its members of a spirit of self-
sacrifice and tender concern for the wants and woes
of others ? They who work together wiU hardly fail
of rejoicing together in due time.
Thus it appears that this principle of cordial
Christian fellowship, in accordance with which Eagged
Schools and City Missions are conducted, is a perfectly
secure basis for more extended operations ;—that such
a course is necessary to success ;—is marked by evident
propriety ;—yea, is, without doubt, morally and spiri¬
tually beautiful ;—and lastly, that it often leads to the
most gratifying results;—individuals, churches, and
whole denominations actually gaining spiritual life,
strength, and purity thereby.
How readily, then, ought we to lay aside those rigid
stifihesses and strong sectarian tendencies which, to
say the best of them, have their origin as much in
selfishness and party spirit as in conscientious con¬
viction and zeal for the truth ;—which interfere with
the fulfilment of the Saviour's prayer, and with the
SELF-CONSECBATION.
171
enlargement of his kingdom ;—which often prompt us
to waste in fruitless controversy, the talents that
ought to be employed in the refutation of most pesti¬
lent errors, and the reformation of most desperate
transgressors ! And how often ought we to reflect on
the magnitude of those principles, powers, and truths
which draw us towards each other,—one heavenly
rather, one glorious Eedeemer, one sanctifying Spirit,
one common nature, one inspired volume, one hope of
salvation, one spiritual life here on earth, and one
eternal home. While we think of these things, perhaps
we shall see that, as in days of fierce persecution,
through the violent and malicious attacks of foes.
Christians were formerly driven together hy suffering^
so now in working they ought to he drawn together by
strong attachment to their glorified Lord, and by
strong sympathy with perishing sinners. Perhaps we
shall see that, just as rich Christians are laid under
obligation now to consecrate freely their wealth to
God, and, being secure from persecution, to lay it
willingly and munificently on the altar of Christ, as
the best and strongest proof they can give of the sin¬
cerity and strength of their love to him,—so also the
glorious measure of intellectual and religious liberty
that is now beginning to prevail, lays others under a
similar obligation to make willingly a like sacrifice
of long-standing educational prejudices and sectarian
sympathies, that with one heart they may work
together on behalf of those who are going down
swiftly to perdition. While the rich bring their wealth,
the wise their wisdom, and the devout their prayers,
let all bring their darling party principles, and lay them
on the same altar, to be either sanctified or consumed.
172
SELF-CONSECEATION.
Oh that the Q-od of all grace may shed abroad in
our hearts more of this most precious gift of Christian
love, so that, without forfeiting our manhood, or bating
a jot of earnest doctrinal sincerity, we may more and
more yearn after oneness of heart and oneness of deed
in the cause of Christ.
173
CHAPTEE Xn.
EAGOED SCHOOLS AKD EEriTGES, IH EELATION TO
THE GOVEENMENT.
Pecuniary grants—Legal enactments.
We have already seen that if Eagged Schools and
refuges are to be successful in their reformatory
work, they must be animated throughout by a mis¬
sionary spirit. Not national laws, but Christian love
must be their great motive power. Only to the best
and most loving spirits in our land must their direction
be committed ; and on the Christian church will the
most difiScult part of the work devolve. The position
of the State, and of its highest representatives, the
legislature, must therefore be subordinate ; but, though
subordinate, it is still essential and important. The
State must not be merely a receiver in this matter.
Such a course will be neither just nor expedient ; for
reformation is as truly a national work as retribution,
prevention as punishment, Eagged Schools and refuges
as the jail and the gallows. If the State freely receives,
it should also freely give ; for every case of reformation
is not merely a triumph of benevolent endeavour, but
also a real national saving and benefit.
"We now proceed to discuss the precise nature of
the position that should be maintained by the legis-
174 DimCULTIES OE THE SITBJECT.
lature in reference to this movement. In doing so it
will hardly be possible to avoid touching occasionally
on the wider question of popular education in general.
By confining ourselves, however, as much as possible
to the particular department required by this Essay,
the tediousness of a subject on which so much has
been said and written will be, in a measure, relieved,
if not avoided ; and perhaps a little light wiU. fall here
and there on the old controversy.
In attempting any settlement of questions on which
the most intelligent and experienced men of this
country are so much divided, every writer or thinker
must prepare himself for difficulties that can only be
mastered by patient investigation, and gird himself for
opposition from those who have arrived at opinions
and convictions opposed to his own.
We shall find that reformatory efibrts are so closely
connected with crime and pauperism, as to shade off
imperceptibly from being merely works of piety and
voluntary benevolence into an indispensable agency
for the elevation and good government of the lower
classes. Hence we may, with some propriety, ask
those who have already come to a final decision in
reference to State schools and State churches in
general, to keep in abeyance for a little while their
pre-conceived opiuions and educational prejudices, that
they may go with us through the thoughts and argu¬
ments of this chapter.
Our aim wiU be to ascertain whether the govern¬
ment should help in this movement? and in what
way ? If by grants, how may they be justified ? To
what extent should they be made ? and in what
manner? If by legal enactments, of what kind?
LAW NOT TET EESOETED TO.
175
and how can the propriety and expediency of such
legislation be established ?
At the outset of the inquiry, it may be well to refer
once more to the fundamentally missionary character
of the work. Ragged Schools have hitherto been the
offspring of pure Christian love, and of an earnest
sense of individual duty. The work has been devised
and executed by kind hearts and tender consciences.
Law has not in any way interfered with or aided
their working. As an agency, so recent in its origin
and so limited in its resources, it has been crowned
with great success. But, compared with the whole
worh to le done^ the schools have been few and the
results but small. It is with great difficulty, and by
a continual strain upon the benevolence of a small
portion of the community, that many of the schools
and refuges are kept open ; and some have been more
than once closed for want of funds. The experiments
of the past have fully demonstrated both the excel¬
lence of our principles and the insufficiency of our
resources.
In these circumstances, the two great questions that
need to have a careful answer are—
I. Ought the insufficiency of benevolent contribu¬
tions to be supplemented by grants from the govern¬
ment ?
II. Ought the insufficiency of mere persuasion to
be supplemented by legal enactments ?
These two questions wiLL comprehend the whole
inquiry.
I. Ought the insufficiency of voluntary contributions
to be supplemented by grants from the State ?
Before this question is replied to, there are several
176
SELF-SUPPOET IMPOSSIBLE.
things that need to he taken into careful considera¬
tion. The first is, that while National and British
Schools are supported in great measure by the pence
of the children, and in many of the most successful
instances entirely so, this can never be the case
with Bagged Schools and refuges. If they are carried
on at all, it must be either by .large voluntary
contributions, or by the union of these with govern¬
ment grants. They cannot possibly become self-sup¬
porting ; hence, if any efficient provision is to be
made, the work must be, at least for a time, very
expensive. Voluntary contributions will be altogether
inadequate to the erection and maintenance even of a
sufficient number of Bagged Day Schools ; and we have
already seen* that the mere establishment of these
will only half meet the evil that is complained of.
Still more completely beyond the power and scope of
the unaided voluntary principle are those reformatory
institutions which are an essential part of the circle of
operations. That the government may and ought to
take a large share in the origination and support of
these must be evident to all but the most prejudiced.
Surely in the case of those who, if neglected, will
become a constant and inevitable source of annoyance
and expense to society, it is perfectly fair that the
means of prevention should, in great part, be paid for
from the public funds. And if this be admitted, in
reference to the more depraved, surely it is also true,
in a less degree, of all those who are equally in danger,
but, by reason of their tender years, are not yet so
far advanced in the ways of sin. The great principle
seems to be this, that in all things, including the
* Chapters iv. and viii.
SELF-SÜPPOET IMPOSSIBLE.
177
education of their children, the English poor should
be in every possible way stimulated and encouraged
to help themselves ; but that where, through either
the poverty or the depravity of the parents, the child
is in danger of neglect, perversion, and ruin, various
degrees of assistance must be rendered by the bene¬
volence of individuals, of societies, and of the State.
Self-support and independence are best in themselves,
and most homogeneous with English character, although
they may not square so exactly in their results with
the beau ideal of statesmen and philosophers. Eut
self-support and independence are altogether out of
the question in the case of Eagged Schools. The
voluntary principle is already, in many poorer districts,
actually breaking down, not as being inherently weak,
but through having been overtaxed. Its own friends
have overladen it. They ought not to expect it to
carry religion and education too. Since, therefore,
the poorest cannot help themselves, or be effectually
helped by their neighbours, either the State must come
to their aid, or they must remain in ignorance.
But here we are assailed by a host of objections and
difficulties,—the same that have beset all efforts to
legislate on this subject for many years back, and
which only a few days ago were declared by one of the
stoutest champions of education. Lord John Eussell,*
in the House of Commons, to be still almost insur¬
mountable,—the differences of opinion that prevail in
this country, both on educational and religious topics.
Apart from purely religious differences, there is a
strong party in the country opposed to the bestow-
* In his speech on the Manchester and Salford BUI, Feb. 21,
1854.
N
178
GOVEENMENT GEANTS.
ment of any public monies for the promotion of educar
tion or religion.
The English legislature votes away money most
freely. It is not a niggardly parsimonious spirit that
has prevented a more liberal outlay in this direction.
In proof of this we may appeal to our expensive
model prisons, our asylums, etc. But it is the immense
amount of opposition that has been encountered, and
will yet be encountered, if any extensive scheme is
attempted. This opposition springs from a great
variety of causes. Among them we may reckon
sectarianism, jealousy, distrust of government influence,
educational prejudices, and strong benevolent or
religious principles. While some are in dread of
pernicious remote consequences, others rate too
highly their own peculiar principles, either as mem¬
bers of the Church of England or as dissenters, and
are too confident that the truth lies only or chiefly on
their own side. Thus influences the most diverse have
combined to block up the way against any extensive
scheme for the education of the people. Perhaps this
may in the end work for good. It requires a greater
knowledge of the future than any of us possess to
say with certainty, whether it will or not. If our
respectable poor are thereby taught to rely more
upon themselves and their own eflbrts, if individual
power is thereby encouraged, and if the benevolence
of the middle and higher classes is thereby more fully
developed, the nation will have a rich compensation
for any measure of delay and disappointment that has
been experienced.
But these diflerences of opinion should by no
means hinder the reformative work even for a day.
MATÎTOOTH.
179
Here we have a class, at present out of the reach of
all law and all Gospel ; altogether strangers to religious
truth, and so incapable of valuing education that they
often need much persuasion before they will send their
children to receive it though given without charge.
That any differences of opinion, which may prevail
concerning a national scheme, or even concerning
occasional grants to the more respectable portion of
the poor, should hinder our united endeavours on
behalf of the ragged and depraved, would be matter
only for regret and self-reproach. What they need
is teaching, on all elementary subjects, simple and
unsectarian, yet, at the same time, most earnest,
zealous, and affectionate. And they need it now.
Here and there, voluntaryism is struggling valiantly
against frequent pecuniary difficulties, that it may
answer their urgent cry for help. Why should it be
unaided in these noble endeavours ? Why should that
arduous work, half at least of which might equitably
devolve on the State, be all left to the self-denying
labours and sacrifices of a generous few ? What harm
is expected of grants in aid of those who never can,
and never wül help themselves? We can hardly
suppose that even ultra-voluntaries wül here make
any strong opposition.
The assistance of the State, with the regular course
of inspection that.is involved, need not in the least
degree interfere with or diminish the missionary
character of our schools. Does the annual grant of
£30,000 to the Homan Catholic College at Maynooth,
either destroy its missionary character or diminish
its prolific power as a seminary of zealous priests and
anti-Protestant doctrines ? And shall this large sum
N 2
180
GOTEEÎTMENT GEAITTS.
be voted annually for tbe propagation of Romanism—
a faith which is held to be incompatible with the
sovereignty of the British empire—which checks the
progress of knowledge—which undermines liberty in
all its forms, and social purity in every rank of life—
and, beside all this, is well able to sustain itself; and
shall those who are toiling and struggling against the
crying evils of the great metropolis be refused ?
Not only are the grants made by the Committee of
Council, in general, free from injurious results ; but in
many cases they have been exceedingly beneficial in
their infiuence. Being always subject to revision by
the legislature, and dependent on educational merit
and efficiency, they exert a stimulating rather than a
soporific effect on managers, teachers, and scholars.
On this point any one may satisfy himsëlf that chooses
to inquire. Quietly and constantly a powerful influ¬
ence for good has been exerted throughout the
country, increasing the number of commodious
school-houses, of efficient teachers, and of diligent
pupils. Of the pecuniary help and healthful stimulus
thus afibrded, Eagged'-Schools stand in especial need.
But although it cannot be shown that the reception
of public money or the visits of the inspector wül
have any positive detrimental efiect, but, on the
contrary, may be most helpful in increasing the
breadth and completeness of our operations, there are
some who will be opposed to the reception of any
such aid, even in this cause ; and will, perhaps, refuse
their subscriptions and co-operation if such aid is
accepted. Their faith in the voluntary principle is
so strong that they wiU admit of no auxiliary. They
object to aU kinds of grants, either direct or indirect,
1JLTBA-V0LTJNTAEIES.
181
for the maintenance of education or religion. They
see that a really valuable and complete education,
even for the lowest class, must involve a religious
element, and that the lower the class, the more should
the moral and religious element prevail. Hence, falling
back on a principle, concerning the general truth of
which they are fully convinced, that no State-assistance
should be given to religion in any form whatever, they
reject at once the grants of the Committee of Council,
oppose all schemes of national education, and steadily
refuse their support to aU schools that are under
government inspection.
That all earnest voluntaries may join this cause, is a
thing greatly to be desired ; especially when we re¬
member how noble a part they have taken in the
religious education of the country during the last two
centuries.* Many of these are now working in con¬
nection with the Bagged School Union, and we are
persuaded, would continue so to do, in the event of
government aid being extensively received. And they
will he fully justified in so doing.
Admitting that religion, as a general rule, ought to
be sustained by the voluntary principle, it does not
follow that this rule is a universal one, subject to no
Bortof exception in its working. Universal principlesare
exceedingly scarce, if they exist at all, either in politics,
or morals, or, indeed in any region whatever, except
that of the abstract sciences. Even the most obvious
and apparently universal, are sometimes set on one
side, either on the ground of necessity, mercy, or
* See the Census Returns in reference to the State of Religion ;
1851 ; as abridged by Horace Maun, Esq. Routledge and Co.
Price 1«.
182
TJLTEA-VOLTTSTT AEIES.
self-defence. "We miglit thus address the rigid volun¬
tary : " As a matter of fact, you do yourself admit of
exceptions to your own fundamental principle. Every
poor's-rate is a national and legal substitute for the
voluntary principle—a systematic and compulsory con¬
tribution for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the
inmates of the union ; and for the religious, as well as
secular instruction of the children. In what other
aspect can you regard any national grant that may be
made for the ragged and neglected that are still
roaming the streets ? Ought not they to have aU the
help that it is in the power of the State to bestow ? "
Even the perfect laws of nature are subject to like
exceptions, and are often superseded by other and
higher laws, with a manifest propriety and advantage.
Voluntaryism may be Giod's law for the maintenance
of religion, but surely it does not therefore follow
that this principle is to over-ride and over-rule
all others, even the soundest, surest, and best.
Schools for the very poor and almost criminal
may at least claim to be regarded as an exceptional
case. To deny this wiU certainly lay us open to the
charge of being held in iron bondage by our denomi¬
national principles. It is most manifestly good
that these little outcasts should be gathered into free
schools, and saved from vice, destitution, and crime ;
this cannot be done effectually, or even at all, for
years, without liberal and continuous government aid;
but, at the same time, the education that they receive
must be largely pervaded by a religious element, else
it will be comparatively worthless. What, then, is to be
done ? Two great general laws come into collision ;
which shall be sacrificed ? The law of voluntaryism ;
CLAIMS OF THE POOH.
183
or the law of mercy, justice, compassion, and love ?
"Who is there that does not promptly reply, " Volun¬
taryism must give way for once. It may be God's
law, as surely as that of gravitation ; but just as, not¬
withstanding this law of nature, trees grow, the blood
circulates, and birds fly—as life thus triumphs over
mere material influence, so love shall triumph over
denominational principles. These little boys and girls
shall be ' sought and saved shall hear loving words
and earnest religious teaching. And if this good
work cannot be speedily and eflectually done without
a temporary suspension of our own cherished prin¬
ciples as voluntaries, we wiU willingly submit and
consent to this, so that love and righteousness may
have free course on their beneficent errand ; remem¬
bering Him who has said, * I wiH have mercy and not
sacrifice.' "
While thus an apologetic tone can alone be em¬
ployed in an argument with those who are strict
voluntaries, we may take a higher ground with all
others. There are many who believe that govern¬
ment has some higher oflices than that of protecting
persons and property by its combined physical force.
And here the urgency of the claim for aid increases
vdth the breadth of view that is taken of the duties of
the ruling powers.
If it is the duty and privilege of the State to en¬
courage art, and taste, and learning among the middle
and higher classes; to establish and charter univer¬
sities, schools of design, museums, and national gal¬
leries ; making constant grants from the public
treasury for these objects,—by what law, in accordance
with what general principle, can the lower classes be
184
THE CHHECH OP EHGLAHD.
righteously passed over and omitted in this distribu¬
tion ? Ought there to be any favouritism in the
national family ? Is not an honest and well-informed
peasantry, and an enlightened and unprejudiced body
of operatives, of as great consequence to the State as
learning among the professions, and accomplishments
among the higher ranks ? May we not even say,
when we consider how munificent have been the
donations and legacies of kings, nobles, and wealthy
commoners, in past years, to our great seats of learn¬
ing ; when we consider how much more able the rich
are to provide for themselves, and how much more
certain it is that they will do so ; when we consider
that many of those institutions which were originally
intended for the poor and lower-middle classes are
now monopolised by those who are in affluent circum¬
stances ; and when we add to all this, that the lower
classes are now more numerous, more essential than
ever to our commercial prosperity, and likely soon to
be more powerful politically than they have ever yet
been in any period of our national history : when we
consider all these things, is it not most evident that,
if it be at all the duty of the government to go beyond
the office of universal policeman ; to include at aU in
its functions the encouragement and diffusion of
knowledge, virtue, and refinement, as well as the sup¬
pression of crime ; that the lower classes, especially
the lowest and poorest, have the most powerful claim ?
To those who extend the office of the State still
further, and constitute her the guardian and patroness
of religion, esteeming the promotion of this to be
among her highest duties and greatest honours, the
argument is cogent and convincing beyond any power
THE OHTJECH OF ENGLAND.
185
of reply. The national church of this country is
bound by every consideration of honour, duty, and
expediency, most cheerfully to take an active and gene¬
rous part in all efforts on behalf of the destitute and
depraved. We can imagine some of the most earnest
and zealous of her members, contemplating the stolid
ignorance and wretchedness of many rural districts,
and the still more fearful state of our great cities, and
thus giving vent to their convictions and feelings :
" Whoever else is neglected in the distribution of the
funds of the church and of the State, these must be
attended to, and without delay. The cries of our
poorer brothers are loud, and long, and piercing, and
have ' entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.'
Surely the Lord will require their blood at our hands.
Till these are supplied ; tiU churches and schools are
built for the indigent and depraved ; tiU shepherds
have been found who will gather these scattered flocks;
till the cleansing streams of knowledge and Gospel
truth flow through these regions of dirt, and vice, and
crime ; till this national blot and stain has been
wiped out ; thither must the wealth of our establish¬
ment abundantly flow, else let us no longer call it
a national church, or boast of the free and noble
provision that it makes for the poor ! "
It is not easy to overrate the amount of good that
might be done if this cause were warmly espoused by the
whole nation ; if all classes and sects would agree to
subordinate their own peculiar notions and prejudices
to the highest of all laws—the law of mercy and love.
Thus the conclusion that we arrive at in answer to
our first question is,—that the voluntary principle may
and ought to be generously supplemented in this
186
COMPULSOBT MBASrEES.
work by grants from the Committee of Council ;* that
such a course is in accordance with the necessities of
our position, is just in itself, will be advantageous
to the whole community, and finally, may even be
regarded as a pardonable transgression of the volun¬
tary principle.
The second question is even more debateable and
difficult than that which I have already endeavoured
to answer.
II. Ought the insufficiency of mere persuasion to
be supplemented by any legal enactment ?
It is evident, at first sight, that compulsion involves
a principle hitherto not recognised by our Bagged
Schools. Hitherto they have worked only by hve—
now our subject is law. The question, therefore, is,
whether the introduction of this new power is neces¬
sary, justifiable, and expedient.
TVe cannot better set out than by observing, that
the hest friends of these perishing classes^ those whose
actual experience entitles them to he considered autho-
Hties, have answered this question decidedly in the
affirmative. The Earl of Shaftesbury and Mr. Ad-
derley have both introduced Bills into Parliament for
this express object ; the one having a special reference
to vagrants, and the other to juvenile offenders. "We
have also the testimony of a Committee of the House
of Commons to this effect :—" 1. That it is the opinion
of this Committee that a great amount of juvenile
destitution, ignorance, vagrancy, and crime has long
existed in this country, for which no adequate remedy
has been provided.
" 2. That the existence of similar evils in Erance,
♦ See Appendix, Note H.
COMPTTLSION ÎTECESSART.
187
Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the United
States, has been met by yigorous efforts in those
countries ; and in the opinion of this Committee,
sound policy requires that this country should
promptly adopt measures for the same purpose."
These two resolutions are followed by twenty-three
others, recommending reformatory schools for vagrants
and young criminals.*
Two important conferences have also been held at
Birmingham; one in December, 1851, and another
at the end of 1853, both of which unanimously
recommend the employment of law in the work of
reformation."!"
Of all the questions treated of in this Essay, there is
not one of greater moment than that which we are
now endeavouring to investigate. The -writer has
endeavoured to approach it, not as an advocate for
any peculiar scheme that has been proposed, but
rather as being himself an inquirer, who notes the
results of his researches only that others, more far-
seeing and more experienced than himself, may carry
the subject still further, and work out the final decision.
It has been already noticed that one of the greatest dif¬
ficulties with which we have to contend, is the absence
of all right principle and good feeling on the part of
many parents. It is scarcely possible to overstate the
magnitude of this evil. Nor is it easy for those whose
hearts glow with parental love, and who find their
purest delights in self-denying endeavours on behalf
of their offspring, to imagine the depth of cruelty and
vice which prevails in this respect among the lowest
* See Eagged School Magazine, October, 1853, p. 199.
t Ibid. 1852, p. 15 ; and 1854, p. 15. A third conference has
been lately held, March, 1855. See Appendix, Note E.
188
COMPULSION NECESSABT.
classes of society. Far from any concern for their
children's well-being, there are many whose only
thought is to use them as the means of gain. That
they may successfully beg or steal, they are early
initiated in all the mysteries of deception and theft ;
and are then sent forth to exercise their craft as
opportunity may offer, and work on the sympathy of
the public by their hungry faces, their whining tones,
their tattered garments, their blue and bleeding feet.
And all this cruelty is perpetrated, not at aU because
the parents are in destitute circumstances, or suffer
from the pangs of hunger, but that they may have
wherewith to gratify their indolent, besotted, and
lustful propensities. To the shame of human nature
be it spoken, and to the disgrace of this Christian
country, there are many who bring children into the
world, and then have no other thought about them but
to find out how they can most profitably use them as
a means of rioting in self-indulgence and vice.
Often has the question been asked, " What can be
done?" Many have pondered the subject deeply,
have inquired into it patiently, and have recorded
their deliberate opinion. They who have the best
right to be heard on the matter give us their matured
conviction to the following effect, " That where parents
neglect or pervert their offspring, the public should
interfere and see justice done ; but that parents who
can pay should not be permitted to escape doing so
—^that it is impossible to save these children from
growing up to be the pests of society, bringing on
themselves present and eternal ruin, unless some
authority is given by law to deliver them from their
• See Bagged School Union Report, 1853, p. 19.
TET PEESTTASIOK" TIEST.
189
destroyers, to put them permanently under better
influences, and secure for them adequate moral and
industrial training.
The first impression, however, on the English mind
is so decidedly against any interference with personal
liberty or parental rights, that only the fullest con¬
viction of the necessity and expediency of such a
course will be held to justify it. Let us, therefore,
look at the subject in some of its chief bearings, that
we may satisfy ourselves concerning the probable
future benefit that would arise from the possession of
this new power, and inquire whether there is reason
to believe that any collateral evils would develope
themselves, of sufficient magnitude in one way or
another to outweigh the expected good.
It may be safely granted that, in all ordinary cases,
kindness and persuasion are the safest and surest
methods of benefiting both children and parents ; and
that the admission of any kind of compulsion, as it
regards either the parents or the children, is, taken
alone and by itself, an evil. Therefore all gentler and
less stringent methods should be previously tried.
Not until the influence of the teacher or missionary
visitor has failed, should there be uttered any threat
of legal interposition. Therefore, also, the tempta¬
tions to become vagrants must be as much as possible
diminished. It is unquestionably true, that through
the foolish indiscriminate charity of many, mendicancy
has been, and still often is, a most profitable specula¬
tion. If it did not pay, it would soon be abandoned.
To give away money thus is to feed and foster the
very evil that Bagged Schools and reformatory insti¬
tutions are endeavouring to subdue. One easy way
190
A CHOICE OF ETILS.
of helping in this cause is, to withhold firmly and per-
severingly all such pernicious gifts, and save them, as a
contribution to some institution of a reaUy benevolent
character.
Since, however, in the worst cases, persuasion some¬
times fads, and since it is impossible materially to
lessen the temptations presented by vagrancy and
crime, we have nothing left but a choice of evüs. "We
are shut up to either the one or the other.
The question becomes practically this :—" Is it a
better thing that these children should be left as the
helpless victims of brutal and vicious parents ; should
roam at large, ragged, ignorant, and vüe ; and should
grow up as thieves and prostitutes ; than that the
magistrate should, in certain cases, have legal authority,
either to enforce their attendance at school, or place
them permanently in a place of refuge and safety?
This is precisely the question. Is it a better thing
that these worthless parents, disgraciug the very name,
should retain their vested interests in the bodies and
souls of their children, though their parental power is
used only for their own indulgence and for the ruin of
the children, than that society should interpose to
adopt these oppressed little " orphans," and compel
the parents, if they are able, to contribute towards
their support ? Are there any vital and fundamental
principles of religion, of political philosophy or poli¬
tical economy, which forbid the remedy of this crying
evil, the removal of a state of things which is
itself diametrically opposed to all sound morals, to
all law and all Gospel ? Are there any remote re¬
sults that are so greatly to be feared, or any opposing
principles so obviously and universally true, that we
IS COMPULSION UNSUITABLE ? 191
must not be tempted either to run the risk of the
former, or to violate the latter, in order to secure
a manifest present advantage ?
That these questions vnll be answered very differ¬
ently by some of the wisest and best, appears from the
debates that have already taken place in the legisla¬
ture and elsewhere. We cannot do better, therefore,
than look at both sides of the question, candidly,
fairly, and fully.
The chief objections that may be urged against
backing up persuasion by legal enactments seem to
be these :—That such a course, being out of harmony
with the principle of love, is not likely to work well ;
that it interferes unjustifiably with parental authority;
that it is contrary to English liberty ; and that in the
long run it will do more harm than good. The
specific weight of each count of this indictment must
be ascertained before their accumulated pressure can
be said to overpower the plea of necessity already put
in and so well supported.
1. It is objected, that it is antecedently improbable,
that two forces so at variance with each other as the
terrors of national law and the smiles of Christian
love wül blend satisfactorily; that there is something
suicidal and self-destructive in the very remedy that
is to be applied; that it is at variance with our
ultimate object, which is to inspire both parents and
children with self-respect and self-control, with a
sense of duty and responsibility. Those who believe
in suasion only, say, " How is it likely that law and
police, pains and penalties, can help forward a work so
delicate and difficult as the developement of the mind
and of the moral powers? Does not aU experience
192 COMPULSION SUPPORTED BT ANALOGT.
show that law is altogether out of harmony with the
cultivation of the mind, and the growth of religion ? "
That there is force in these objections must be
admitted. They are sufidcient to prove that it would
be better to do without these new powers if we can,
and as long as we can; but they do not touch the
point that is really at issue. On the contrary, they
suggest to one's mind an analogy that goes far to
justify extreme measures when gentler ones fail. We
are reminded irresistibly of the combination of love
with law that takes place in every well-managed
family and school in the country. It is only vdth
pain that an affectionate mother drenches the child
with medicine that is essential to its recovery; only
with reluctance that a wise father or good school¬
master takes down the cane to chastise a disobedient
or an indolent boy. Tet, in each of these instances,
it becomes necessary to add force to persuasion ; to
follow up the gentle accents of love with the authori¬
tative powers of law. Though the strokes of the rod
and the cries of pain that are thereby called forth are
altogether discordant to kind parental feelings, and
seem little in harmony with intellectual and moral
culture, yet there is Divine wisdom in the declaration,
" He that spareth the rod, hateth his son." This
analogy, at least, renders it exceedingly probable that
in some extreme cases force may be advantageously
employed by the State, not merely for the punishment
of crime, but also in aid of the acquisition of knowledge
and industrious habits.
Besides which, the question really and practically
is, not whether compulsion shall be employed at all ;
but when^ and with wham, and for what purpose, we
PAEEKTAL AÜTHOEITT.
193
shall prefer to use it? Shall it be used agaiust
worthless parents, on behalf of their children, whüe
they are young, that they may be instructed, delivered,
and made happy, useful, and virtuous ? Or shall it
be used after a few more years, against the unfortu¬
nate children themselves, then grown older and more
hardened in sin, to convey them to jad, where lessons
of virtue and amendment are never leamt, but only
new forms of crime ?
To this we must add, that in all we do or attempt
by any legal enactment, we have love, and love only,
for the children, but law for the parents. Regarded
from this point of view, the discordant harshness of
these measures altogether evaporates. "We see them
at once marvellously grafted into that Gospel tree
which is for the healing of all human ills ; and so,
completing a circle of most benevolent efforts. The
fundamental principle wiU still be love, and the
employment of force will but be its most full and
vigorous developement. Is it not often so, also, when
a father chastises his son? Wholesome discipline
may have some good results on these guilty parents,
may hereafter yield even to them some good return ;
hut at any rate, it will he a mission of love to the
children, and of love alone.
2. The next objection is, that legal enactments on
this subject will be an unjustifiable interference with
parental authority and prerogative ; that the general
law is too important and valuable to be broken through
on any consideration whatever. This plea will not
bear examination. If we knew of parents who were
starving their children, or unmercifully beating them
to the danger of their lives, or sacrificing them to
o
194
PAEENTAL AUTHOEITT.
some grim and hideous image, as once to Moloch, or
throwing them into a river, or placing them under the
wheels of a ponderous car that would instantly crush
them to death, should we not interpose if we could ?
Should we not feel bound to do so? Has not the
State already interposed lovingly on behalf of children
of tender years, saying to hard-hearted parents, and
to inconsiderate masters, " These children shall work
so long in the factory, and no longer^ The reason
why we decide so promptly in these cases in favour of
the child and against the parent, is that we feel in a
moment that parental rights cannot he divorced Jirom
parental duties. If parental duties are not only forgot¬
ten and neglected, but have their place filled up by
cruelty and wrong ; if they, who should instruct and
train, pervert and mislead; if they, who should
save, destroy,—what possible claim can they have to
consideration in the matter ?
This second objection is, therefore, altogether worth¬
less. They who have no higher idea concerning their
children than to scowl on them and scold them,—who
only value them as so many instruments of unlawful
gaiu,—who are without even natural affection, seldom
or ever feeling any gushes of tenderness,—are not
worthy of those sacred names, father, mother, parent,—
have forfeited all parental rights and privileges, and
ought to be taught their responsibility in the only
way that will make an impression on their brutal and
besotted minds. It wiU be no unjustifiable invasion
of their rights if we transfer the children to a refor¬
matory asylum, and require of them a weekly payment
towards their food and clothing.
3. It is also objected that legal enactments for this
ENGLISH LIBEETT.
195
object are contrary to English institutions and English
liberty. They are only contrary in the same sense
that all policemen and prisons are so, for they who
transgress great social laws are always liable to an
abridgment or suspension of their personal liberty.
Those of us who are parents, and delight in our
oflFspring as in our dearest earthly treasures, feel it to
be our right and privilege to determine in what parti¬
cular manner, and with a view to what position or
profession, they shall be educated. But this right is
not unlimited. "We have no legal right either to leave
them untaught and unprovided for, or to bring them up
to any unlawful pursuits. To provide honestly for our
children, and to teach them also to provide honestly
for themselves, is a duty that cannot be even legally
neglected. Parents who thus transgress English law
must not be surprised if it should overtake them in
their evil courses at last. Granting that, at first,
reformatory laws may grate somewhat harshly on
English ears, surely the neglect and crime that we
seek to extirpate is more opposed to English principle,
to English liberty, yeo, even to the teachings of our
common humanity, than that only remedy which bids
fair to be eflfectual ! Surely society has also her rights
and privileges, and her liberty, too, of self-defence !
Here, again, rights and duties go together. They
who neglect the one, forfeit the other. English free¬
dom does not involve a permission to bring up children
in ignorance, indolence, and vice, or to turn them
loose upon society without a trade, except that of
begging, and without an education except in crime.
This plea, therefore, also altogether fails.
á. The last and strongest objection is, that in the
o 2
196
FAE-SIGHTED EXPEDIEITCT.
long run such laws will do as much harm as good,
and will therefore prove themselves to be, on the
whole, inexpedient.
This is unquestionably the great point to be settled.
On this ground the great battle will have to be fought.
Will there be, on the whole, a most manifest gain to
society if Christian love is thus backed up and sup¬
ported by national law in her endeavours to rescue and
save perishing children? Wül there be thereby
brought about a greater amount of virtue, of manly
independence, sound principle, and self-reliance, than
by trusting entirely to persuasion? Can we thus
forcibly rescue the worst, plucking them " as brands
from the fire," without materially injuring, either
directly or indirectly, those who are every way more
worthy of consideration and help, as being more
industrious, more careful of their families, and more
virtuous ? Can such laws be devised, such limitations
of legal authority enforced, and such a system of
procedure adopted, as will make it, on the whole,
unquestionably expedient to employ this new power ?
To these questions the wise men of our own and of
other lands are now beginning to give an affirmative
answer. Those who desire to see carefully prepared
statistics and sound reasoning on this part of the
subject should consult the two Prize Essays that have
already been several times referred to.
When persuasion has been tried and has failed, there
are several kinds or degrees of legal interference that
may be applied, according to the circumstances and
character of the parents.
(1.) Where the parents are exceedingly poor, tlie
children may he regarded as 'pav/pers receiving ouUdoor
PEACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
197
relief* This relief may consist either of free schooling
only, or it may also include, as at the Aberdeen Eagged
Schools, a regular supply of food also. In this case
attendance at the school must be required by law,
and the expense defrayed by the poor's-rate.
(2.) Where the parents are neglectful, but not
poor, they may be required to send their children to
the school by an order from the justices of the peace ;
and failing to do so, after having been duly admonished,
the parents may be fined, and the child sent to the
reformatory asylum, the expense in this case falling
chiefly on the parents.
(3.) Every vagrant child may be dealt with either
in the one way or the other, according to the circum¬
stances of the parents.
(4.) Every boy or girl under fourteen years of age
that is detected in crime may be transferred, without
spending a single day in jad, to some reformatory
asylum.t
(5.) In every case of proved ability on the part of
the parents to pay for the education of their children,
either wholly or in part, power may be given to enforce
payment by law.
As a nation, we have not hitherto been accustomed
to any such restrictions as these on individual liberty.
Our first feeling is that of dislike for any form of
compulsion. But it may be necessary and desirable,
notwithstanding our repugnance. The probable
immediate diminution of juvenile crime to a very
great amount, and, in the course of a very few years,
of adult crime also, is an end so great and good that
* See Appendix, Note H.
t See Appendix, Note E.
198
EITIOIENCT.
no mere prejudices and dislikes ouglit to stand in the
way of its attainment. Disagreeable as compulsion
always is, either in the family or in the State, yet there
are other things that are worse. Nothing is worse
than that evil propensities should remain unchecked,
vice unrebuked, and crime unpunished. Sooner or
later, these neglected and untaught children will come
under the power of the law. It seems, therefore,
plaiu, that it is a better and a kiuder thing to take
them, even against their pcvrents'will^ in some instances,
and train them up aright, than to take them a few years
later, against their own wiU, and lodge them in jaü,
where but few good lessons can be leamt, and but
little reformation can be expected.
The dangers to which we shaU be chiefly exposed in
legislating on this subject are practical inefficiency or
incompleteness, and redundancy. In other words, we
may either fail to secure those whom we most wish to
catch ; or, securing nearly all, we may treat them too
generously and kindly, so as to exercise a pernicious
influence on the class next above them in morals and
station.
If we do avail ourselves of legal help, if we do
incur the odium of interfering with old customs
and vested interests, let us have such a measure as is
tolerably efficient and complete. Efficiency includes
the actual presence of the children m the school or
reformatory institution ; and not the mere shutting of
them up in the filthy dens from which they have
hitherto freely saUied forth.* It includes, also, their
actual reformation when they have been thus brought
* Hence the necessity for the missionary visitors and inspec¬
tors spoken of, chap. iv. pp. 32—37.
CAUTION.
199
to school ; and therefore, also, such an extension of the
course of moral and industrial training as will effect
this object. How easily might even government
training schools become haunts of vice ! If even
private establishments from the middle classes can
with difdculty be kept pure, how much more so those
that bring together the vilest and poorest !
But it is of equal consequence that these refuges
and reformatory schools should not be too attractive,
whether they are supported by national funds, or by
private liberality. It is absolutely necessary to urge
this with frequency and earnestness, for it is here that
charitable schemes are most prone to overshoot the
mark, and defeat their own benevolent and merciful
purposes. There must be something about the refor¬
matory school, which will preserve it from becoming
at all an object of envy to the classes just above.
It must be "the lowest form^^ in our great national
school. Humble, honest, striving poverty, should
have greater advantages than are thus afforded to
these little reclaimed outcasts, both in school privi¬
leges, and in subsequent opportunities of getting on
in life.
Admitting the existence of these difficulties, and of
many more not here referred to, we see nothing in
them that is insurmountable. Prudent legislation,
permitting the exercise of a wise discretion on the
part of the magistrates, whenever a juvenile vagrant is
brought before them ; a careful investigation of each
case by the visitor, inspector, or police, before any
legal steps are taken, and great care in the selection
of those who preside over the reformatory establish¬
ments, or are appointed as inspectors by the govern-
200
A GEEAT WOEK TO BE DONE.
ment, will together do much to obviate the dangers,
and remove the obstacles that are anticipated.
Measures of a compulsory character might be
applied at first with the greatest caution, and only to
cases of actual crime and vagrancy. The statutes
might be so constructed, that when the evil they are
intended to remove has passed away, they themselves
would quietly fall into desuetude.
Experience proves demonstrably to those who are
actually engaged in this work of moral sanitary
reform^'' that at first both the expenses incurred, and
the efforts put forth, must be great, and must include,
at least for a time, some compulsory powers. A class
has grown inveterate amongst us, that " loves darkness
rather than light," idleness rather than industry, vice
rather than virtue, ignorance rather than knowledge,
and profanity rather than piety. For those among
them who are in adult age, however desperate their
case, however dark their minds, however depraved their
characters, there is no other remedy possible or allow¬
able than the generous efforts of the teacher or the
missionary, to persuade them into a better mind and
a wiser course. Fundamental principles, as weU as
practical difficulties, prevent any exercise of legal
power in their reformation. JBut with the children
there is another path open. Before they are completely
ruined, we may come to the rescue.
And, surely, it wiU be worth a little risk to dry up
some of these streams of evil at their very fountains ;
to nip crime year by year in its very bud, instead of
aUovràig it to blossom and seed itself all over the
land; to straighten these crooked little trees while
the stem is yet pliant and tender! That such a
A GOOD EETITBN EXPECTED.
201
work should be both difficult and delicate, in some of
its departments, is surely no matter of surprise ! This
field, that has been so long neglected, cannot be
cleaned and brought into good cultivation in the
course of a single season, or without long patience
and hard work. But we do not despair. The day is,
we believe, not far distant, when old age and crime
wül have removed the incorrigibly bad ; when sanitary
and missionary operations wiU have greatly changed for
the better those who are now entering on life ; and
when those who are now children in imminent danger
of ruin, wül b© industrious and useful members of
society,—perhaps, in some special cases, its ornaments,
—instead of being its poison, bane, and curse. Towards
this end, we have seen, in the course of this chapter,
that the legislature may, and ought to make some
contributions from the national exchequer, and from
its own collective power, wisdom, and experience.
202
CHAPTEE Xin.
peesokal seetice, and its eecompencb.
Personal consecration—Organization — Variety of service —
Contributions—The recompence of well-doing—The dying
Christian—An appeal for help.
The foregoing pages have altogether failed in one of
their chief objects, if they have not established a
strong claim upon the Christian public for sympathy
and help. And we may add, that of aU contributions
to any good cause, the personal service of generous
and self-denying spirits is the most to be treasured.
This is the power of aU others most likely to work
spiritual machinery with precision and steadfastness ;
the bright electrical spark that will pass unseen from
heart to heart, with unerring force and swiftness ; the
ever-flowing spring of noble thoughts, noble plans,
and noble deeds. It gives birth to ingenious sug¬
gestions, to self-denying enterprises, and to fervent
prayers. More precious by far than silver and gold,
is whole-hearted consecration to the service of Gnd
and to the necessities of man. This gift, whose worth
is beyond compare, we trust the great Head of the
Church will freely bestow on all those who are toiling
for the perishing classes of society.
PEBSONAL INELEENCE.
203
There is a marvellous attractive power in the
steady onward movement of one really earnest and
independent spirit. She draws smaller spiritual orbs
round her as satellites, enlightens them with her
rays, and carries them with her on the same bright
career. In her presence and under her leadership,
many feebler souls feel themselves to be useful and
strong. They never could lead, but they can join the
chorus and swell the harmony.
Nor is it necessary to exaggerate either the claims
of this cause, or its probable success, in order to
awaken public iuterest. The work needs only to be
seen as it is, in order to be approved ; and carefully
pondered, iu order to secure a fair measure of support.
To this we may add, that owing to the variety and
extent of reformatory operations already begun, the
opportunity of helping is brought literally within the
reach of all, from the throne to the humblest cottager ;
from the profoundest philosopher to the most simple-
hearted of little children. And it has a claim upon
all. Because, in this particular point, society is out
of gear,—is woefully deranged, disorganized, and cor¬
rupted,—all other grades and ranks should, without
delay, lend a hand towards its restoration and repair.
If a general interest in the subject is to be awakened,
information must be diffused, public meetings held,
and new associations formed. Often will the claims
of the lost and the perishing need to be stated and
urged ; else among the host of claimants, now strug¬
gling with each other for liberal support, this cause
wül not even keep its ground, to say nothing of going
boldly forward, as it ought. Even Christians will
need line upon line. The zeal that has begun to bum
20á
OEGAHIZATION.
in a few must be brought into contact with the
minds and souls of many. So will the fire spread,
till whole congregations, and, indeed, the whole
Christian church, is warm with compassion and love.
In order to this, district organization, similar to that
adopted by the Bible and Missionary Societies, wiU be
useful. The most zealous, being in office, would get
up public meetings, visit the schools, coUect informa¬
tion, and inoculate others with their own interest in
the work. Neighbourhoods that need Bagged Schools,
but do not contain at present any ardent fnends of
the poor, may be roused by the visits of others, whose
hearts overfiow with Christian feeling and self-denying
zeal. Let it be distinctly understood throughout,
that it is better to trust to the benevolence and piety
of Christian men and women than even to the libe¬
rality of a Christian Government. "We never wish
to see educational machinery set up till there is power
to work it, nor extensive plans organized till a host of
warm friends have been fairly won. The voluntary
religious element, in this movement, is of greater
consequence by far than that which is secular and
political. From first to last, let us bear in mind the
essentially missionary character of the whole scheme,
yea, even when, under the sanction of the law, little
children are taken from their unnatural parents, and
placed under industrial and moral training.
The opportunities of personal service are numerous
and varied. Those who ' have a mind to work' need
not hesitate or delay for a single hour. No new
language has to be learnt. No stormy ocean has to
be crossed. No expensive outfit needs to be provided.
No happy home has to be forsaken. The mission-field
VABIETT OP SEETICE.
205
is in our own land, yea, at our very doors. And there
is something for every one to do. Among ladies,
many can become voluntary teachers in the schools ;
some can act as visitors and collectors ; and others
can conduct mothers' meetings, or give instruction in
needlework. To gentlemen, the avenues of usefulness,
always open, are still more numerous and extensive.
Besides teaching, visiting, and committee-management,
much of which must of necessity devolve rather upon
them than on the other sex, it is their privilege to
advocate the cause in public, as well as recommend it
in private life. They can speak a good word for it in
the House of Lords, or in the House of Commons ; at
municipal councils, or in the board-room ; in the pulpit,
or on the platform.
Already the ground has been broken, the first sod
has been turned in every part of the field. Peers,
members of Parliament, judges, barristers, aldermen,
preachers, and orators, have begun to lead the way.
One has dedicated to the cause most cordially and
cheerfully his rank and aristocratic influence ; another
has thrown into the scale a fund of humour, of the
most kindly and most Christian tone; another has
brought to bear on the subject, education, talent, and
long experience ; and many have set a noble example
of practical energy, earnest faith, and strong Christian
love.
Nor has the press forgotten those who are too low
in the social scale to speak for themselves. The
leading newspapers, reviews, and magazines, aU. con¬
tain, at frequent intervals, well-written articles, illus¬
trating the need and worth of Eagged Schools and
reformatory institutions. Good service has been
206
THE iHAGAZTITBS.
already done by the "Eagged School Union Magazine,"
which has just entered on the seventh year of its
existence, and fully sustains its title to the support of
the public. Those who have not yet seen it, would
little suppose that so large an amount of interesting
matter, aU connected with the education of the poor,
could be got together every month. Our " Children'a
Magazine" is also a happy efibrt ; awakening, as it
does, in the minds of the young, an early and tender
sympathy with the neglected and perishing. Both
these periodicals deserve a far wider circulation tha*
they have yet attained ; and only require to be known,
in order to become general favourites among all ranks
of society.*
Eeader, in what way can you help? What part
will you take in the agency by which these ragged
and neglected ones are " sought and saved ?"
Money, also, is required for the successful prosecution
of this enterprise. Every gift thrown into the treasury,
as the offering of love and hearty good-will, is accept¬
able to Grod and serviceable to man, whether it be only
the widow's mite, or the rich man's donation of a
thousand pounds. That the work may be done well,
and may be largely pervaded by the voluntary mis¬
sionary element, large congregational collections, and
liberal support in the form of annual subscriptions and
legacies, will be required, and we trust they will be
forthcoming, for surely this mission to the most neg-
* " The Ragged School Union Magazine," price 2d. " Our
Children's Magazine," price one half-penny. Both are pub¬
lished monthly, and can be had at the office of the Ragged
School Union, Exeter HaU, London; and Partridge and Co.,
Paternoster Row.
DELIGHT m DOIHG GOOD.
207
lected of the rising generation in our country is
altogether in harmony with the tendencies of the age,
with the revealed purposes of G-od, and with the spirit
of the Gospel. To all who are giving their strength,
their time, or their money to this good work, we may
say, " Be of good courage " Be ye stedfast, immove¬
able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, foras¬
much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in
the Lord."
Tes, " we know that our labour is not in vain in the
Lord." The promises of an ever-faithful God insure
an ample return. The personal recompence that wiU
accompany and follow an earnest giving up of the soul
to this cause, is of the purest and noblest kind. The
laborious and faithful will find that " in keeping His
commandments there is great reward." All well-
directed labour for God will be followed, sooner or
later, by a return equal to the outlay—yea, more than
equal, abundantly more.
Those who are strangers to benevolent activity
cannot easily understand or appreciate the joy that is
sometimes felt in doing good. Here, in the endeavour
to save the helpless and the lost, in the flow of most
loving charity, where the soul is more completely in
unison with a God of infinite love and with a Saviour
full of the tenderest compassion, there is sometimes
realised no small dehght—" a joy that is unspeakable
and fuU of glory." Here, in the midst of Christ's own
work—^treading in the same path of self-denial, and, if
need be, of self-sacrifice, that He trod—an unusual
measure of his presence and favour wül sometimes be
enjoyed. Active and zealous Christians, who not only
"eat of the bread of life," but "exercise themselves
208
THE DTIHG CHEISTIAH.
unto godliness" in the hard work of the missions,
will know but little of those doubts about G-od's
truth, and those fears for their own safety, which, like
chronic headaches and obstinate attacks of indigestion,
often distress the inactive and merely contemplative,
however sincere may be their faith, however genuine
their godliness. What wonder that some know but
little of the joys of religion, when neither by good
works, nor by meditation, do they steadily follow after
holiness ! In the union of the two w'e shall be most
safe, most cheerful, and most useful. By the alterna¬
tion of thought and action will even the noblest minds
and the highest geniuses accomplish most for others
and most for themselves. Thus, also, wiU all disciples
of the Redeemer best serve Him, and best secure their
own mental and spiritual progress. " If any man wiU
do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it
be of God," John vii. 17.
Or, we may look forwards somewhat further. When¬
ever auction and death shall draw near, who would
not wish then, in the review of life, to be free from
remorse and self-reproach ? Do we not even desire to
have, at that time, not only a humble sense of unwor-
thiness, but also a pleasant remembrance of something
that has been done—done heartily and devoutly for
the good of mankind and the glory of God ? What
comfort can there be in the thought of a life waste-
fuUy and selfishly spent ? May we not believe that
diligence in well-doing will help to give peace to the
departing spirit ? Surely the vision of homes made
happy, and of hearts renewed by Divine grace—of little
children saved from ruin, and of parents delivered
from the thraldom of intemperance and vice—surely
THE DYING CHEISTIAN.
209
this vision, as it flits instinctively across the memory,
will tend to cheer and calm the soul in that hour when
the stealthy approach of the King of Terrors, and the
near prospect of the judgment to come, keep her
humhle before God ? "Who is there that does not
exclaim, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his F"
But whether these things pass before the mind of
the dying Christian or not, God will remember them.
They who have often ministered to the destitute and
woe-begone, shall not want for consolation in their own
hour of need. If they, by reason of humility, and a
strong sense of their many shortcomings, refuse to
draw encouragement from the past, God will fill them
with joy and courage in the prospect of the future.
More clearly than others shall they see the mansions
that are prepared for the righteous. More surely than
others shall they count upon the rest and joy that
await them. More brightly shall their hope burn ;
more steadily their faith rest on the Bock of ages ;
more warmly their love glow to their Master and Lord.
In having all this they will be blessed indeed above
many.
Their characters, having gi'own ripe and mellow in
works of love ani duty, in watchings and prayers, in
visits to the abandoned and depraved, and in most
persevering endeavours to save the lost, shall be pre¬
served from the fiery darts of the devil ; their souls,
having reached their full stature in Christ Jesus, shall
rest in his love ; and their course, having been like the
sun in its light and life-giving journey, shall end in
glory and splendour. No dark clouds shall be allowed
to gather round them; no gloomy forebodings shall
p
210
THE DYING CHEISTIAN.
distress them in the chamber of death ; but they shall
realise to the full, the eloquent description given by
Tupper of the eminently happy, holy, and useful
Christian :—
Thus did he walk in happiness, and sorrow was a stranger to
his soul ;
The light of affection sunned his heart, the tear of the grateful
bedewed his feet ;
He put forth his hand with constancy to good, and angels
knew him as a brother,
And the busy satellites of evil trembled as at God's ally :
He used his wealth as a wise steward, making him fiiends for
futurity :
He bent his learning to reUgion, and religion was with him at
the last :
For I saw him after many days, when the time of his release
was come.
And I longed for a congregated world to behold that dying
saint.
As the aloe is green and well-liking, till the last best summer
of its age.
And then hangeth out its golden bells to mingle glory with
corruption ;
As a meteor traveUeth in splendour, but bursteth in dazzling
light;
Such was the end of the righteous ; his death was the sun at
his setting."
And when the last breath has escaped ; when the
heavenly smile settles on the marble features, and the
eye that has so often beamed with compassion and
tenderness must needs be closed ; when the feet that
have been swift in works of charity, and the hands
that have often distributed to the necessities of the
poor, are laid to rest from their labours ; then shall
the spirit that so ardently, stedfastly, and success-
AN APPEAL POE HELP.
211
fully served tlie Eedeemer on earth, enter into the
full enjoyment of his glory ahove. They shall be
"for ever with the Lord." They shall rest in his love.
" They shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father." For, " they that be wise shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn
many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever."
The thanksgivings of many shall follow them to those
realms of light ; and their epitaph shall be the words
heard by the Apostle John in vision:—"I heard a
voice from heaven saying unto me, write. Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours,
and their works do follow them."
In the view and prospect of all this, what labours
can be too arduous ? what gifts too liberal ? what
sacrifices too great ?
Oh, ye rich and noble, is it your desire and prayer
that you may be fortified against the strong tempta¬
tions and unhallowed influences that are bound up
with wealth and worldly honours ? Work for Grod,
for souls, and for eternity ; then will his blessing rest
on yourselves, your families, and your possessions.
Let the city that has witnessed your rising fortunes,
your stately palaces, and your splendid equipage,
witness also your earnest godliness, your princely
generosity, and your constant readiness for every good
word and work. If you are too far advanced in years
for any kind of active service, let your liberal bequests
prove your interest in the education of the poor. A s
Englishmen, we love to have you as our leaders.
Wonderful is your influence. We are ever ready to
give you honour, feeling as we do that philanthropy,
p 2
212
AN APPEAL EOE HELP.
virtue, and piety in noble rank, are tbemselves doubly
noble.
Oh, ye, whose privilege and responsibility it is to be
the leaders of the Church of Christ, we count with
confidence on your advocacy and aid. Tour pre¬
decessors have been in past ages the shield and refuge
of the oppressed. Even a corrupt Church did not
forget or forego its right of giving sanctuary to those
who fled from tyranny and wrong. Be it yours now
to show that the purer form of Christian doctrine,
which you believe and preach, can stir your souls to
generous and self-denying activity. Like your great
Master, be ye the friends of publicans and sinners.
Like Him, " seek and save the lost." Like Him, open
the eyes that are spiritually blind, and unstop the ears
that are spiritually deaf. Like Him, touch these
spiritual lepers, that they may be cleansed. Like
Him, raise the spiritually dead. Like Him, preach
the G-ospel to the poor. Like Him, put your hands
on these little children and bless them. For be ye
sure of this, that a work more thoroughly Christian,
more completely in harmony with the teaching and
example of our great Master, is not to be found on the
face of the earth.
Christian ladies, you behold in your healthy children
the proofs of providential deliverance, and the pledges
of conjugal love. Remember, we entreat you, those joy¬
less, comfortless abodes—we wül not call them homes
—in which slovenly mothers, drunken fathers, and a
host of little ones, dwell together in ignorance, misery,
and sin. Gather these mothers around you, talk to
them kindly, and pray with them fervently. From you
AN APPEAL POE HELP.
213
tliey will readily learn lessons of neatness, respect¬
ability, and piety.
Young men, too, and young women, who have
leisure, health, and strength, to whom much has been
freely given by the Grod of all grace, come and help as
voluntary teachers in E^agged Schools. This is em¬
phatically your department of labour. Enter on it
with a good heart. Engage in it with zeal, punctuality,
and perseverance. A life that is thus begun in blessing
the hearts and homes of the poor, will, in its progress,
fill your own hearts and homes with joy and love. In
an age which, by its ceaseless competition, is fostering
a cold and selfish spirit, this work will nourish in you
those generous affections which alone preserve the
sweetness of wedded life, and cement the bonds of
domestic happiness. In many ways will the Lord,
who hears the cry of the widow, the fatherless, and
the orphan, recompense your work of faith and labour
of love. He will bless you indeed—will beautify and
ennoble the inner life of your spiritual nature, and
prosper the outer life of your subsequent history. Let
the morning of your career be given to Christ and to
good works, so shall the evening be rich in holy recol¬
lections and in Christian experience.
Wben all are more fully persuaded of the urgency
and excellence of this wc>rk; and many consecrate to
it themselves, their property, or their influence ; who
shall say how soon, " instead of the thorn shall come
up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar shall come up
the myrtle-tree"—how soon "the wilderness and the
solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert
shall rejoice and blossom as the rose! "
214
CHAPTEE XIV.
ENCOUEAGEMENT AFD STIMULUS.
Political considerations—Keligious motives—The transformation
effected—The extent of the evü yet unsubdued—The swift and
irrevocable flight of time.
We have just seen that personal service in this cause
will be followed by an ample personal recompence.
There are, however, many other motives of a more com¬
prehensive kind, which may well hasten the steps and
strengthen the hands of all workers in this cause.
Of these, some are founded on the teachings of the
Bible, some on the welfare of individuals, and others
on the necessities of the State. Eeference may also
be made to the present position of the reformatory
movement, and to the glorious results already realised
or evidently within reach. Arguments for perseverance
and diligence may be drawn from the political aspects
of the subject ;—from the moral and religious trans¬
formation that may be effected in the children them¬
selves, and through them on subsequent generations ;
—from the vast amount of vice and crime not yet got
under or rooted out;—from a variety of religious
truths and facts, principles and promises ;—and,
finally, from the swift and irrevocable flight of time,
the certainty of death, and of a judgment to come.
POLITICAL CONSILEEATIOIS'S.
215
rrom among these let us select one or two for special
consideration.
1. The political aspect of the subject must not be
lightly passed over. Conferences including some of
the wisest and best in our land, and a Parliamentary
Committee, have decided on the expediency of prompt
and vigorous measures for the extirpation of juvenile
crime. The public mind is now convinced. As a
nation we are ready to make some sacrifice that this
good work may begin forthwith. The most serious of
all obstacles, national indifierence, is now almost or
quite overcome. We begin to see clearly that pre¬
vention is better than cure, even if cure were possible;
that schools are better every way than jails ; teachers
than turnkeys. Successful reformatory experiments
have been made in our own country, and on a still
larger scale abroad, with equally good results. The
way has never been so clear for decisive measures as it
is now. On these grounds, therefore, we may make a
strong appeal to the legislative and executive autho¬
rities of our country. Is it worthy of our good sense
as a nation to send boys and girls to jaü, there to be
incurably hardened in crime, and graduate rapidly in
all wickedness ? * Might we not learn, in the course
* "At the last Northamptonshire Lent Assizes, held at
Northampton, March 2 & 3, 1854, before The Right Hon. Sir
John Jervis ; Robert Tompkins, of Weston-by-Welland, aged 9
years, charged with breaking into a dwelling-house, and stealing
two shilhngs, was found guilty and sentenced to six months of
hard labour." How much better if the Judge could have sent
the little fellow to a Reformatory School ! But, alas ! the " Act
for the better care and reformation of youthful offenders in
Great Britain " had not then received the sanction of the legis¬
lature. A better course is open now in all cases of youthful
crime. See Appendix, notes E and K.
216
POLITICAL CGNSIDEEATIOliS.
of any morning's walk, how great is the folly of those
who chop oif the heads of weeds, which, with a very
little more trouble, might be plucked up by the roots ?
Does not another question press for an answer,—If
we leave these children untaught and untrained,
except in sin, is there any justice or equity in punish¬
ing them ? How could we expect them to be other
than what they are ? If they have been born and
bred in vice and crime, surely it would be wonderful
if they grew up either honest or virtuous ! If we err
at all, ought it not to be on the side of mercy rathet
than severity ? and does not mercy put in an unan¬
swerable plea on behalf of many a poor girl and boy
whom the law has condemned and imprisoned ? Ho
kind voice ever told them of the paths of virtue. Ho
teacher ever led them to the cross of Christ, or let fall
on their dark minds those rays of light which shine
forth from the Word of God. Surely it would be a
wiser course, and withal more equitable and Christian,
to rescue them from the wiles of Satan, from the
tyranny of brutal parents, and from the whirlpool of
destruction that will inevitably suck them in ? An
authority to which we aU reverentially bow has thus
declared our duty : " Defend the poor and fatherless ;
do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor
and needy ; rid them out of the hand of the wicked,"
Psalm Ixxxii. 3, 4.
Hor let it be supposed for a moment that these
arguments and efforts have any connection whatever
with that sentimental softness which would strip our
criminal code alike of its terrors and its efficiency ;—
which overlooks the horrible nature of crime, wastes
its sympathy on the criminal, and petitions against
political consileeattohs.
217
every case of capital punishment. Rather it is because
we see, perhaps more clearly than some others, that
law without severe penalties will be comparatively
powerless, and that they must therefore be retained.
Because society must punisJi criminals with certainty
and severity, we earnestly desire to preserve children
from hecoming criminals at all. Most truly do we
grieve that any penalty so dread, so irrevocable and
final as the forfeiture of life itself, should be neces¬
sary to deter from crime ; but until there is reason
to believe that the lives of peaceable and honest
men are safe without it, we school our feelings by
our judgment, and bring our minds to it as an
awful, but unavoidable alternative. Because, for adult
criminals, there is no other safe course than the in¬
fliction of punishment, with certainty, and often with
severity, it becomes all the more necessary to rescue
without delay those children who bid fair shortly to
enter that almost hopeless company and supply its
ranks. Justly, therefore, may we style the workers
in this cause, "Radical Moral Reformers." It is
their cherished hope that, by removing these young
vagrants and criminals from noxious influences, by
providing for them kind and efficient instructors, and
by bringing them under the pardoning and cleansing
influence of the Gospel of Christ, a most eflectual
check will be given to the growth of crime.
To this we may add, that if by the vigilance of our
police, by the diligence of the schoolmaster, and by
the zeal of the missionary, we can make crime an
unprofitable speculation in the lower ranks of society,
as it has long been in the higher, we shall strike at
-the very root of the evil. "When we can prove, not
218
EELIQIOTJS M0TI7ES.
merely by words, but also by deeds, even to tbe lowest
classes, that " honesty is the best policy ; opening for
every child some avenue to comfort and respectability,
and punishing with rigour every adult transgressor
of the law, we shah be in a fair way for making crime
much more scarce than it has been of late.
Nor let it be supposed that the existence of so much
ignorance and lawlessness can be safely or innocently
ignored by our Legislature. On every ground it is the
duty of the State to aid, if not to lead the way, in its
removal. Even in time of peace there sally forth from
these vicious neighbourhoods, burglars and murderers,
and a host of thieves, who periodically travel through
the length and breadth of the land. What then may
be expected in times of public commotion and discon¬
tent ? Long ago this isle was cleared of aU wild and
savage beasts ; they were driven from their lairs,
hunted down, and put to death. There are men, how¬
ever, more savage and cruel, more brutal, and more to
be dreaded than either wolves or wüd boars. And
shall we be content merely to seize these disturbers,
if we can, when they have come forth from their
hiding-places, have terrified gentle hearts, broken into
peaceful homes at dead of night, and basely spilt the
blood of those who were honoured, and respected, and
loved ? Shall we not rather find our way, at any cost,
to their very haunts and dens, bring out their young
cubs, and tame them into something like subordination
and good manners ?
2. Religion well supports this cause. Here we have
already found our most weighty arguments and most
powerful motives. One might dwell at length on the
duty and privilege of obeying the Saviour's commands,
GOOD EESDLTS.
219
and of carrying the torch of Gospel truth into those
realms of worse than heathen darkness. One might
speak also of the debt of love which every Christian
owes to Him who has redeemed us with his own blood.
On these, however, I shall not further enlarge in this
place.
3. Next we may refer to the change for the better
that will be wrought in the characters and histories of
the children themselves, and through them, of genera¬
tions yet to come. Granting that some cases will be
altogether failures, and others exceedingly doubtful,
how great, how glorious, and how delightful is the
triumph of good over evil, in every instance of suc¬
cess ! The change both of character and of destiny is
so surprising and so highly satisfactory, that there is
scarcely any other thought that will so much feed the
courage, fire the zeal, quicken the sympathy, and in¬
crease the exertions of those who are working in this
cause.
Look round, then, on the motley company that is
assembled in yonder Eagged School. The first feeling
is that of satisfaction that they are here, and not in
Satan's school—roaming the streets, standing at the
comers, or sitting in blank misery and idleness at
their cheerless dwellings. But the school-room
presents only the beginning of better things ;—the
work of reformation and salvation in embryo. Look
forward about five years, or even less, and what then ?
These girls, that would have been thieves and prosti¬
tutes—^women without any of woman's graces or virtues
—will be takingrespectableplaces as servants, or gaining
their livelihood by some other useful calling. And these
boys, who by that time would have been idle, dissolute,
220
GOOD EESULTS.
coarse, and vicious, will be honest, industrious, and
well-disposed lads, getting good situations, learning
useful trades, settling in this country, or emigrating
and setting out on the high road to fortune. While,
in the case of both boys and girls, without school-
training bhey would have been godless and profane,
becoming daily more and more the slaves of Satan and
of sin, many of them will have become by this time,
we hope, the sincere disciples of the Redeemer.
Again, let us suppose that ten more years have
rolled away. We will allow that some have died ; that
others have lost ground, and disappointed the fond hopes
that were cherished concerning them ; and that a few
have even gone back to their sinful practices. Many,
however, are still alive, and walk stedfastly in the paths
of virtue ; of these, some are now distinguished by
decided piety, having made an open profession of love
to Christ. The Little girl that would have become, in
the course of these fifteen years, a disgusting mass of
shameless vice, has now wedded a diligent and well-
paid artizan ; they are happy in each other's love, and
God has blest their union with one darling babe.
With tender maternal afiection, and with a faint blush
of maternal pride and shyness, she turns aside the
coverlet that we may behold its innocent sleeping
countenance. Her home and her dress are patterns
of neatness, and a little library proves that they reckon
books among their household treasures. Her husband
is the joy of her heart, and they dwell in perfect
mutual confidence. To crown all, they are both
members of a Christian church—travellers together
on the narrow way to the kingdom of heaven. And
who should her husband be but one of those once idle
GOOD EESDLTS.
221
and ignorant boys, who were attracted by the cheerful
light and warmth of the school-room ? There he learnt
to read and write ; and what is more, he learnt also to
think and to work ; to be honest, nseful, and affec¬
tionate. So well did he behave both in the school
and in the workshop, that he was selected by the
managers to be rewarded by being regularly appren¬
ticed; and now, his time being out, he is a steady
and prosperous journeyman, and supports in respect¬
ability his wife and infant son.
Again, let us overleap a few years, a longer period,
this time. Tive and twenty years more are gone, and
have made many changes. Our prosperous and happy
couple are still living. If Christians had not befriended
them in their chüdhood, they would now have been
reaping the wages of sin ; either living miserably, or,
which is more probable, they would have sunk by this
time, the victims of depravity, into an early grave.
Time and successive additions to their family have
only cemented their love. Eefore long, a new joy fills
their hearts with gratitude and their lips with praises
—their son has married, and now a grandson calls
forth once more the tenderness of their early married
life, and in the courtship of their eldest boy they seem
to have lived over again their own early love. And
mark, the children have aU been educated and trained
in the fear of the Lord. The little stream of light
and love that began to flow in the Ragged School is
now wider, stronger, and deeper. The little plants
that were then brought ont of the desert into more
genial atmosphere and a better soü, have grown to be
goodly and productive trees, yielding seed after their
kind. Not only does the happy pair, rescued by
222
MUCH EEMAIÎÎS TO BE DONE.
Ragged School effort, become a blessing to society, but
their children, and their children's children, are bless¬
ings too ; they hand down from father to son the care¬
ful habits, the love of knowledge, and the sound
principles which were implanted first of all in the
Ragged School. They begin life in a higher stage
than their parents did; and perhaps wül, after the
Anglo-Saxon fashion, even rise a stage or two higher
before they die.
And, that our picture may be more complete, let us
now pass over another period, stül greater. Another
whole generation has passed away, and in its fiight
has removed those whose course we have endeavoured
to trace from the day that they entered the Ragged
School. Where are they now ? Not with the devil
and his angels. Not in that world of despair and
anguish, whither, if neglected, they must have jour¬
neyed by rapid stages. No. They are for ever with
the Lord. They have entered into their rest. They
have taken their fiight with the calmness, confidence,
and joy of established Christians, into the regions of
holiness, light, and love. They sing "the song of
Moses and the Lamb." They have received at the
hands of a glorified Saviour that "inheritance, which
is incorruptible, un defiled, and that fadeth not away."
Angels rejoiced over them when they repented, and
now angels rejoice with them in the eternal kingdom.
How worthy of support must that agency be which,
with the blessing of God, brings about a reform that
is great, glorious, and eternal !
An instaDce of worldly success, more splendid and
striking, might have been portrayed. Such wül, how¬
ever, be exceptions, and not the rule. The example
MUCH EEMAIHS TO BE DOHE.
223
selected may be regarded as a plain and truthful repre¬
sentation of results that will oßen follow the labours
of the earnest and diligent Eagged School teacher.
4. Another stimulating consideration is the vast
amount of work that needs yet to be accomplished.
A little, just a little, has been done, in each depart¬
ment, with good success. But we must not deceive
ourselves either by over-estimating results actually
realised, or by over sanguine expectations of an easy
triumph. Strictly speaking, the reformatory movement
is only just begun. On the one hand, we may take
encouragement from so auspicious a beginning ; and on
the other, we may find reasons for unwearied and in¬
creasing eifort, in the magnitude of the evils that
remain to be subdued. Only a very few have yet
either obtained better dwellings or acquired better
habits. The schools are few compared with the
necessities of the poor ; and of these few, some are so
inadequately supported as often to struggle for their
very existence. Eural districts are many of them ex¬
tremely defective in the quality of the education that
is given. The establishment of reformatories for young
criminals, though anticipated and conditionally pro¬
mised, requires the decided expression of public
opinion in order to insure promptness, efficiency, and
completeness.
But success is certain. If the work is difficult, it is
not impossible. If it is extensive, it is not without
bounds. And as the missionary, in far-off lands, sur¬
rounded by idolatry and superstition, often beholds by
faith the coming millennial glory—as he feeds his
hungry spirit with the glorious promises of the Divine
"Word—as the often cherished thought of Messiah's
224
MtrCH EEMAINS TO BE DONE.
universal spiritual dominion refreshes his fainting
soul, like a perennial spring flowing through a desert
land, girds him for the conflict, and sometimes even
fills him with heroic courage, to meet ever-recurring
difficulties and discouragements,—so may the Christian
philanthropist, engaged in this mission to the juvenile
heathen of our land, occasionally refresh his zeal and
courage in the nearer prospect of that day when the
evils that he specially combats shall become things
only of the past—when in every part of the British
dominions, in our rural villages as well as our great
cities, the rising generation shall be taught and trained
in all that is necessary to their happiness, both for the
life that now is, and for that which is to come.
But before we reach this consummation, much hard
work will need to be done, many sacrifices must be
made, and many fervent prayers poured out at the
throne of grace. On this altar will need to be laid
not merely the contributions, mimificent and constant,
of all denominations of the Church of Christ; not
merely a generous subsidy from the national funds ;
but also the very bloom and first-fruits—the youth¬
ful, joyous, and exuberant energy of many noble
spirits.
A wide field is at the present moment open to new
labourers. Only in a few districts have suitable
buildings been erected. Comparatively few teachers
are yet engaged. In many districts the funds only
permit of an evening school. More money is wanted,
and more agents. Sin and suffering in their worst
forms put forward an urgent and irresistible claim.
Truly " the fields are white unto the harvest."
"Who, then, wiU consecrate themselves this day unto
LIFE UNOEETAIN AND lEEETOOABLE. 225
the Lord? Who will dedicate henceforth a larger
proportion of their income to the service of the
Bedeemer in this cause ? Need we again remind our
readers of the great principles of action by which this
work ought to be borne nobly onwards ? Need we
speak again of the personal recompence, of duty,
patriotism, love, mercy, gratitude, godliness ?
5. The last appeal for prompt and vigorous assist¬
ance may be fitly drawn from the uncertain and irre¬
vocable nature of life itself.
The case is urgent ! At the present moment the
cry of these little ones is going up to heaven. At the
present moment the growth and spread of iniquity is
rapid and fearful. At the present moment Satan is
making sure of his prey. New victims are daily added
to the long list of those who have already fallen and
perished !
Life is uncertain ! Only by acting promptly
do we make sure of acting at all. " Occupy till I
come." " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it
with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou
goest." At the furthest, the hour that will stay all
our activity, and efiectually prevent the execution of
any further plans, is not far distant.
Life is also irrevocable! Lrom that bourne no
traveller returns. When once the opportunity of
benevolent effort has passed away, return and repara¬
tion are alike impossible. Neither wrong-doing, nor
the absence of right-doing, can be repaired then. The
statesman cannot come back again from that spirit-
world, cannot stand again in his place in "The House,"
that he may recall his opposition to wise and beneficial
226 LIEE UîiCEETAIN AND lEEEVOCABLE.
laws, or that he may more resolutely and earnestly
recommend their adoption. Nay, more, it will be im¬
possible for him then, even to erase from the records
of the past the words he uttered, or the opinions
and sentiments he expressed. "When once the eye
has been closed, and the body has become motionless
and fixed in marble coldness, there will come also
over the past history of each of us a kind of petrifying
process. It will begin to have the fixedness, without
the inactivity or powerlessness of the statue. As long
as the man lives, his life seems to communicate Itself
to all the doings and sayings of his past career. The
whole testimony of a life spent in profligacy and sin
may be contradicted by terrible throes of penitential
feeling and bitter anguish during the last few days or
hours. Whole volumes of controversial writing may
be deprived of their chief power by a very few words
or pages from their author, acknowledging a change
of opinion. But no sooner has the soul departed than
there comes a new fixedness, not only over each one's
character and destiny, but also over his life's work.
What has been done cannot then be undone—what
has been said cannot be contradicted—what has been
enjoined cannot be reversed—what has been neglected
cannot be accomplished—what has been written cannot
be erased. Oh that all men, and especially all public
men, would remember this truth, so simple, so solemn,
so powerful !
Eeader, are you employing your gifts and talents as
you will wish that you had employed them, when
wishes and resolutions will cease to have any value or
power ?
Are you a successful merchant ? Tour gains can
AN APPEAL.
227
only be sanctified by benevolence and piety. " Lay
up " thus "for yourself treasures in heaven."
Are you a Christian ? a professed follower of the
Eedeemer ? Never forget that the holy principle of
spiritual life within you ought not to be " as a talent
laid up in a napkin"—a mere source of personal
satisfaction. It should be " a well of water, springing
up into everlasting life," and overfiowing, as a
fountain, to gladden and sanctify the souls of others.
How far do streams of spiritual infiuence flow forth
from you ? Are they all absorbed in the narrow con¬
fines of your own heart, or of your own house and
family ? Or do they roll forth plenteously, a torrent
of such depth and fulness as will reach those thirsty
regions to which these pages specially relate ? Most
blessed are they whose hearts are so full of spiritual
life and power, that they can discharge every home
duty with vigour, and also find opportunity to work
with energy and system for the ignorant and the lost.
Finally, are you a teacher, of babes, of children, of
youth, or of men and women ? Never forget the
bearing of your labours, and of the manner in which
they are performed, on your own eternal destiny and
that of your charge ! In a very short time, those who
now sit at your feet will be beyond your reach. Tour
opportunity of moulding their spirits for a holy, happy
eternity will be gone, and gone for ever ! Be it yours
to graft on their hearts true wisdom, and lead them
into the ways of righteousness and peace. Live in
the constant recollection of the irrevocable nature of
the past. The day wiU soon arrive when your service
will be over, when your account must be given in.
" Watch " then " for souls, as those who must give an
Q 2
228
FAITHrUL TTNTO DEATH.
account." Lead them to Jesus now! Pray with them
and for them now ! Be earnest ! Be courageous !
Be diligent I Be patient ! Be punctual I An hour
is near when your chief regret will be that more has
not been done for their good and for God's glor5^
When you are weary and faint, think of that hour.
AVLen Satnn tempts you to be less watchful, less
diligent and devout, think of that hour. Often,
very often, renew your spiritual strength by waiting
on the Lord. Drink abundantly and joyfully out of
the wells of salvation, and never rest from your toils
tül, amid the rapturous songs that will celebrate your
entrance into the kingdom of glory, you hear the
voice of your heavenly Master saying, "Well done,
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord."
O, blessed Jesus, who in thy great love and pity
didst come to seek and to save the lost, and wast not
ashamed to be known as the friend of publicans and
sinners ; behold, we beseech thee, with compassion the
outcasts of our nation; raise up for them, by the power
of thy Holy Spirit, many more teachers, helpers, and
friends ; and grant unto us who are engaged in thj
service, grace to be faithful even unto death, and to
thy name shall be all the glory. Amen.
APPENDIX.
NOTE A.
soueces oe ineoemation conceeninq- the condition oe
the lowest classes in towns and cities.
The Ragged School Union Magazine. 2d. per month, stamped 3d.
Our Children's Magazine. Jd. per month.
The City Mission Magazine.
The Philanthropist ; or, Prison and Reformatory G-azette.
Chapters on Prisons and Prisoners. By Rev. Joseph Kings-
mill, m.a.
Juvenile Depravity. £100 Prize Essay. Rev. H. Worsley, m.a.
The Rookeries of London. By Thomas Beames, m.a.
Reformatory Schools. By Mary Carpenter.
Juvenile Delinquents. By Mary Carpenter.
Crime in England. By Thomas Plint.
Juvenile Depravity. By Thomas Beggs.
Notes and Narratives of a Six Years' Mission, principally among
the Dens of London. By R. W. Vanderkiste. New
Edition, is. 6d.
Juvenile Delinquency. Two £150 Prize Essays. By Micaiah
TTill, and C. E. Cornwallis.
Roger Miller, the Life of. By George Orme.
Meliora. Ist and 2nd Series. Edited by Viscount Ingestre.
The MiUion-Peopled City. By Rev. John Garwood, m.a.
Ragged Schools : their Rise, Progress, and Results. A Lecture
to the YoungMen'sChristian Association. By John Macgregor.
230
NOTE B.
STATISTICS OT EAGOED SCHOOLS.
TABLE I.
Showing the Progress of Ragged School Effort in the Metropolis
during the last Ten Years, from 1845 to 1854 ; and since the
establishment of the Ragged School Union,
TEAE OF THE
UNION.
m
O
o
W
o
QQ
TEACHEES.
CHILHEEN.
Amount collected by
Ragged School Union.
1?
c3
O
k
TS
'S
pH
Tí
S
3
DQ
râ
<0
0)
£
First Year, 1845
20
200
2,000
61
Second „ 1846
26
250
2,600
320
Third „ 1847
44
400
54
4,776
637
Fourth „ 1848
62
822
80
5,843
6,980
696
Fifth „ 1849
82
929
124
8,130
9,119
3,632
Sixth „ 1850
95
1,392
167
10,439
10,910
2,658
Seventh „ 1851
102
1,341
180
10,861
11,593
2,073
Eighth „ 1852
110
1,657
203
12,423
14,002
2,806
Ninth „ 1853
116
1,787
221
11,733
13,900
4,049 ♦
1 Tenth „ 1854
129
1,702
280
13,478
15,872
9,4571
* Including one large Legacy,
t Including two large Legacies.
231
TABLE II.
SCHOLARS IN ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOLS CONNECTED WITH
THE RAGGED SCHOOL UNION.
1850 to 1854.
Week Day.
Week Evening.
Sunday.
Industrial.
1850
5,558
5,352
10,439
1,776
1851
6,021
5,572
10,861
2,062
1852
7,526
6,476
12,423
2,270
1853
8,008
5,892
11,733
2,043
1854
9,046
6,826
13,478
2,269
"According to the Census Eetums, the number of Bagged
Schools in the whole of England and Wales, in 1851, was 132,
containing 23,643 scholars." See extract from " Census Beturns
on Education," by Horace Mann, Esq.—Bagged School Union
Magazine, vol. vi. p. 233.
Bagged Schools have been opened in the following places :—
Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Grlas-
gow, Cambridge, Southampton, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Bath,
Bristol, York, Newcastle, Hull, Nottingham, Leicester, Brighton,
Cheltenham, M'indsor, Plymouth, Dumfries, Perth, Dundee,
Aberdeen, Isle of Man, Ipswich, Belfast, Cork, Waterford,
Gravesend, Bideford, Guildford,'Norwich, Whitehaven, Jersey,
Dover, Luton, Margate, Chester, Woolwich, and Beading.
232
NOTE C.
STATISTICS OF EEFTJGES IN LONDON.—1854.
TABLE I.
Night Refuges, or Dormitories, providing Lodging only, with a
small portion of Food.
LOCALITY.
WHEN
FOUNDED.
FOR WHOM.
EXTENT OF
ACCOMMODATION.
Field Lane, Hoi- ")
born. j
1851
Boys & Men.
100
Neal's Yard, Se- )
ven Dials. J
1853
Boys.
25
Colchester Street, ")
Whitechapel. )
1854
Boys.
15
TABLE II.
Refuges, properly so called—providing Food, Lodging, Clothing,
Education, etc.
GIRLS.
LOCALITY.
WHEN
FOUNDED.
EXTENT OF
ACCOMMODATION.
NUMBER OF
INMATES.
Lisson Street,
Marylebone.
i
1849
40
39
Gun Street,
Spitalfields.
}
1851
20
12
George Street,
St. Giles's.
]
1852
30
33
Hül Street, Dor¬
set Square.
1
1852
30
18
Albert Street,
Spitalfields.
i
1853
30
25
Total
150
127
233
BOYS.
LOCALITY.
FOUNDED.
ACCOMMODATION.
INMATES.
1855.
Grotto Passage, )
Marylebone j
Henry Pas., Brook )
St., New Eoad j
1846
1848
20
20
20
15
Britannia Court, "1
King's Cross J
1850
15
13
George Street, ">
St. Giles's )
1852
30
43*
High St., Wands- 1
worth j
1852
70
70
Home in the East, ")
Old Ford )
1852
50
30
BelvedereCrescent, ")
Lambeth
1853
60
30
Commercial St., )
Whitechapel j
North Pl.,Hutton ")
St.,Edgeware Rd. j
Beaumont Place, 1
New Road )
1853
1853
1853
100
20
30
60
12
25
Bryan Street, ")
Islington )
1853
30
15
Total
445
333
Total Provision made—
For Girls 150
For Boys 445
595
Total Number of actual Inmates, 1855—
Girls 127
Boys 333
460
* This number includes a portion of those sleeping at Neal's Yard.
234
EMIGRATION.
NOTE D.
successpttl eesults.
Some of the best and choicest fruits of Ragged School effort are
those which cannot be represented at all by statistics, and only
very inadequately by explanatory remarks. Among these we
may reckon the higher tone of Christian feeling that is kindled
among aU those who engage in the work ; the influence of the
children on their parents ; of particular schools on the neigh¬
bourhoods in the midst of which they are opened ; and of the
movement, as a whole, on the cause of popular education, on the
Cliurch of Christ, and, indeed, on the whole nation.
Premising thus much, a few facts may be added which illus¬
trate, to a certain extent, the worth and power of those prin¬
ciples which he at the foimdation of Ragged Schools and kindred
institutions, and which prove most unmistakeably that the
blessing of Grod has rested upon them.
1. Emigration.—About 450 have emigrated from the Ragged
Schools and Refuges in and near London, under the auspices of
the Ragged School Union. All these have remained long enough
under instruction to acquire such elementary knowledge and
such habits of industry as jvistify the hope that they wiU conduct
themselves with propriety. Before leaving they pass an examina¬
tion prescribed by the Ragged School Union. From these
youthftd settlers many most interesting letters have been received,
in which they express their warm and sincere thanks for the
kindness that has been shown them. But few of those who have
been sent out have failed in their moral characters. Most of
them are earning an honest livehhood, and some are getting on
exceedingly well, receive high wages, and are saving money fast.
2. Service at Home.—The number of those who have taken
places in this country is very large. Some are engaged as errand
boys, others as shoe-blacks ; others are learning trades ; and
many yoimg women are living in private famüies as domestic
servants. Often are girls and boys from Ragged Schools pre¬
ferred to those that are famished by the Union workhouse schooL
SEEYIOE AT HOME.
235
As a proof that a large measure of success has been realised in
this department, we may quote a few particulars from the
account given in the Ragged School Union Magazine (vol.
vii. p. 46), of the late distribution of prizes to those girls and
boys who had been a full twelvemonth in service at the same
place.
The results are thus stated ;—" Early in 1854 prizes were given
to 144 candidates who had fully complied with aU the conditions
laid down with reference to the year 1853, by the Committee.
The conditions were afterwards revised and made more stringent
with regard to age and employment ; at the same time, allowing
those who had left during the year, one place for a better, to be
still ehgible for the reward ; provided in every case the previous
situation had been kept one full year, and recommendation given
by both employers. Applications were made by the various
schools in connection with the Union on behalf of upwards of 400
candidates, who considered themselves coming within the con¬
ditions. It was, however, found on a careful scrutiny of the
returns, that many were ineligible for the rewards. It is very
gratifying to find that although the conditions were wisely and
very justly narrowed, as compared with those of the previous
year, yet the number of successful candidates for the year 1854
was more than double that for 1853 ; namely, 222 boys, and 105
girls ; total, 327, sent from 53 schools.
" The following particulars of the candidates are gathered from
the returns furnished by the Schools :—
AGES. BOYS. GIRLS.
12 to 13 years
. 24
9
13 to 14
J»
. 40
13
14 to 15
»
. 49
20
15 to 16
it
. 54
28
16 to 17
ti
. 33
19
17 to 18
ft
. 22
16
222 + 105 = 327
EMPLOYMENTS
Boys—Trades, various . . 81
„ Errand-boys . .71
„ Printers . . .21
„ Shop-boys . . .20
„ Paper Stainers . .11
„ Shoe-blacks ... 7
„ Shoemakers ... 6
„ Sawyers ... 5
222
Girls—Domestic Service, no"\
other employment ( ,,,,
rendering them C
eligible . . )
327
236
SEEVICE A.T HOME.
From 1 year to li
TIME AT PIACE.
„ U „ H
IX 14
BOTS. OrSLS.
65 38
25 19
42 15
15 6
36 9
11 9
10 5
18 4
222 105
" Of the 327, it was found that 144 boys and 44 girls were in
receipt of an increase of wages, at the close of 1854, as compared
with the beginning of the year."
The successful candidates were invited to a public Tea in St.
Martin's HaU, Long Acre, where they assembled for the purpose
of receiving the prizes, on Tuesday, February 13,1855. The Earl
of Shaftesbury presided, and addressed to the young people many
kind words and paternal counsels.
The above facts furnish most conclusive evidence that the
purposes for which Ragged Schools are established are being
extensively accomplished.
3. The Tagged School Shoe-hlack Society.—This Institution
is, perhaps, the most successful of those which have taken their
rise in the Ragged School movement. Some few leading facts in
its history will be interesting to many.
" On Monday, the 31st of March, 1851, five boys were sent
out for the first time to work in the streets ; but after a fortnight's
trial, the ranks were rapidly filled up, and in July, thirty boys
were on the books."
" At that time the occupation of Street Shoe-black, though
formerly common, had become obsolete in London ; and the idea
of reviving it was originally entertained with the view of meeting
the wants of the foreigners, who were expected to visit London
during the Q-reat Exhibition ; but the Committee feel thankful
that the anxious deliberation which they bestowed on their first
operations was not thrown away on a merely transient benefit."
THE SHOE-BLACK SOCIETY.
237
In the following winter about twenty boys were employed as
" Broomers," their work being to sweep the pavement in front of
houses and shops. This project, however, was abandoned, as the
Committee foimd that they could not preserve so strict a discipline
over them as over the Shoe-blacks.
"In 1852 another variety was introduced into the Society,
several boys being employed as Messengers. This project was
also abandoned, being found not to answer so well as the em¬
ployment of the Shoe-black,"
" Since the commencement of the Society, 256 boys have been
employed, and there has been an average of 24 working regularly
during the first year, and of 37 during each of the two subsequent
years." The accounts kept in the Society's books give the
following results :—
First Year,
Second Year,
Third Year,
Fourth Year,
Average of
Average of
Average of
Average of
Boys,
Boys,
Boys,
Boys,
24
37
37
41
Earnings .
Boys' Wages
Boys' Banks
Retained by ]
the Society j
£. s. d.
656 3 11
372 2 6
142 7 10
141 13 7
£. s. d.
760 11 5
450 6 5
148 16 2
161 8 10
£. s. d.
899 17 2
491 8 8
205 4 3
203 4 3
£t S» d»
1,193 12 5
614 17 10
289 14 10
288 19 9
" The different stations occupied by the boys were soon found
to bear very different values. From the very first it has always
been the rule of the Society that each Shoe-black should remain
only three days at the same post. Originally, aU the stations
were occupied by aU the boys in succession ; but subsequently
the stations were divided into three classes, twelve of the best
being in the first division, fourteen in the second, and the
remainder in the third. The boys were also classed in three
divisions, corresponding to the divisions of the stations ; and
each boy is confined to the stations in his own division, which
he occupies in rotation." Any boy may rise by merit from a
lower division to a higher. He is quickly promoted if his con¬
duct is good.
238 THE SHOE-BLACK SOCIETY.
The average weekly earnings of the boys, according to their
divisions, may be taken as follows :—
Gross
Boys'
Boys'
Society's
Earnings.
Wages.
Bank.
Fund.
s. d.
s. d.
s. d.
s. d.
First Division.
15 0
7 0
4 0
4 0
Second „
9 0
5 0
2 0
2 0
ïlûrd „
6 6
4 2
1 2
1 2
A daUy account is kept with each boy, and the money is
applied on the following system :—Sixpence is returned to the
boy, as his allowance ; the remainder is divided into three equal
parts ; one third part is paid to the boy immediately with the
sixpence ; one third part is retained by the Society, for blacking
and other current expenses ; and the residue (including odd
money) is paid to a fund which is reserved as a " bank," for the
boy's own benefit. According to this arrangement, a boy in the
first division wül on the average carry home daily, out of the
two shillings and sixpence earned, &d. + 8c?. = li. 2d. Sd. will
be kept back by the Society, and Sd. put into the boy's bank.
A variety of rules and bye-laws have been formed, all calcidated
to promote the industry, honesty, and rehgious welfare of all the
boys employed.
The Committee hope before long to make the Society self-
supporting, They are, however, more anxious to make it morally
efficient in every respect than to increase the money returns.
In 1854, two other Societies were formed ; the " East London
Society," who wear blue coats ; and the " South London Society,"
who wear yellow coats. The boys of the parent Society wear
red coats, as all our readers probably know.
" On the 11th of January, 1855, these three brigades fraternized
at a fête given to them in Exeter Hall, at which the Earl of
Shaftesbury presided. The HaU was gaily decked for the occasion
with the flags of various nations. In the centre stood erect the
Turkish banner, supported on one side by the French tricolor,
and on the other by the English union-jack. About 130 of the
boys, in their various uniforms, took tea together, and were
CASES OF TJSEFULTíESS.
239
highly delighted with the various provision made for their
enjoyment and welfaie.
When we remember that the boys thus brought under efficient
moral training are all gathered from the Eagged Schools of the
metropohs ; that most of them belonged once to the lowest and
most depraved classes of society ; and that they are now earning
their own livelihood, and fitting themselves for posts of greater
responsibility and comfort, we may well reckon the Shoe-black
Society among the most pleasing results of the Ragged School
movement.
cases of ttsefttlness in connection with institutions that
form a part of the ragged school union.
JVb. 1.—From the ninth annual Feport of the St. Giles and, St.
George, Bloomshury, Ragged and Industrial Schools, and Refuge
for Destitute Children,
" In July last, a young girl, age 17, was admitted into the
Refuge. She had no mother, and her father (a labouring man)
had married again, but his residence was unknown. The girl had
been to service, but had left ; and was at last foxmd near the
school, by a Christian visitor, who felt greatly interested in her
case, and most anxious to rescue her from the distressing circum¬
stances in which he found her. He therefore sought and obtained
admission for her into the Refuge. She could neither read nor
write ; but being a quick and intelligent girl, she soon made pro¬
gress ; and at the end of four or five months, her conduct and
character had so much improved, that a situation was obtained
for her, to accompany a family to New Zealand, as nursemaid ; to
which colony the family and their little maid sailed at the end
of October last."
Case 2.—From the same Report.
" was admitted into the Hospital in the Gray's Inn
Road, with a fever caught by sleeping in night refuges. He re¬
presented himself as an orphan, and utterly destitute ; and the
surgeon of the Hospital feehng interested in the boy, made in¬
quiry of a gentleman connected with Ragged Schools, who recom¬
mended the boy to be sent to this Refuge. He was brought and
240
CASES OP USEFULNESS.
was admitted at once, being considered a destitute case. The
same tale was repeated to the master which had been told to the
surgeon ; and, with this exception, the lad maintained an excel¬
lent character while in the Befuge. One day, however, after he
had been in the Institution some weeks, the master was much
surprised on inquiries being made at the school by a respectable
female for ,who afterwards turned out to be his mother—
whereupon the secret was revealed ; and she then stated the boy
was her son, and although he had no father, yet he had a re¬
spectable and comfortable home ; but in consequence of a little
altercation between the boy and his step-father (the woman's
present husband), he had run away from home, and no trace
could be found of him, although every endeavour had been made
to find him ; she had even had bills printed, offering a reward on
his being discovered. The mother was most grateful that he had
found such an asylum, and the boy being willing to return home,
he left the Befuge with his mother, and on the following Simday
he came to school in a new suit of clothes, with a cheerful and
happy face, and thanked the master and secretary for what had
been done for him ; and added, that his mother wished hiTu to
become a subscriber to the school of 5s. a year, in consideration
of the benefits he had received while an inmate of the institution."
Case 3.—In the same Institution, communicated hy (?. W, Jf.,
a City Missionary.
About two years ago I saw a lad standing asleep against one
of the pillars of the Piazza, Covent Garden. He awoke and began
shuffling his feet along the footpath. I watched him, and plainly
saw that hunger, cold, dirt, vermin, and misery, had made him
their prey. I went up to him, and said—
" Have you no home ? " No, Sir." " Where did you sleep
last night ? " " On some stairs in Drury Lane." " Where did
you sleep the night before ? " " Behind a door in Drury Lane."
" How often have you been in prison ? " " Four times, Sir."
" Are you willing to do better ?" "I am. Sir."
" Are you willing to work ?" "I am. Sir."
" If you are willing to work, and wiU. stand here for an hour, I
will come back and get you work." This I said to try him, and
as it was a wet, cold day, the trial was a good one. He waited till
THE EMIHEANT EHGIHEEE.
241
I returned, when I led him to the St. Gües's Refuge, where they
took him in. He remained there two years, conducted himself
properly, and is now a sailor.
Case 4.—From " The History of the Home for Outcast Hoys,
Belvedere Crescent, LamhethT
This institution is a remarkable one in several respects. Its
origin, its rapid success, and its near approach to self-support,
render it worthy of the study of all friends of the perishing.
Among the seven boys with which Mr. Driver began, five of
whom emigrated to Canada in July, 1854, was one who on his
arrival apprenticed himself as an engineer. He thus writes, in
his first letter " home "—for it had really been a home to him—
" I am now going to be bound an apprentice to Mr. M ,
Engineer, for five years I was not in the town (Eangston) half-
an-hour before I was at a place I had my pick of 5 different
places Engineer, Ship-builder, Farmer Farmer Servant out of
which I went to the Engineer I am to get 20 dollars the First
year and board Lodging and Washing 30 next 50 next 75 next
100 last. Please Sir be so kind as to give my respects to
Mrs Driver Mr. Mrs. and all Committee Œve my
respects to aU the Boys Especially R-^— my old Comrade tell
them aU to try and get out to Canada." We are also able to
give a second letter from this youth, ahke creditable to his
heart and head. " I received your Kind Letter," he writes,
" yesterday afternoon 4 o'clock and I am very sorry to hear of
what has occurred in London since I left and of the lives that
has been Lost at the Siege of Sebastopol I have been very
anxious to hear how are all getting on I hear a great deal
about the war I am very happy to hear that you are aU well
I must now teU you about the country Land his very cheap
a yoimg man that came out with me in the same ship has bought
50 Acres of Land for £15—12 of them are aU Cleared and are
just ready for Cultivation we have got a great number of Bears
Foxes and Buffalos about Kingston I was going out on Tuesday
Morning at 5 o'clock when to my great surprise I espied an
enormous Brown Bear "—Here foUows an account of the shooting
of the said bear-^" I was the first that Parted among us 5 Boys
I see them aU off Safe on the Steamer and directly after I could
E
242
THE EMIGEAÜTT EHGIHEEE.
Tiot SeVp crying because I was all alone this was on the Saturday
afternoon 2 o'clock on Monday I was hard at work there his
plenty of work for the boys when they come out Next Spring
I am going to speak to my Master about them and ask him wether
he will want another Boy which I am almost sure he wül "—
Here he goes on to give an account of his master and his business—
notices the difference between English and Canadian steamers—
talks of " The Rapids " and " The States "—mentions other towns,
their distance, fare to and from, etc.—Has joined the Mechanics
institute and can have Books out of the Library twice a week
for Instruction "—Grives his opinion freely of " John Michell, the
Irish rioter," declaring that he is " to be sent out of New York
and his going to Russia and if he dont mind he will get sent from
there "—Then come his " especial respects to Mrs. Driver," his
respects to some half dozen gentlemen whom he names, his
message to the boys, aU mentioned by name, who are to be told
that he wishes them well—" Please Sir," he adds, " be so kind as
to teU the Boys that comes out to Canada Next Spring my
Direction and teU them to Write to me directly they get to
Quebec and then I wiU come out to meet them down at the
Wharf"—Finally, he "remains," after annoimcing that he has
also in hand a letter to his brother, and another to his aunt, " an
old Institution Boy G M ." The Committee anticipate
many similar letters when they shall have got the Institution
into such working order that it may restore at least 50 boys
annually to the world, to be a blessing to society, whereas they
were once a curse. The house in Belvedere Crescent can easily
accommodate sixty inmates ; which number the Committee
would not desire to see extended, as they are of opinion that the
right way of dealing with the young vagrants who infest our
streets, consists in gathering them into several institutions, each
evincing, as its marked characteristics, Economy of Management,
Simplicity and Remunerativeness of Industrial Employment, and
Reality of Reformation.
Case 5.—At the " Boys' Refuge^ Whitecha^eV*
This institution is not intended merely for reforming cri¬
minals, but is also preventive in its character. The boys
CASES or USEFULNESS.
243
who are admitted are either friendless orphans, or the chil¬
dren of parents so depraved, as to make it absolutely essential
that they shall be removed from them. The mere fact of a boy
having been convicted does not necessarily exclude him, for it is
felt that many have been led into crime either from sheer starva¬
tion, or from the baneful influence of bad example ; but con¬
viction is not, as in some other institutions, a sine qua non. On
the contrary, the fact of a boy having been in prison is a reason
for investigating bis history, in order to discover whether or
not he has voluntarily adopted criminal courses, and become
thoroughly depraved j in which case, unless he shows signs of
desire to reform, he is not admitted. One example wül be
sufficient to show the class of boys generally admitted.
" S. G., aged 14, a native of Oxfordshire, an orphan. Both his
parents died about two years and a-half ago, when he and his little
brother were left entirely destitute. After trying unsuccessfully
to get work in their native town, they walked up to London. On
arriving there they lost each other, and never met again. S. has
lived in the streets for upwards of two years, begging, getting work
occasionally at the markets, etc., sleeping in passages, or where-
ever he could find shelter. He was often tempted to steal, but
never had courage to do so. S. Gi. says his father was a drunkard ;
but his mother was a good woman, very kind, and who used to
pray with him and his brother every evening before going to bed.
He cried bitterly when speaking of her and of his lost brother.
So great had been his sufferings, that almost immediately on his
being admitted into the refuge, he was seized with fever, and had
to be removed to St. Thomas's Hospital, where he speedily gained
he good opinion of the officials by his patience and good conduct."
Case 6.—At a Mothers^ Meeting in a ^tagged School at the
West Mnd of London.
" A poor woman, the mother of a large family, had for some
time attended the Mothers' Meeting. She was taken ill, and
visited, when it was delightful to hear her expressions of gratitude
to God for the instructions she had received there. On her resto¬
ration to health she returned to the school after an absence of
about fifteen weeks. She then said how much she wished to de¬
clare to aU present her thankfulness to God for ever having led
B 2
244
LOBD PALMEESTON'S BILL.
her to the Ragged School. She entreated the mothers present to
continue coming regularly, so that they, hke her, might be helped
in the things that make for an everlasting peace. This poor
woman has eight children attending the school."
There are many other most valuable Institutions equally de'
serving of special notice, all of which could furnish interesting
instances of success. The results which they report are often of
tlie most striking and satisfactory character. For these, however,
we have no further space in this volume.
NOTE E.
eefoematoey institutions.
On this subject a most influential deputation from the Con¬
ference on Juvenile Dehnquency, held at Birmingham in De¬
cember, 1853, had an interview with the Right Hon. Yiscount
Palmerston at the Home Office in February, 1854. His Lord¬
ship then expressed his deep interest in the subject, and his hope
that in the course of the session, then commenced, the Giovem-
ment would be able to pass into law some measure which would
provide for the reformation of juvenile criminals.
For the particulars of this interview, see Ragged School Union
Magazine, vol. vi. p. 53.
In accordance with this assurance, a BiU was brought in by
Lord Palmerston, which successfully passed both Houses of
Parliament, in a crowded and most eventful session, and received
the Royal assent, August 10, 1854. This new law, which may be
said to commence a new era in the treatment of juvenile crime in
this country, is called—" An Act foe the bettee caee and
eefoemation op youthful offendees in greeat Beitain."
Those who wish to see the Act in full wül find it in the Ragged
School Union Magazine, vol. vi. p, 198 j and an article upon it
in the same volume, p. 145.
For the convenience of our readers, we give here briefly its lead¬
ing provisions. The Act contains eight clauses.
The preamble acknowledges the existence and value of those
Reformatory Institutions which have been established by indi-
1.0ED TALMEESTON'S BILL.
245
vidual effort and voluntary contributions ; and declares the
expediency of making more extensive use of such Institutions.
Clause I. provides that any such Reformatory School may be
placed by its managers under the inspection of the G-overnment,
to be used, if approved, under the provisions of this Act.
II. It is enacted that any person, under sixteen years of age,
may be sent, after the term of imprisonment is expired, to one of
those Reformatory Schools which have been approved by the
Government for this purpose. No term of imprisonment, pre¬
vious to detention in the school, is to be less than fourteen days ;
and the period of detention in the school is not to be less than
two years, nor more than five years.
III. It is enacted that the expense thus incurred shall be
defrayed in the following manner :—
1st. It shall be recovered from the parents, if they ai'e able to
pay. 2nd. If they are not able it shall be defrayed either partly
or entirely from Her Majesty's Treasury; the money so required
being granted by Parliament.
lY. It is enacted that any youthful offender either absconding
from any such institution, or wilfully and perversely breaking its
rules, shall be liable to imprisonment for any period not exceed¬
ing three calendar months.
Y. It is enacted that the expense of maintenance in these
schools shall be recovered from parents or step-parents, when they
are able to pay. Such charge not to exceed five shillings per
week. The money so received is to be paid either into Her
Majesty's Treasury or to the Managers of the School, according
as the expense of maintaining such offender is being defrayed either
by the State or by private benevolence.
YI. This clause places the recovery of such weekly payments
on the same footing as those required by the poor-laws. Parents
may be prosecuted who do not comply with the provisions of the
Act ; and the payment levied upon their goods by distraint or
otherwise.
YII. This clause gives to Her Majesty's Secretary of State
for the Home department the power of moving a youthful offender
from one institution to another, when it shah, appear desirable to
do so ; but not so as to increase the whole period of detention.
YIII. This Act does not apply to Ireland.
246
EErOEMATOEY INSTITUTIONS.
The reader will see that great care has been taken by these
provisions to secure the authority of law and the general welfare
of society, while a vigorous effort is made to rescue the young
offender. But, excellent as this law is in design, some of its
chief clauses have been found in practice to be inoperative. This
is especially true of those which relate to the compulsory pay¬
ment, to be demanded of parents towards the support of their
children, while inmates of Reformatory Institutions. Mr, Adder-
ley has therefore given notice, in the House of Commons, of an
Amendment of the Act, which it is hoped will remedy its defects
as far as the circumstances of the case will permit.
The first application of this law took place at the Police
Court, Newcastle, and is thus reported in the Ragged School
Union Magazine:—"A little lad, named Cunhff, had confessed
to stealing a cheque for £1 3s. from the shop of Mr. Spencer,
and in passing sentence, Mr. Ellison said, by a very wise provi¬
sion of the Legislature, he, the lad, was allowed an opportunity
of repentance and of becoming a respectable member of society.
He would be taken to prison for a fortnight, and from thence to
the Reformatory School, where a chance would be afforded him
of learning a useful trade, and in every way qualifying himself
for an honourable position in life. The mother was then put
forward, and ordered to pay a certain sum per week for the lad's
maintenance in the school, which, if not regularly kept up, could
be levied upon her goods by distraint or otherwise."
How much wiser and better this course than that pursued
under the old system ! A long imprisonment would have
hardened and ruined this lad altogether. In an Industrial Re¬
formatory School there is great reason to believe that he will be
led back again into the good paths of honesty and virtue which
he had begun to forsake.
If Reformatory Schools are to be efllcient and successful, in the
best sense of these words, they must not degenerate into mere
Government institutions, where official routine takes the place
of Christian energy and love. Private liberahty and voluntary
religious teaching will do much to preserve and strengthen their
moral hfe and power.
2é7
NOTE F.
INTBLUECTUAl CT7LTUBE INSUTriCIENT.
Thí-T mere intellectual culture does not prevent crime, has been
proved by the chaplains of jabs, and by the actual experience of
those who have bad much to do with the criminal classes. See
Eingsmill's " Prisons and Prisoners," chapter v. ; also " Place of
Repentance," third edition, p. 81.
From the work last mentioned, in which Mr. Martin gives an
interesting account of the " London Reformatory for Adult Male
Criminals," we may quote the first of his deductions from the
hundred cases of which particulars are given. It is to the
following efiect :—
" That mere secular education does not prevent crime. Eighty-
three out of one hundred have been educated in the ordinary
branches of literary instruction. As reasonably may we expect
to make good musicians by training the eye, and good painters
by training the ear, and good carpenters by teaching foot-racing,
as to look for right morals and religion from teaching to read and
to write, and to cast accounts."
NOTE G.
lîTPLUENCE OF EELIGIOUS TEArNXNG SEEN AFTEE TEABS OF
PBOFLIGACX AND VICE.
Thet who have once known the joy and comfort of a good con¬
science and a religious life, are more likely to grow weary of the
ways of sin. This also is illustrated by several cases in Mr.
Martin's book, " Place of Repentance."
Thirty out of the hundred had pious parents ; and probably
their early religious training made them more willing to apply
for admission at this institution ; more ready to go through
their fortnight of somewhat rigorous probation ; and more
steady in their subsequent conduct. See Cases 18, 27, 63, 64,
65, 66, etc.
Case 63 " was led to desire reform through wretchedness of
mind, and a wish to obtain an honest livelihood." Case 68 thus
248 INTLUENCE OF BELIGIOTJS TRAINING.
expresses his reasons for desiring reform :—" I was tired of my
life, and my conscience told me that I was a great sinner, and
I was afraid of the anger of God." Case 70 was also the son of a
pious father, and had attended a British School. " He was led
to desire reform through weariness of his abandoned habits."
To this we may add, that of the hundred, there were only
seven who had received no education at all in their childhood.
Something is done by early training if they are thereby sooner
wearied and disgusted with sin, and rendered more anxious to
repent and reform.
The number of inmates at the present time, March 1855, is
104 ; and the applications for admission are on an average 70 per
week.
" In receivmg adult male criminals, the ' London Beformatory'
stands alone. Among the recent inmates of this institution was
one man fifty-five years of age, who had been nearly thirty years
a thief; some were forty years old ; some have been clerks,
shopmen, etc. Some have received a boarding-school education—
nay, some even who have figured at college are glad to find
refuge here ; and many of these weary and wretched men, rescued
even at the last gasp, have turned from their wickedness, and
live ; have again entered the pale of society, wiser and better for
the trials through which they have passed, and offer up their
future hves as a daily humble atonement for the past."—Quoted
from the " Philanthropist," p. 87.
Admission to this " place of repentance " is only by personal
and voluntary application on the part of the criminals. For
adults there is no prospect of reformation unless they are them¬
selves deeply and strongly impressed with a desire to reform.
It is not intended to enlarge this particular institution, as it is
considered of the utmost importance that the patriarchal form
of government here adopted by the excellent foimder, Mr. Charles
Nash, should be preserved ; but other similar schools for adult
reform wül ere long be founded on the same principles.
249
NOTE H.
goteenment geants.
Theee is one great and weighty question, which has been
touched but lightly in Chapter XII., which treats of the relation
of the GrOTemment to Kagged Schools. This question may be thus
stated :—In what way can any G-ovemment, haying confidence in
the energy of a Christian nation, and desirous of helping forward
the education of the poor, render good service to this cause ?
How can the Legislature put their hand to this work in a manner
that win do the least possible mischief and the greatest possible
good?
The great point is, to hit upon some method that will embrace
in its operation valuable existing institutions ; that wül encourage
self-support among the poor themselves, and voluntary effort in
the rest of the community ; that will enlist the sympathies and
services of a large proportion of Christians of all denominations ;
and, at the same time, will provide effectually for the advance¬
ment of education among aU classes of the poor, even the lowest
and worst. To find any scheme that will in a measure satisfy all
these conditions must be admitted to be a hard matter indeed.
School-rates, when tested by the above criteria, wül faU very
far short of the mark. In the first place, they are scarcely sound
in principle, except in reference to the pauper and criminal
classes. Besides this, they are open to the following great, we
might almost say, insuperable objections,—they will produce
jealousy and strife wherever an attempt is made to introduce
them ; they wiU interfere unfairly with private enterprise ; they
will exercise a most disastrous effect on voluntary effort ; they
wül favour both communism and pauperism ; and finally, they
will press with considerable hardsliip and injustice on that class
which is just above the poor, in point of station, but are perhaps
even less able than they to pay for the education of their own
children. For these reasons, and others not here mentioned,
school-rates wül be as unpopular in many places as church-rates.
On this account, an Act passed to legalize them would be, to a
great extent, inoperative, and where adopted would cause incessant
strife and iU-feeling.
The plan which the writer would suggest and urge most
250 SCHOOL-BATES.
seriously on the attention of the thinking men of this country
may be thus sketched out.
Give up altogether the system of school-rates. Continue and
complete the present system of annual grants. Establish for
this object a " Board of Education," responsible to the House of
Commons. Let the duties of this Board embrace all educa¬
tional institutions that are either whoUy or in part supported,
out of the public treasury : including the National Gallery,
British Museum, Schools of Design, etc. Let all important
items of expenditure be voted separately, so as to allow of free
and fuU discussion. Continue the aid at present given by the
State towards teachers' salaries, school-premises, and school-
apparatus. Complete this circle of operations, the efficiency of
which, as far as they go, few dispute or deny, by a liberal State-
contribution in aid of the current expenses of schools in poor
districts, of refuges, and reformatory institutions.
The writer would suggest that, in accordance with the princi¬
ples that have been tried and successfully carried out by the
Committee of Council, this State-assistance should be so given
as to stimulate and encourage the voluntary contributions of
the benevolent, and awaken even among the poor a desire to
bear in part the expense of educating their children. This
object might be readUy accomplished by making the aimual
grant of the State to each school bear a certain fixed proportion
to the amount raised by honâ fide voluntary gifts. The pro¬
portion so contributed ought to be greatest, say three-fourths of
the whole annual expenditure, in the case of schools or refor¬
matories for the criminal classes, and smallest in the case of
schools for the more respectable poor, since these ought to be,
as far as possible, self-supporting. Ragged Schools and schools
in poor rwral districts, coming between the two, should be met
half way ; the Government paying one-half the expense, and the
other being raised by voluntary contributions. Wherever the
school is supported, either whoUy or in part, by an endowment,
the amount of such endowment should be deducted before the
proportions to be paid respectively by the State and by private
benevolence are calculated. Let rules be adopted which shall
efiectually preclude extravagance in selecting either the style of
building or the system of education.
ÜEEAT ADYANTAGES.
251
Some of the advantages of the above scheme may be thus
enumerated :—
1. It would not jar uncomfortably with existing institutions
and plans. The nation has been doing her best to educate
herself. All that she wants is, that the Government would help
effectually districts that are weak and poor.
2. It woidd not favour either pauperism or communism, for the
managers of aU schools would, as a matter of course, endeavour
to obtain as much in pence from the children as they could be
reasonably expected to pay.
3. It would not give cause for religious controversy and
strife. It would help the wUling and the zealous, and leave
others alone.
4. It would afford an opportunity of helping the most necessi¬
tous, the almost-pauper, and almost-criminal child, with a free
and hberal hand ; which the grants of the Committee of Council,
as now administered, fail to do.
5. It would so encourage the friends of education, that schools
now closed for want of funds would be re-opened ; others that
are languishing would be filled with new life ; and many that
have been only half-efficient, by reason of the straitness of their
means, would soon contain better teachers, and more numerous
scholars.
6. It would disengage a good proportion of voluntary effort ;
which, being stimulated by the promise of real assistance, would
push forward the cause of education into districts that have not
yet been reached.
7. It would set the people at work, in aU parts of the land,
more thoroughly to educate both themselves and their neighbours,
even the very poorest and worst.
8. It would call forth at the same time both men and money ;
the apparatus and machinery required, and an agency of the
best and most zealous kind, competent to work it.
9. Though more efficient, it would not cost the nation so much
as an equally extensive system of school-rates.
Other advantages, and perhaps some disadvantages of this
scheme, will probably occur to our readers. Let us apply it by
way of illustration to the Kagged Schools in and around London,
The annual contributions to these, including the sum raised by
252 GOYEEÎTMENT MIGHT HELP EEPICIEHTLT.
the Eagged School Union, amount to about £20,000. Of this
sum, however, a part comes to them from legacies. Deducting
for this £5,000, we have £15,000 left, of which £7,500, or
about one quarter of the amount annually paid towards the sup¬
port of the Eoman Catholic College at Maynooth, woidd be
voted by the House of Commons towards the maintenance and
increase of Eagged Schools in London. This would be the
subsidy for the first year. The money thus liberated by the
munificence of the Legislature would not be selfishly kept as
so much personal saving, but woidd be employed more zealously
than ever in building new schools, in engaging new teachers, and
in collecting a much larger number of scholars. Soon every dark
and miserable neighbourhood would be supplied ; and in the best
possible way too—not by the cold and unwelcome visits of the
collector of rates, but by the kind and generous efforts of warm¬
hearted friends of education, of rehgion, and of the poor. Who
does not see that by some such method as this a good work would
be speedily done, such as even centuries could not accomplish by
parish or municipal rates, however skilfully planned ? Who shall
say how great an influence for good woidd be exerted on the
people of England by a measure of this kind ?—or, how fast the
work of education would go on, thus encouraged, but not un¬
necessarily interfered with, by the Legislature ?
Perfect unanimity in reference to any plan for the encourage¬
ment of education is not to be expected. The great thing is, if
possible, to lay the hurden on the right shoulders, and yet secure
the cordial personal services of those who are the real friends of
education. According to the above plan, the expense of each
school would be borne partly by the managers and subscribers ;
partly also, in all but free schools, by the poor themselves ; and
partly by the Government. And justly so, for the benefit is
shared by the whole community, and is not confined to any par¬
ticular locality. Of course, all those who object strongly to Govern¬
ment inspection, or are rich enough to do without Government aid,
or who feel that they cannot conscientiously accept it, are at
perfect liberty to go on in their own way. There is no reason,
however, why they should hinder the progress or usefulness of
others who take a different view of the subject.
253
NOTE K.
confeeence on eeeoematoet institutions.
An interesting Conference on the subject of Eeformatory Institu¬
tions, especially in their relation to the Ooremment, was held at
the house of Mr. E. Hanbury, March 2, 1855, when the repre¬
sentatives of twenty-seven refuges and reformatory schools
were present.
We hoped to have given an account of their deliberations ;
but as the meeting was private, and the communications were
considered confidential, we are not at liberty to publish them in
such a form as will interest the generahty of our readers.
The members of the Conference bore unanimous testimony
to the good efiects of Government inspection, and to the neces¬
sity for further legislation for the prevention of juvenile delin¬
quency. They reported on the working of Lord Palmerston's
" Youthful Ofienders' Act," and carefuUy discussed those points
in which it has failed. Experience has proved that these defects
are of a serious nature, but there is reason to hope that they will
be supplied by the Amendment of which Mr. Adderley has since
given notice in the House of Commons.
254
INDEX.
PAGE
Almsgiving 117
Buildings, Appropriate .... 62
Character, Power of . 130—133, 203
Christianity, a Living Power . . 1, 2
Christian Love, the Power of. . 10
Church of Christ, its Relation to
Ragged Schools.... 162—172
Church of the Children . . .92, 93
Church of England . . . .184,185
Civilization, its Tendency ... 6
City Mission 149—151
Class-lists, etc 138,139
Combination of Remedial Agen¬
cies 17, 149—155
Condition of the Poor . 3—5, 20—23
Conference on Refuges, etc.
Appendix, Note K.
Compulsion Necessary . 28, 186—196
Co-operation of all True Chris¬
tians 167—171
Cricket-ground 160
Difficulties to be expected ... 12
Delight in doing Good .... 207
Dormitories 120
Domiciliary Inspection .... 36
Dwellings Improved 153
Dying Christian, The . . 208—210
Emigration, Appendix, Note D, Sec. 1.
Encouraging Consideration8,18,140—
147, 219—222.—Appendix, NoteD.
Entertainments . ... 159—161
Gradation of Social Laws . . 8,181
PAGE
Government, its Relation to Rag¬
ged Schools. 173—201, Appendix^
Notes E and H.
Grants, Government, for School
Buildings .60
for Refuges .... 125—129
[185
their Expediency discussed 178—
how bestowed . . Appendix,
Note H.
Indifference and Opposition of the
Poor 14,186—196
Industrial Teaching.... 67—83
Knowledge not sufficient, 133, 134.
—Appendix, Note F.
Lay Agency, Value of, 96, 97,202—205
Liberty, English 194
Life uncertain and irrevocable, 225—
228
Magazines, the 206
Maynooth, the College at . . . 179
Ministers of the Gospel. . . .212
Mission, Ragged Schools, a . 54—58
Mothers' Meetings . . . 155—157
Organization 204
Palmerston's, Lord, Bill for the
Better Care of Youthful Crimi¬
nals .... Appendix, Note E.
Parental Rights and Duties . .193
Persuasion 28
Pictorial Teaching . . . . 65,66
Political Economy 9, 79
Power, Moral and Religious, 130—136
Political Considerations. . 214—218
Practical Wisdom, Need of . . 13
INDEX.
255
PAGE
Prizes for Good Conduct . . . 137
Prevention of Crime - . . 140—143
Prodigals brought back . 143—147
Appendix, Note G.
Ragged Scholars, Abode and Ap¬
pearance of 20—24
, how collected . 30, 37
, how kept. . . 38—41
, improved . . 42—44
Ragged Churches .... 94—98
Results realized, 11,123, 124,144—148
Appendix, Note D.
Rich, Duties of 70, 211
Reading-rooms, etc. . . . 159—161
Reformatory Institutions—^Appendix,
Notes E and K.
Refuges, Nature and Origin of .104
—108
, Objections answered, 108—115
, how conducted, . . 115—129
, Statistics of. Appendix, Note C.
Sanitary Movement 152
Shoe-black Society, 72.—Appendix,
Note D, Sect. 3.
School-room, its Appearance, etc. 59
, Apparatus ... 63
Self-support impossible . . 176,177
Service, Personal, its Worth, 164, 202
—205
Shops, Ragged School .... 76
PAGE
Statistics of Ragged Schools . Appen¬
dix, Note B.
Sunday School, the Ragged, 84—103
Need of Vivacity in . • 87—90
Scheme of Engagements, 91—94
Economy of Strength, etc.,
in 85, 86, 95—99
Edward Baines on . . 100—103
Teaching, Injudicious .... 69
, Industrial . . . 67—83
, a Missionary Work, 54—58
Teachers, Voluntary . . 45, 46, 213
, their Qualifications, 47—49
, Duties and Encourage¬
ments .... 50—53
Trade, blended with Benevo¬
lence 74, 80
Temperance Society 154
Union Workhouses . . . 118,119
Visitation, Voluntary and Sa¬
laried 30—37
Voluntary Principle, the, 61,181—183
Appendix, Note H.
Voluntary Teachers . .44—46,213
Work not yet done . . 27, 223, 224
WorKs on Youthful Crime, on
Prisons and Prisoners, etc.,
etc. . . . Appendix, Note A.
256
FORM OF BEQUEST
TO THE
EAG6ED SCHOOL UNION
IN LONDON.
I Q-IVE and BEQUEATH unto the Treasurer for the time
being of "THE BAGGED SCHOOL UNION," formed in
London in April, 1844, the sum of pounds of British
money, to be paid within months after my decease,
exclusively out of such part of my personal estate not hereby
specifically disposed of as I may by law bequeath to charitable
purposes ; and I hereby lawfully charge such part of my estate
with the said sum upon trust to be applied towards the general
purposes of the said Union ; and I direct that the receipt of the
Treasurer, or the reputed Treasurer, for the time being, of the
said Union, shall be a sufficient discharge for the said legacy.
If a Testator wishes the legacy to be paid free of duty, he will
add the following words to the above form :—
" And I direct that the legacy duty upon the said legacy be
paid by my Executors out of the same fund."
N.B.—Devises of land, or of money charged on land, or
secured on mortgage of lands or tenements, or to be laid out in
lands or tenements, or to arise fr'om the sale of lands or tene¬
ments, are void ; but money or stock may be given by Will, if
not directed to be laid out in land.
LONDON: ROBERT KINGSTON BURT, PRINTER, HOLBORN HILL.